1869, 1¢ buff. Tied by unusual segmented cork cancel on orange "U.S. Internal Revenue, Assessor's Office, District of Utah, Official Business" corner card cover addressed locally, reverse with rimless "Salt Lake City Utah Feb. 21" cds on back, bold "UNCLAIMED" handstamp struck seven times, Very Fine, ex-Haas, Bailar, with 1990 and 2015 P.F. certificates.
Scott No. 112; Estimate $1,500 - 2,000.

A SCARCE UTAH TERRITORIAL 1869 ISSUE USE WITH GREAT EYE APPEAL. Est. $1,500-2,000 (Image)

Est. $1,500-2,000

1869, 6¢ ultramarine. Used with 2¢ brown (113), s.e. at left, each tied by NYFM circle of wedges cancels, red "New York Paid All Br. Transit Mar 2" cds on bright orange buff 1869 cover to Naples, Italy, sender's endorsement "Prices Current", Milan (3.16) and Napoli (3.18) backstamp, flap unsealed, Very Fine.
Scott No. 115; Estimate $2,000 - 3,000.

AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE 1869 USE AT THE SCARCE 8¢ PRINTED MATTER RATE TO ITALY. Est. $2,000-3,000 (Image)

Est. $2,000-3,000

1869, 12¢ green. Circle of wedges cancel, sharp impression and rich intense color, wide well balanced margins, Extremely Fine to Superb, an exceptional large margin stamp, with 2015 P.S.E. Graded certificate (XF-Sup 95, SMQ $950).
Scott No. 117; $125. Scott $125
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Scott $125

1869, 15¢ brown & blue, type I. Tied by four-ring cancel, matching "Castroville Tex., Dec 29" cds on 3¢ pink (U58) entire to Loire, France, reverse with red "New York Paid All Br. Transit" exchange cds and matching "6" cent credit to G.B. handstamp, carried on the Maiden Voyage of Guion Line Minnesota from New York Jan. 12th to Queenstown arriving Jan. 23rd, red London Paid (1.24.70) transit cds and matching "PD" oval, Givors (1.25.70) arrival backstamp, partial backflap, Very Fine, with 2017 P.F. certificate.
Scott No. 118; Estimate $5,000 - 7,500.

THE ONLY RECORDED 15¢ TYPE I 1869 ISSUE PREPAYING THE PHANTOM RATE TO FRANCE. ONE OF ONLY 4 RECORDED TYPE I USES FROM TEXAS.

Following the expiration of the U.S.-France mail treaty on December 31, 1869, the announced rates to France were 4¢ by British Open Mail with 5 decimes due from the addressee, and 10¢ Direct with 8 decimes due from the addressee. In either case, senders would expect the recipient to be required to pay collect postage on arrival based on the announced rates, in contrast to the prior treaty period when mail could be sent from the U.S. fully prepaid. However, the New York postmaster was aware of and employed an unannounced fully-prepaid rate to France. A 12¢ rate with 8¢ credit to England was published in the foreign postage tables for Algeria, but it also applied to mail destined for France. The 8¢ credit reflected the 4p per 7.5 grams Anglo-French rate. Effective July 1, 1870, the rate from England to France was reduced to 3p per 10 grams, which consequently lowered the U.S. credit to England on prepaid covers to France from 8¢ to 6¢. These are known as the 8c and 6c Phantom Rates to France (referring to the credits to England).

This is an unusual use since the sender prepaid the 15¢ treaty rate to France that ended on December 31st 1869. There was a normal delay getting the letter from Texas to New York and it was not processed by the New York exchange office until Jan. 7th. There was considerable confusion during this time period as the steamship contracts expired on December 31st 1869 and the major lines were offered the chance to carry the mails for just the postage on the letters, but declined, so most of them refused to carry the mails in early January. As a result, even though this letter was processed Jan. 7th, it was delay until the Guion Line "Minnesota" leaving New York Jan. 12th. The New York exchange office treated this as a Phantom rate use since it was not processed through the office until January when the rate had ended. However, they should have struck the "8" cent credit verse the incorrect "6" cent handstamp. Est. $5,000-7,500 (Image)

Est. $5,000-7,500

1869, 24¢ green & violet. Light quartered cork and small portion of red transit cancels, perfect centering of design within large beautifully balanced margins, rich vibrant colors on bright paper, Superb, with 2010 P.S.E. Graded certificate (Superb 98, SMQ $14,250) with only two examples at this grade and one graded higher (98J).
Scott No. 120; $650.

WITHOUT QUESTION ONE OF THE FINEST USED EXAMPLES OF THE 1869 24¢ PICTORIAL ISSUES IN EXISTENCE. Scott $650
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Scott $650

1869, 24¢ green & violet, center inverted. Light quartered cork cancels, strong colors; reperforated, F.-V.F. appearance, with 2015 P.S.E. certificate.
Scott No. 120b; $37,500.

STILL A VERY PRESENTABLE EXAMPLE OF THE RARE 24¢ PICTORIAL ISSUE WITH INVERTED CENTER. Scott $37,500
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Scott $37,500

1869, 30¢ ultramarine & carmine. O.g., lightly hinged, choice centering within beautifully balanced margins all around, rich vibrant colors and exceptional freshness, with full intact perforations and a well defined grill impression, an Extremely Fine gem, the illustrated example in the Scott catalog, with 2001 and 2015 P.F. certificates.
Scott No. 121; $5,000.

A WONDERFUL MINT LIGHTLY HINGED EXAMPLE OF THE 1869 30¢ PICTORIAL ISSUE. Scott $5,000
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Scott $5,000

1869, 90¢ carmine & black. Slightly disturbed o.g., well centered amid huge margins all around, rich colors, a Very Fine and choice jumbo, one of the largest 90¢ Pictorial issues we have ever encountered, with 2017 P.F. and P.S.E. certificates.
Scott No. 122; $12,000.

A REMARKABLE LARGE MARGIN MINT EXAMPLE OF THE 1869 90¢ PICTORIAL ISSUE. Scott $12,000
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Scott $12,000

1869, 90¢ carmine & black. Faint unobtrusive cork cancel, choice centering amid wide margins, bold colors, Extremely Fine, an attractive lightly canceled high value, with 1971, 2002 & 2015 P.F. certificates, the latter Graded (XF 90, SSV $4,000).
Scott No. 122; $1,900. Scott $1,900
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Scott $1,900