Scott # 9 & 25 On Maine Cover

Not knowing where to post this I felt better starting a new thread. The is a cover addressed to Gorham, Maine. Or at least I think it's a cover, might be some sort of wrapper. What would have a 4c rate in 1857?

On cover, tied by a hand stamp cancel (that I cannot identify) are a Scott #25, I'm thinking from plate 4... no inner lines. And a Scott #9, 4L1L I believe, single recut on the bottom, T relief, Type IV.


Gorham Maine cover or wrapper

Back, doesn't look like a cover

4L1l Scott #9, single bottom recut, T relief, Type IV

Scott #25 plate 4 possibly

I'll take a guess at the cancel and say its Philadelphia, PA.

Holy Hand Stamps, Batman! You might just be right!

There are several possibilities for a 4¢ rate: 3¢ domestic + 1¢ carrier; newspaper weighing between 5 and 6 ounces; package of small newspapers or pamphlets weighing between 8 and 9 ounces; book between 3 and 4 ounces. I don't see a carrier marking, so it was probably some type of printed matter. The way the wrapper is folded, there is no way to know the original size, or to guess what the weight or contents were

It looks to me like the address has been added much later to a large piece of a wrapper with the stamps. Ink is not correct for the period.

I thought that initially, didn't look quite right. But I focused on the hand cancel seeing if it was added at a later date. What really struck me was having both an imperf (#9) and a perfed (#25) stamp for the time period. Maybe not too odd, but I could not recall seeing that in the past.

The Philadelphia postmark is genuine and it is a legit rather late use of #9 and an early use of #25. Just the address was added to the fragment.

The odds are high that this use of the one-cent stamp was to pay a to-the-mails carrier fee, an especially common occurrence in Philadelphia at the time. Special carrier markings existed but were not always used.

Hi Moyock --

I plated your #25 to position 63R7.

That said -- can you take a look at your stamp and confirm for me that the perf hole at bottom right cuts off the GD -- which, if it does -- then this one is nailed as 63R7.

A reference copy of my 63R7 is attached which clearly shows the GD.

The most notable thing about this position is how close the RFL is to the design -- and there are not many like it on plates 6 and 7 -- as I could only find 3 other candidates with "RFL / design" spacing that close -- and they were easily eliminated. Once I landed on 63R7 -- everything else checked out -- except for having you confirm that the perf hole cuts off the GD.

Regards // ioagoa

Hi ioagoa,

Thank you for looking onto the platting of the #25.

Apologies but I cannot confirm nor deny the existence of a LRGD. If I squint enough there appears to be the slightest shading... There just wasn't enough of the perf area to identify a guide dot. I whipped out my trusty microscope and snapped a picture.

Hi Moyock —

Based on your macro scan of the LR corner — I am confident that your stamp is 63R7.

Regards // ioagoa

Dudley - I am afraid the odds of this being from a larger carrier rated cover are extremely small. Although a few 3c plus 1c uses are known from Philly in 1856 and 1857 (see my Middendorf net price sale for two examples) they are rare. The common uses from Philly are from 1860 to 1863 which would be a very late use of a #25 from Philadelphia. A use on a wrapper is much more likley.