Lot 292 (C) New Brunswick #1 3d Red Crown & Heraldic Flowers, 1851-1860 Pence Issue, A Fine Cover Franked With 2 Good-VG Singles, Sent From Saint John To NY, Clear Strike Of Blue VR CDS, Listed In Jarett As Cancel Type #261, Scarce

A fine cover of the 3d red Crown & Heraldic Flowers from the 1851-1860 Pence Issue franked with 2 good-vg singles, sent from Saint John to NY, clear strike of blue VR CDS, listed in Jarett as cancel type #261, scarce. There is a vertical file fold, which affects the right hand stamp. Both stamps have clear margins on 3 sides, but cut just slightly in on the top margins. Both are tied to the cover by generic oval barred grid cancels. There is a nice strike of a large blue CDS which Reads " New Brunswick VR 1852 X in three lines. This cancel is listed in Jarett at $1.25 on cover, which is the same price that a 20c Quebec Tercentenary was listed at in the same catalogue. So, in today's money that is about $100 cancel. There is a black arched "Paid 10 Cents" handstamp on the front, which most cross-border mail at the time had and an April 30, 1852 St. John CDS originating cancel on the back. There are no arrival backstamps. The folded envelope has no edge tears or major stains.

Unitrade values this at $900, for a fine cover with a single 3d, and $2,000 for a fine 6d cover. Our estimate of the value for the condition offered is $1,500.

The pence issues are notorious for condition problems. First of all the paper used was very soft and fragile: it tears very easily, creases easily and thins very, very easily. As a result, very few stamps have survived without at least one of these three faults. Many have been repaired or rebacked to conceal these faults. The genuine paper should have a somewhat rough surface under magnification, and will often show very fine mesh. If it is smooth, lacks any bluish undertone and shows no mesh at all, even when held to backlight, it very likely has been rebacked. The second major condition issue with these is small to no margins. This is because the printing plates for these were laid down by hand, by just 2 or three individuals. Spacing between the impressions was often no more than 1 mm, to even less, and occasionally slightly more, so that margins are rarely more than 1/2 mm wide. So, quite often a stamp will appear to have fewer than 4 margins, even when it does. Full margins on all sides is XF to superb. VF stamps will have 4 margins of 1/2 mm width.

This is a consignment lot. Accordingly, a 15% buyer's premium will be added to the hammer price.