Should I Leave The 1869 3c On Cover?

I found an 1869 3c Locomotive on cover while digging
through some papers. I had actually found it once
before, when I first got Dad's stamps, but I had no
idea what it was at the time.

Anyway, this is a decent used stamp, but it is still
on the envelope that has become, well, very used over
the years. It looks like sometime in the past, someone
used the envelope for a scratch pad. It has notations
and addition/subtraction all over it.

So when is a cover not worth being a cover anymore?
When is it time to bite the bullet and salvage a stamp?

I don't intend to do anything with the stamp or cover
no matter what I decide. It will stay in the collection
anyway. So part of me says that the envelope 'isn't
eating anything' and has been a good home for over a
century. Then part of me says just get it off there and
into a stock card or holder.

Thoughts...

Thanks
Dave

Dave....

Ultimately the choice is yours......if it were mine, I'd leave it on cover.

I have given many covers the ebay test. If someone
doesn't think the cover is worth at least 99 cents, I will
sometimes harvest the stamp for an album (even if it cost
me more to find out than the stamp might be worth!).

Isn't it great you can do what is right for you. I'm a clipper when it comes to common stamps except for the cover I bought from Phil. I think I would let an older stamp hang for awhile.

Hi Dave
my preference is to keep it on cover.
I have covers that have been used as a grocery list.
It's the history of the cover.



DJD

It's hard to say definitively without a picture.
If the stamp were a truly exceptional copy, and the cover was really detracting from it, then I might consider soaking it off.
Otherwise I would keep it on the cover.

Here ya go...

I would have to agree with the many who say to leave it on the cover. There is history in that cover, besides, your stamp has a killer cancel..........

The stamp itself.
Not what I would consider exceptional, but hey,
it's an 1869 Locomotive...

It appears as though it was originally addressed
to Kittanning PA, but someone drew the dark line
through it and wrote Slate Lick (PA) in the same
dark ink. I couldn't even see the original address
on the envelope in hand. But the scan is hi-res,
and I can just make out "Kittanning" beneath the line.

I like the patent attorney corner card which gives the name of the law firm and its address in Washington.
That makes it technically an advertising cover, most likely from 1869.
And it was forwarded to Slate Lick, Pennsylvania! What a great name for a town!
Is there a Slate Lick receiving postmark or any other postal markings on the back?

In my mind the cover adds a lot of history and character to a run-of-the-mill copy of the stamp.

I've got many Slate Lick cancels and such.
Dad had roots there and gathered their old covers.

It looks like the letter left DC on the 27th, then
was marked in Kittanning on the 30th.

The back of the cover is tattered and covered in
the same sort of scribble as the front. No visible
postal marks...

Just a small sample of Slate Lick related...

South Buffalo Township, yes I would keep it. I'm not even sure if there is a Slate Lick PO anymore. I know there are no funeral homes. It is a pretty rural town by passed by time.

Slate Lick appears to be a DPO (Discontinued Post Office).

Nearest to the town is the post office in Cadogan (3.4 miles).

http://usps.whitepages.com/post_off...z=slate+lick

Hi Dave
Wonderful Covers.
DJD