Confederate Stampless Cover John A Cobb Aide De Camp

The treasure you find when going though auction lots--- I found this cover in an auction lot. On the back someone wrote 1862, I researched a little and found that this was a letter written by John Allison Cobb to his brother Howell Cobb Jr. but here is what makes this a teasure: Their father was: Howell Cobb.
Anybody have any idea on the value?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howell_Cobb

I don't know about the value. I have a cigar box full of mail from the Cobb family. Someday I'll get around to researching it all. I like this cover as it has a couple nice stamps that were used but never cancelled...

agree Mike Q

I am trying to figure this out. Howell Cobb was a high level politician in the Confederate government. Why would his son be sending him a letter with US stamps in 1862? And why is there no cancelation on the stamps? I cannot make sense of this item.

A condensed biography of Howell Cobb is at this link:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/f...gr&GRid=8962

Is the cover posted by MikeQ from a son of Howell Cobb? I dont see an indication of the sender.

Why wasn't it cancelled? That would have an absolute must at that time. It either wasnt mailed or the stamps was added later or maybe contrived? Also why would the postmaster pen "PAID" on it and not cancel the postage? If it as sent collect and the guy picked it up and paid the postmaster I doubt he would have affixed the necessary postage and wrote paid on it? I like it and I think it's interesting but I think it warrants further investigation. Wouldn't it have been 10¢ at this time or do I need another cup of coffee? lol Still, all-in-all a nice looking cover.

The "paid" seems to be in the same ink as "key with trunk" and may not be a postal marking at all, but might relate to the contents of the envelope. It seems likely that the cover was never mailed, since there is no philatelic purpose to adding uncancelled stamps to the cover.

This is probably true. Possible scenarios could be that the so-called "trunk" was shipped to the recipient privately and instead of mailing the "key", it was hand delivered or possibly included in the shipment with the trunk.

On the cover to Hon. Howell Cobb look at the writing above the words "Paid DT". I have seen similar markings on letters from this era and always thought they were a designation of some kind of "express" delivery. I would appreciate comments from the experts out there if possible. By the way, I do have other letters from the Cobb and Lamar families that were stamped but apparently never mailed. One was from a wife to her Col. husband. He was killed in the Civil War and it looks like she never mailed it possibly having learned of his death prior to mailing.

I bet this mystery has something to do with the missing Confederate gold.

If it were a key for a trunk being hand delivered, then why pay in Stamps ? If it was a tax then the Stamps should have been cancelled.

perhaps the Paid was written on by the postmaster for the cash transaction to deliver the cover? but then why was not the postage cancelled?