$1.25 Postage Reg'd To Veronia, Italy 11-21-13, 2 Pan Pac, 8 W-F, 10c Spec Del, And 8 Parcel Post

This is Siegel Sale 1272, lot 3542 which had an estimate of $750-1000 and sold for $3000 plus 18% BP, shipping and if appropriate sales tax. No it was not me as I went one over estimate or $1900 too low. I even thought I was over offering on the philatelic created item.

While it seems spectacularly over paid, it does cover 10 cent registration, 10 cents Special Delivery and 41 ounces at the UPU letter rate. Even a heavy metal, say gold or osmium, slab wouldn't push the weight that high in the envelope.

Any idea what drove this price up so much? There is the special delivery angle, the Panama Pacific angle, the Washington Franklin angle and of course the Parcel Post angle.

As to PP, it is nice but not that good in my opinion. For a Special Delivery, it certainly comes with a good destination and eye candy postage. I can't comment on the WFs but it is a nice selection of them. While I may undervalue philatelic inspired/created multiple value Parcel Post covers, here 8 of the 12 possible, I would not except to be low by 2/3rds.

I will note that 3579, a group postal history lot, "Cover Balance. Small box with a range of covers, including group of stampless with blue "Adams & Cos. Express San Francisco" oval handstamp, wide range of other issues including nice group of Parcel Post, Special Delivery, few Trans-Mississippi, Louisiana Purchase, Jamestown, some faults, some Fine-Very Fine, a diverse group" hammered at $550 (plus BP etc.) verses a top estimate of $400. [Here I was an, not the, underbidder with a last minute blind bid not having seen any part of the lot.]

Comments and speculations welcome. If the buyer sees this perhaps the real reason can be offered up. Heck any one who bid over $1500 could comment why it was interesting to them.

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Not to explain this specific result, but there seemed to be some episodic irrational exuberance during the sale that I found odd. There were stretches of $200 lots which made things drag at times, and then there were eruptions of competitive interest that seemed unfounded. So it was rather uneven, at least what I saw of it.

Among the very few lots that were of interest to me personally, I watched but did not bid on lot 3531 which was a beguiling cover bearing a 505 error with a postage due. True, it is apparently the only 505 cover with a postage due, but wow! The estimate was $1000-1500, but two bidders pushed it agressively to $21,000 (hammer only) in the end.

Edited to note the final price I mentioned is hammer only.

Fabulous philatelic inspired cover.

I don't understand why the 505 would even have postage due. Even if it was treated as a 2 cent stamp, which it was supposed to be, the cover does not show signs of being an overweight item.

People bid up the PP cover because it is unique, however philatelic. And with 4 different collecting areas involved (or more), it would generate a wide ranging interest.

Just a question. Would the Special Delivery stamp have any meaning to the Veronese post office?

In addition to the cover you reference, the link below shows my 505 cover which was the first, by date (early half of November 1917 with the WWI rate starting 11-2-1917) of the two recorded WWI 3 cent per ounce first class rate. That too could have driven the price.

http://goscf.com/t/79195&whichpage=1

Now in the sale held the day before this one, The Magnolia Collection of U.S. Mail in China and Japan: Part 4, the hammer for the item I showed at http://goscf.com/t/82687 was hammered only one increment over low estimate much to both my pleasure and surprise. It was for me, a "got to buy" lot.




First Class rate at the time, 1918 was 3 cent per ounce (11-2-1917 through 6-30-1919). The USPOD rules that the Red 5 cents stamps, perforated and imperforated were to be valued as only 2 cents. It is for that reason the 505 I linked was only a one ounce cover and not two.

While International Express (Special Delivery) was approved by the UPU with an effective date of 4-1-1886, the USA did not allow international special delivery (express) until 1-1-1923 with Canada and for only certain cities. On 9-1-1926 it was expanded to other countries with Italy being included 10-15-1926 (at a 20 cent fee).

So no, the special delivery stamp only provided service while in USPOD control. Italy did not recognize it officially. Now did the local post office treat such letters in a special manner for some patrons, I suspect we will never know.




Well some PP collectors may, but not me. I don't mind lots of PP stamps on a cover when their total pays the correct rate. Q1-5 at 15 cents and Q-1-6 for 25 cents examples, all to foreign destinations, sit in my collection.

Thanks, I forgot that the rate went up. As for the PP cover, remember that W/F collectors, Special Delivery collectors, Panama-Pacific collectors, and overseas mail collectors all might be interested as well. And any of them might think it worth a lot more then you did for any number of reasons.

Yes, learning what was that or were those reasons is the purpose of this thread. As a reminder, I have collected and followed PP/PPD since early 1983 seeing some wild philatelicly inspired items in that time. Some I do understand the pricing such as the 20, 50 and higher solo usages well over paying envelopes out of the USPA Shanghai, all serious four figure covers.