Paiid 3 Cancel And Damaged Stamp Question?

OK I WAS BROWSING Jim Fortes postal history site this morning and notices a cover from Luthersburg (next town over from Clearfield, PA.) and noticed it has a PAID 3 cancel and a beat-up Scott #114. It also looks like a stamp either fell off or may have been replaced? What's going on with this? Is the postal rate corrected or changed or is it just a beat up cover? Thank you.

It looks the stamp originated on the cover, but is just really beat up!

Yeah that's what I thought. Thank you though.

Possibly the stamp got beat up in an attempt to remove it by simply peeling it off, which would account for what appear to be the outlines of where a stamp once was.

It was not unusual for handstamps such as "PAID 3" which were used between 1851 and 1855 to be used as a cancelled for many years later. I've seen examples routinely used on cover from the 1870s and 1880s

The pattern of the paper excision on the bottom edge and going into the right corner looks like it was done by a paper and glue eating varmint. The cancellation, and the perf tip marks (glue spots) where the rest of the stamp would have been, give the impression that this stamp originated on the cover.

Postmaster General Joseph Holt's order of July 23, 1860 required the use of a separate killer to cancel stamps and banned the used of date stamps for that purpose. Many smaller post offices had to buy their own cancelling devices so its not unusual to see handstamps such as the 'paid 3 in circle,' left over from the stampless era, continue to be used to save the expense of purchasing a new canceller. Either that, or the clerk just grabbed what was handy and whacked away.

The upper-right corner of the stamp was missing when the cover was mailed; the "PAID" cancel ties the stamp correctly to the cover. However the rest of the damage was caused by age. Look carefully and you'll see gum residue and perforation outlines on the side and bottom. The stamp was printed about 1869 -- the stamp is 146 years old-- think about the gum and how and where the cover was stored -- both took their toll -- the stamp simply disintegrated based on age. It was bumped, bent, caught on something.

Have you ever seen or noticed mucilage crackling or crazing on the back of your stamps? Well, what is happening to your stamps now…the gum is drying out --shrinking at a faster rate than the paper--and eventually the stress-tension differences and dryness will cause the the stamp to crack and fracture. The paper simply disintegrates. This is what has happen on the left, on the bottom and the corner of this stamp.