A Postal Cover Question

I'm quite new to philately, recently developed an interest in covers because I purchased a large lot of ephemera that had some great covers. This one puzzles me though (see photo)

Here's the source of the puzzlement:
1. How can I identify which version of the 1 cent Franklin is on the cover?
2. The round rubber stamp "Isaac Hertz, Charleston" [South Carolina] is dated December 22, 1866
3. But, the date on the letter is 1868
4. Is there any way to determine if a stamp has a grill while it is on the cover. I can't see any evidence of it from the cancellation, but I really don't know much.
5. And, I'm a little puzzled about whether the 1861 design was produced intermittently throughout the period 1861-1866, that is, were all the Scott 63 stamps produced in 1861, or is that just when they started producing them?

Thank you for your kindness and patience with a tyro.

Thank.

If the stamp is grilled you should at least be able to see it using the appropriate lighting. Side light works the best. The benefits of using light shone at a low angle of incidence are enormous and unfortunately lost on most collectors, it seems. The 1c stamps would have been printed constantly throughout the period the 1861 stamps were current.

Although this has nothing to do with the stamps on the cover, here's some information on the parties named on the cover:

Isaac Hertz & Co.:



And the addressee, Churchill, Brown and Manson of Portland, Maine:

I'll try to answer these questions:
1.) I believe, based on the scan, this is a #63. It isn't #63a (not
ultramarine in color) nor #63b (not dark blue). If it is
grilled, it could be #86 or #92. Not much chance it could
be a #85A since there are only 2 know and both are
accounted for. If it is grilled, let us know.
2.) This is not an envelope, it is a letter sheet. If it had
been and envelope, there could (or would) have been a pre-
printed corner card (as it is know in collecting) in the
upper left hand corner--where you typically see a return
address today. Since it isn't and envelope, the round
rubber stamp is the stamped identification or advertising
per se of the sender of the correspondence--wt1 gave you
good info. on that company.
3.) The 1866 date on the corner card may be the inception of the
business.
4.) As Sinclair state, viewing the stamps at a oblique angle against
a sorce of light should let you see grilling. If grills
are weak, which they can be, it may be more difficult to
see and difficult to determine a size, but even weak
grills should be noted in this manner.
5.) The issue was produced through out 1861 & thru until the
new 1869 pictorial issues became available and, could be
date cancelled beyond that depending upon supply
available at post offices and/or stamps folks may have
purchased at the tail end of production.

If I have erred in any of this information, I'm sure others will correct any mistakes I've made. Hopes this helps!

Yup Scott #63. Nice score too! I seen one similar sell for almost $400.!

To add just a bit more clarification, the Isaac Hertz marking is not a postal marking. It was applied privately by the Isaac Hertz company and so whatever is included in it is whatever Mr. Hertz wanted to be in it. As was suggested it is likely just the date he incorporated his company. For some reason he decided to make his company's advertising marking on the letter resemble a postal marking. The date the lettersheet was mailed is the date in the official post office cancellation on the stamps - 1868.

Thank you all for your help. I wasn't able to see any grills even at a low angle of incidence, so that surely narrowed the field.

I was particularly intrigued by this cover because the fellow I got it from had some very nice covers, but this is the only one he 'mimeographed' long ago -- and he wrote on the mimeograph - "1st issue?" (although I don't know what he meant by that) so I thought I'd better check it out before sticking it in an album or listing it on ebay for a few dollars.

I also like the fact that the letter is from Cuba and was probably carried to Charleston by Isaac Hertz and put in the mail there.

I also agree with the idea that it probably is from 1868 rather than 1866 - if there were a grill it would put that question to bed. board.

"First Issues" of the 1861's are referred to as the August Issues (the first month of issue for this new series of stamps). There are some differences in design and color for all the denominations verses the more common later issued stamps. Yours is not a first issue. The first issue of the one-cent was a very distinctive Indigo (very dark blue) color. To view and learn about the August issues, go to www.seigelauctions.com >tools & resources> census data and scroll down to "1861 first issue designs and colors". You will get to see all know first issues of the one-cent as well as other first issue denominations by clicking on the photo of each. Another good web sight for you to get familiar with is www.1847USA.com Lots of good info on that site. If you are listing on E-Bay, learning all you can about what you have is advisable. Good Luck!