Hey, Did You Get That At Baskin Robbins Or Ebay?

Good lord.

I assure you that it is totally possible to find more then one "find of a lifetime". I have.

I've found quite a few things.

I'm just giving him a well deserved hard time.

Winston - which version of 46L12 is this?
III or IIIA?

It is known both ways.

is that a 7 or a nine with unofficial perforation, aside from all else that was said about it?

M-m, it is a #20 plate 12, relief B. The date is definitely 1851 and the stamps were added after the original stamps were removed. There is no way the cancel can be 1861. The top of the number is square like a "5" not rounded like a "6". Those stamps are 9 years apart. Not likely that they were actually mailed together. The plate blur to the right of orn R matches 46L12 closely. Good plating, txstamp.

Later on, when I get some time I do want to study this cover, but for right now, so people understand -

1) there are no unofficial perfs in this thread

2) 46L12 is a rare major variety of the 1c stamp. It is highly sought after, and brings $ at major auctions.

On that alone, this is a very notable find.

Congrats Winston, for bringing another important item into the light.

3) The #9 pair 71-72L1L is also nice. 71 is an invert, and 72 is one of my personal favorite double transfers. Those are not rare stamps, but are very neat fun varieties any 1c collector would want.

Now, the cover as a whole..we'll see. Could get interesting - pro & con.

OK. So this was fun and entertaining. This is a remarkable cover with so much going on, most obvious is the combination of perforated and imperf stamps. Really neat having both eras represented on the same cover. Then there is the peculiarity of the stamps themselves. Starting with the Plate 1L stamps, it is pretty cool to have a triple transfer, one inverted, next to such a pronounced double transfer as the 72L1L. Never a dull moment collecting stamps of 1851-61. Then of course we have the perforated stamp from position 46L12, an incredible stamp in it's own right and one of the key stamps from Plate 12. I am of the opinion that a reasonable case can be made to call all 46L12 stamps Type III. This stamp submitted to the PF today would likely be called a Type IIIa. Saying that does not at all constitute a yield to the PF!!!

There is no compelling reason or evidence to doubt the genuineness of all aspects of the cover. Unusual franking is just that.

No evidence other than the cancellation date and cancels on the stamps not touching the envelope and the stamps being so far out of period from each other. I see no evidence at all that they were mailed with that cover. All evidence says no way.

Here is an image showing the original gum line from the original stamps:

I'd have to agree with Jaxom. This is a "fabricated" cover. Has value as stamps but not as postal history.

The E.K.U. of plate 12 is January 25th, 1861.

Not my area of expertise, but my first thought when I saw this, was the whole cover seemed faked in relation to the stamps.

For the nattering nabobs of the forum, here are a couple of more pieces to add to the discussion... more later.

Paraphrasing a felon to prove something genuine. Never know what might happen on a stamp board.