Show Us Your Oldest Stamped Or Stampless Cover.

Here is another from Prince to Smith sent from Boston on July 27, 1804.

tomiseksj....Those are really old....Lucky you.

1804! Oh-la-la... this IS old my friend, almost the holy graal

Thanks wert and koala. Still trying to find something I can afford from the 1700s.

The Wilmington, North Carolina circular date stamp on this stampless folded cover was in use from 1800 to 1818 and the 25c rate for that distance was in effect for almost the entire period (rates were increased by 50% effective February 1, 1815 but the increase was repealed effective March 31, 1816). Unfortunately, there is no docketing or letter content to indentify the year of mailing.

Magnificent covers all! Let's face it. E-mail just doesn't compare.

Good point James. I imagine that this concept will never gain any traction...

tomiseksj....What would one pay in the States for a 1700 cover...

The short answer is, as with stamps, "it depends."

The most recent American Stampless Cover Catalog (Fifth Ed., 1997) for example gives values for letters from Massachusetts with British Colonial postmarks (up to September 21, 1788) in the range of $500 to $2000. Some Mass. Statehood period covers with late-1700s manuscript town marks catalog for as little as $50. A handstamped BEVRLY straight line used in 1794 is valued at $300 and a BEVRLY* straight line used that same year is listed at $575. Manuscript Cincinnati, Ohio postmarks between 1794 to 1803 are listed in the $2500 to $3500 range. And as with stamped letters, condition of both the postmark and the letter/cover also must be factored into the pricing.

ACSS is in the process of revising their catalogs and it will be interesting to see how valuation has been impacted in the decade-plus since their last effort.

Yikes tomiseksj...$2500.00 to $3000.00 is a lot of money for a cover...Most collectors I would imagine would spend that on a stamp, but a cover....???

Just my opinion though.

Collecting is all about individual preference.

Postal history didn't begin with the advent of the Penny Black and I find material that predates the adhesive stamp era can be quite intriguing -- especially if I can find background information about the sender or recipient.

As to paying $2000 to $3000 for a stampless letter, or a stamp for that matter, I'd need to win the lottery before I could bring myself to that large a commitment!

10-4 tomiseksj

It is a commitment for sure....As far as having a letter in the cover that has some significant material is a bonus.

I have a first air mail from Royal Dalton in England sent to a buyer in Canada with a letter in it that to me makes it even more significant.

Covers are really another world, and I do enjoy them...The only trouble is if you have a stamp that say you wanted to check the grade of paper..i.e.- wove, laid, etc....You have to remove it from the cover.

Been there, done that... https://goscf.com/t/14828#14828

Great post about this decision tomiseksj...As you almost said, leave well enough alone...Staying up all night wondering...Yes, that would drive me crazy...But like you said, if you do it, you STILL have the stamp.

Value of a stamp VS same stamp on a cover. I think it might be useful to know.

I refere to the following topic :




I called to a well known stamp store in Montreal "CITY STAMP MONTREAL" for a rendez-vous as to get an expertise on the real color of the stamp and what's next for the ERD and the value

At the phone, whitout having seen the stamp, I was told that if the stamp was a real #23 with an ERD earlier than the one given in the litterature, a correction would be made and the stamp value in the catalogue would remain about the same.

Of course, if the stamp is presented on an auction, it might be sold at a hire value depending on how hard a collector wants the stamp.

On the other hand, if the stamp revealed to be #23 and was stick on a cover, the value would have raised up to $3,000 to $4,000 just like that!

What a world stamps collecting .
The more you know, the more you want to learn more

About this one??



No fewer than 18 ½¢ small queens pay the postage and fee on this 1894 registered 1¢ stamped envelope to the Latvian capital of Riga, then part of Russia

NOOOO! it's not mine. I though you might enjoy seing this beauty.
It belongs here : http://www.bnaps.org/education/eph1.asp