US No. 1 W/ MS Canx - Does It Belong On The Cover?

Picked this cover up a couple years ago from a Merritt Island, FL estate sale. Cover was still on its Robert A. Siegle Auction Galleries sales card. The sales card notes bidder number, Lot No. 220 and sales price of $42.50. Some research on the Siegle website disclosed that it came from Sale No. 444 held January 30, 1974. The auction description states:

"5c Red Brown (1). Margins to touched, ms. cancel, not tied, Magenta"Hartford, Ct-'pmk., matching "Pointed Hand & Paid'& Large Bold "5".Small sealed tear bottom of cover, Fine & attractive E IV"

Yes, that is a small hand with index finger pointing to "PAID".

There is no photo of the cover provided in the auction catalog.

Am I correct to question the legit use of the stamp on this cover even though RAS Auction Galleries did not? Comments welcome.

Dave

Distance less than 300 miles, so single weight rate is 5c.
If it was deemed overweight the stamp could be valid.

Or it could have been a single rate stampless cover.

I would need to view the cover in person to be sure, but it looks OK from the scan. For 1847 issue covers, you should review the on-line census hosted on the USPCS webpage - https://www.uspcs.org/resource-cent...over-census/. The census is an invaluable source of information for 1847 issue covers. If you click on "Advanced Search" you can select just the covers from Hartford, CT. If you look at the covers you will see that Hartford frequently used manuscript cancellations and also used the pointing hand paid marking on covers in combination with manuscript cancels. See for example census numbers 347 (with good PF Cert), 349 and 350.

Yes, you are clearly correct. For some reason I was thinking they always used the 5 as a killer, but clearly not. That same pen criss-cross appears often in addition to the 5, etal.

Many thanks to txstamp and SPQR for their input. SPQR, I went to the USPCS website you suggested and using the Advanced Search found six covers from Hartford, CT to New Bedford, MA. All six are from the same correspondence that my cover shown above is from. Four of the six are certified with only one of those deemed fake having the 5¢ U.S. No. 1 added to a stampless cover.

I will go about having the cover shown above added to the USPCS census for U.S. Scott No. 1's on cover.

Thanks again to txstamp and SPQR for assistance.

Dave