Lot 11 Newfoundland #15b 5c Beaver , 1859-1864 First Cents Issue, A Very Fine Used Cover, Unauthorized Diagonal Bisect On Cover Fragment Faintly Tied By Two Faint Strikes Of 14-Bar Dumb Circular Grid Cancel, With A Damaged 10c Violet Prince Consort

A very fine used cover of the 5c beaver from the 1859-1864 First Cents Issue, unauthorized diagonal bisect on cover fragment faintly tied by two faint strikes of 14-bar dumb circular grid cancel, with a damaged 10c violet prince consort.

The 10c violet prince consort was added after the fact and tied faintly with a fake grid cancel similar to the other two. We don’t have a cert for this, and it is entirely possible that the entire thing is faked. The stamps are on the left side of the envelope, we note, which is the opposite of what they should be. According to my research indicated that this is a Saint John precancel for bulk business mail. If you look above the cents on the 5c you can just make out the symbol in the cancel. So it is possible that the 5c is correctly tied, but it isnt clear waht the rate would have been unless the 10c is legitimate. It could be if the cancel not aligning is also a Saint John '1' Precancel and this stamp was affixed & cancelled again with the same cancel which could be.

Scott values this at $4000. The stamp offered here grades 75 as follows:

Centering/Margins: 35/60

Paper Freshness: 5/5

Colour: 5/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of Visible Paper Flaws: 5/5

Perforations: 10/10

Cancellation: 10/10