1856 Sc.#15 Ny->sf Ocean Mail Via Panama Transcontinental Rr

In 1848 the US Congress, in order to render the West Coast more accessible, authorized
the establishment of two mail lines of steamships, the one from New York and New Orleans
to Chagres in Panama, and the other to connect with this by the Isthmus of Panama,
from Panama City to California and Oregon.



The 60 mile journey by mule trail and canoe across the Isthmus of Panama was slow until
the first transcontinental railroad was completed across the Isthmus in 1855. This route
served as the principal method of mail transport between the East and West coast until
1869. During this time, the trip between New York and San Francisco could be completed
in 21 days or less. Between 1855 and 1867 more than $700 million in California gold
was carried on the Panama railroad.



This cover was postmarked in New York on Jul 21, 1856. From the docketing on the left
side, it arrived in San Francisco 24 days later on August 14th. To make the journey in
this short amount of time, it was carried by steamship from New York south to Chagres,
Panama, then 60 miles by train to Panama City on the West Coast, and by ship again
on the Pacific coast up to California.



The cover, bearing a copy of Scott #15 imperforate 10c Washington stamp, is addressed
to Mr. Stephen L. Merchant, U. S. Mint, San Francisco.



Stephen L. Merchant was Superintendent Peter Lott's principal clerk. The San Francisco
Mint was opened just two years earlier in 1854 to serve the gold mines of the California
Gold Rush, producing coins for commerce such as the $3 gold piece pictured below.

I'm always in awe of the neet stuff you have Tom, not to mention the incredible stories you know about each piece.

Thanks for sharing both with us.

Dianne

Thanks, Dianne!

The connection to the original "Gold Rush" era San Francisco Mint, shown in the illustration above, is pretty cool. The "Old Mint" in San Francisco, which survived the 1906 earthquake and fire, was actually the second U. S. Mint building in San Francisco, and was not completed until 1874.

T......


Great piece.....great info......always a pleasure.

Great looking Scott's #15 mate as it still has a lot of color.Very interesting piece of history Tom something that ties in with your coin collecting.Very nice mate.

Thanks Harry! The #15 is what caught my eye as I was flipping through the cover box. The cancel is neatly struck and mostly "face free" so you can still see old George Washington.

Informative and interesting. You should be a guest speaker at every history class in your area. Not only would the kids remember more, but the membership in local stamp & coin clubs would probably soar too!

Do you have many other crossover connections between your stamp & coin collections?

Very interesting Tom. I like to think of myself as a history buff (even if I do flatter myself), but I had no idea the mail took such a circuitous route from New York to San Francisco.

A 60 mile transcontinental railroad!