ID: 35436661
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U311 1890 cut square UPSS Die 88 different paper texture, gash beside "2" EFO
$2.50
Seller:
keesindy (4598)
35x41mm. This cut square was among thousands of stamps and cut squares collected from businesses at Union City, Indiana, in the early 1890s. Most of the readable postmarks in this hoard are from 1891 to 1893. Most of the 11-12,000 cut squares have the two ... Read More
Item Specifics
- Country
- United States
- Catalog Number
- U311
- Stamp Type
- Postal Stationery
- Condition
- Used
- Stamp Format
- Single
- Topic
- People - Politicians
- Year of Issue
- 1890
Item Description
35x41mm. This cut square was among thousands of stamps and cut squares collected from businesses at Union City, Indiana, in the early 1890s. Most of the readable postmarks in this hoard are from 1891 to 1893. Most of the 11-12,000 cut squares have the two-cent green Washington indicium that the United Postal Stationery Society (UPSS) identifies as Die 88. The Scott catalog number for this example on laid white paper is U311. Although the paper’s weight is about the same as the typical white paper, the texture is slightly different. It is not quite as smooth and that may explain the fuzzy appearance of the indicium inking. The indicium color is a darker green than usual. Again, the paper texture may explain the darker color. There is no visible watermark.The embossing process slightly damaged the paper above the president’s ear. From the back it appears to be a 2.5mm tear. I am told that the black ink spots on the right above and below the cancel are from the cancelling device’s hardware that got inked and then touched the paper during the cancellation process.
This cancel is very common in the Union City hoard. The International Machine cancel was introduced at Indianapolis in 1892. (See April-June 1996 Indiana Postal History Society Newsletter, page 19.) This cancel was used by multiple Indiana cities until 1895. Mail with this same cancel was probably arriving from other states as well. The post office of origin for most of the machine cancels in the hoard is unknown.
The stamps in the hoard had been soaked from the envelopes around the time of their collection. The stamps and cut squares were then sorted and tied tightly with string and sewing thread into bundles of 100 each. That process protected most of the items from damage and aging for over a century. I inherited and began unpacking the bundles in 2000. None of these sale items from the hoard has ever been in a collection.
The Die 88 stamped envelopes were printed in huge quantities. They display a wide variety of inking problems and die varieties, many of which fall under the EFO (errors, freaks and oddities) umbrella. Except for a few newly identified items that are not yet confirmed, these variations are found on multiple copies and have been documented by others. Some of these variations display progressive characteristics. The variety displayed on this copy is a white gash at the left side of the numeral “2.” I found eight copies of this variety in the Union City hoard.
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Seller Information
- Seller
- keesindy (4598)
- Registered Since
- 04/11/2016
- Feedback
- 100%
- Store
- Stamps from Keesindy
Sales History
The listing has not been sold.
- Item Location
- Indiana, United States
- Ships To
- United States
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- Shipping Instructions
- About 3½ years ago, I stopped selling and shipping outside the US due to new postal rules and rapidly rising costs. The USPS is raising postal rates again in January 2019. Today, December 25, 2018, due to the continuing rise in the cost of postage and associated fees, I am reluctantly raising my general shipping fee for the first time in many years. My sales here at HipStamp involve no additional charge for the purchase of multiple stamps. Shipping is via USPS unless otherwise specified. Be sure to contact me before making your purchases if you have questions.
- Returns Accepted
- Yes
- Returns Policy
- All items may be returned unless otherwise stated in the listing. Of course, I cannot be responsible if uninsured items are damaged during shipping. If you are dissatisfied with a purchase, contact me within 7 days of your receipt of the item to make arrangements for returning it. If I have made an error in my listing or the item is not as described, you will receive a full reimbursement plus the pre-agreed-upon cost to return the item.
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