Help On This Postal Envelope

I have some postal stationary from the 1880-1900 and don't have a clue how to valuate them. I understand it's more than the stamp itself. I attached one of them. Thanks

Lovely cover but it does have it's issues. There are quite a few wrinkles and creases which will detract from the value. It's known as a PSE (Pre stamped envelope) Wells Fargo covers are quite sought after.

Stamppaige, these stamped envelopes are listed in the Scott catalog. Your local library might have a copy that you can borrow. Otherwise we might be able to help, but we need better close-ups of the stamp.

Peter

Here's an entertaining history lesson on the addressee of the scanned cover, Neustadter Brothers:




http://union-made.blogspot.com/2012...of-road.html

You will be able to find this in Scott's but they will have nothing on the cancellation or the fact that this is a Wells Fargo cover. That is where the money is on this one. Check closed listings on ebay under Postal History and put Wells Fargo in your search to see what they are selling for. You can also find sale results on Wells Fargo covers in a lot of closed auctions from places like Seigel or Harmers. I paid $50.00 for a similar cover at a show a couple weeks ago, but it also had a Minnesota DPO cancel that I was looking for. I was also a 4 cent PSE. I have not identified the Scott number yet as that is the least important part of the cover to me.

I believe the Scott number is either U250 or U256, depending on some fine details of the stamp, which we can't see right now due to the poor quality of the scan.

However, I think it is a U256, as the envelope looks to be a size 23 (241mm long). A Scott U250 only comes in size 21 (225mm long).

Edit: other sizes exist, but we are interested in differentiating U250 and U256, so only the largest size is of interest.

Sorry about the poor quality stamp photo previously. Hope this one is better. Thanks for the explanation on the cover, it helps me understand what to look for. Very helpful.

I thought this one is fun to see, not that old though. I am going through a stack of older postal stationary today and know not to focus on the stamp alone. Most from San Francisco. I am ordering a Scott catalog for reference on the stamps.

U256 for the 4 cent green.

Thanks. You guys are amazing being able to tell a 21 from a 23 by the photo!

". . . being able to tell a 21 from a 23 by the photo!"

Take measurements off the screen and solve this equation:

Actual length = (screen length * actual stamp width) / screen stamp width

UPSS catalog has a nice table of envelope sizes.

I keep a list of common stamp widths for this purpose.