Wells, Fargo & Co. Express/San Francisco. Blue oval handstamp (Leutzinger type 3-1) struck twice and tying 1851 1¢ blue type IV strip of three (just cut in at bottom & right stamp with light crease) on cover with printed corner card in a shield design for the San Francisco Agency of the Accessory Transit Co. of Nicaragua, addressed to Marysville, Very Fine, a unique usage & a wonderful exhibition item, ex-Gibson, Pearce, illustrated in Coburn's Letters of Gold (page 92). Scott No. 9  Estimate $2,000 - 3,000. The Accessory Transit Company was established by shipping magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt to transport people and freight across Nicaragua by riverboat and stagecoach. Vanderbilt had obtained an exclusive contract with the government of Nicaragua allowing for transit across the country in 1849. Vanderbilt's Independent Line of steamships began carrying passengers and cargo including letters "ahead of the mails" between San Francisco and New York via Nicaragua in 1851. The Nicaragua Route, which was shorter than the Panama Route, continued in use until 1857. $0 (Image)