Way Packet Febry 24/70, manuscript marking on cover with ornate printed corner card of the "Thatcher Brothers Mercantile House" in Pueblo, C.T. with printed address of the same firm in Trinidad, Colorado, franked with manuscript canceled 1869, 3¢ ultramarine, with original letterhead bill enclosure; few minor spots, otherwise Very Fine, a most unusual and rare usage, with three examples of this way marking are known all from the Thatcher Bros. & Co. correspondence. Estimate  $750 - 1,000. While there has been much speculation about this cover, we believe that it is an express letter handed directly to the railway mail or express agent to avoid delay at the post office. A similar example realized $2,200 hammer in our February 2008 sale. $0 (Image)