Postal History, Stampless Covers And What Determines Their Value

I have a number of stamp less covers which I inherited from my grandfathers estate. He was the Ulster County, NY, Clerk of Courts for a number of years and got the material from their archives. He passed away in the late 1950's and his estate maintained the stamp collection and its' materials for a number of years. The estate decided to sell the collection in the early 1980's and attempted to dispose of some of the materials at that time. As part of their investigation I took the album to New York City and with an appointment got a cash offer for the album.
I was able to buy the material for the offer from the dealer as I had the interest in having the collection. I have tried to maintain everything and now wish to part with some of that material. I have been learning here and elsewhere about some of the items and wish to expand that knowledge now. My interest has been as a hobbyist and I realize that many of those who contribute here are much more knowledgeable than myself. I now will try to post some of the more interesting items and see what advice I might receive from the people here who might wish to comment on what I have. I have sold some items on eBay for what I consider to be a fair enough value, getting mixed results as one might expect.

Thanks in advance.

If the stampless cover has an ordinary postmark, the value is a function of who is collecting that area and how many collectors. If an unpopular town, county, or postmark the value will be minimal. The fancy postmarks are better as the buyers are not restricted to the collectors of the particular geographic area, but appeal to a larger collecting group. The US Classics Society has been updating the American Stampless Cover Catalogue and you can find PDF copies of the last editions of this work here:
https://www.uspcs.org/resource-cent...nic-library/

Thank you for posting that information here. It will be most helpful in my attempt to research what I have.

Here is a FREE franked legal document, apparently postally used from Wards Bridge to an Attorney in Kingston with a judgement value which appears to be from 1805. I think this is the oldest document that I possess. It has the parties listed as the same last name Stickney and the Attorney Broadhead which I believe are prominent families in the Kingston area of Ulster county, NY.

Here is a cover from 1850 Newburgh, NY




The letter indicates that is the town CDS although this is not a clear strike.

I have posted some additional items with descriptions on eBay. Postmarks from Delphi, New York and Rondout. Nothing remarkable and varied condition of the items. I believe they are priced reasonably for their age and condition, I will be posting more items as I evaluate them using the ASCC reference provided above and thinking the interest shown by the community is remarkable. Thank you all.

Here are a couple of additional covers that I have just scanned.
One is signed by Forbus T Ruggles who appears to have been acting for
Charles H. Ruggles, judge and congressman. Who was born February10,1789 in New Milford, Connecticut. He began his law practice in Kingston, New York and lived in the state of New York throughout the rest of his life. Ruggles was a member of the State Assembly in 1820 and was elected to Congress(1821-1823) as a representative from Poughkeepsie. He was also a delegate to the State Constitutional Convention in 1846. Ruggles served as circuit judge and vice-chancellor of the Second Judicial District of New York (1833-1846) and in 1847 he was elected to the court of appeals and served there till 1855.

This information came from the New York Public Library's Collection.




So here is a CDS with stamped PAID & 5 and a handwritten Paid 5.

Here is one that is from 1828-29. Albany Red CDS with the announcement of a debtors assignement of property.

The content has a news paper clipping included. Apparently the postage at that time was $0.20 which seems like a lot to pay for a journey of around 50 miles

I have sold 6 of my folded stampless letters through their postings on eBay and have gotten quite a bit of interest in this thread and those items that I have put out there for sale. Being that they are all over 170 years old it is most gratifying that collectors are interested in the history they represent. I will continue to put some more up when time allows, and you will see most of them here first. Thanks everyone!

Delphi, NY and Paid 3 in a red circle cover.
With a request of the clerk to search for warranty deeds from 1793 - 1851 and the results. Dated Nov. 20 1851.

Here is a cover with Ithaca NY CDS in Blue and Manuscript 5 for paid postage. It is dated Feb 23, 1845.

Here is the highest post value cover in this group at 37 1/2 cents.




I believe it was posted on March 6th, 1845 and arrived in Kingston on March 25th, 1845. Apparently from Walworth, MS. It may be a place in Natchez, MS as I find a street there and some mention of the Walworth name. I think the cost of the postage was because of the distance involved.

Posted a couple of more on eBay should anyone be interested

Another with very faint markings, Paid and 5 stamped in red and Manuscript paid as well

Honest question: did I miss the part where you identified your eBay user name so we could actually see the listings? Otherwise, this is just an interesting museum of philatelic covers to me.

You did. Click on the ebay symbol in Chipshot's post.