France, 1862, Napoleon III perforated, 40c orange on yellowish, tied on cover to Paris by numeral "5089" lozenge cancellation with light strike of "Jaffa Syrie/13 Avril '68" postmark alongside, the cover originated from Jerusalem with nice strike of rare blue "Poste Francaise Jerusalem" cross postmark, bold strike of blue "Mediterranean Hotel, Jerusalem" oval backstamp; a stamp appears to have been removed at the time and a matching blue "PD" framed handstamp applied over the area of where the stamp once was, additionally red French entry postmark applied in same area, cover forwarded from Paris to Florence Italy with bold "Paris, Ministere des Finances, 25 Avril" cds, Very Fine, A rare example of the French Jerusalem cross postmark and a most unusual usage. Scott No. 27. Maury No. 23  Estimate $500 - 750. $0 (Image)