Guatemala Diligencias Cover Franked With 5c Quetzal Stamp

On June 8, this year, Spink offered a specialized collection of Guatemala formed by the late Jose Castillejo, a diplomat from Spain to the US. One of the high light is this mourning cover delivered by the Diligencia, or the stage coach, carrier. Similar to the private mail carriers, such as the Wells Fargo, each peice of mail was required to have proper postage franked by postage stamp(s) and canceled by the private carrier company handstamp. The law became effective in Guatemala in 1881 and the government fine on each violation was set at 20 pesos (enough to pay for 400 domestic letters). The Diligencias were forced out of business in less than 2 years. This is one of the two known covers and one of the most significant cover with the Quetzal stamp on it.

Very nice. I had never heard of the Diligencia service. I'd love to have one of these but its rarity most likely puts it out of my reach