U315 cut square UPSS Die 88, St. Helen, MI, diagonal laid manila paper, EFOs

Item Specifics

Country

United States

Catalog Number

U315

Stamp Type

Postal Stationery

Condition

Used

Stamp Format

Single

Topic

People - Politicians

Year of Issue

1890

Item Description

35x43mm (top and left side). 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. This is a Die 88 example on diagonal laid manila paper and the Scott catalog number is U315. There is no watermark. The partial circular date stamp (CDS) is probably from St. Helen, Michigan. This is based on the process of elimination of other “___ELEN” municipality possibilities in a state where the state abbreviation ends in “H.” The obliteration is a four-ring bullseye design. The cut square is creased in the upper right-hand corner.

The stamps in the Union City 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.

Mail was arriving at Union City from all over the country via three railroads. Much of that mail was from small cities and towns in Indiana and Ohio and to a lesser degree from smaller communities in other nearby states. In other words, most of the fancy and geometric cancels probably originated within 150 to 200 miles of Union City. St. Helen is 288 miles north of Union City and was a scheduled stop on the Michigan Central Railroad.

I couldn't find early population data for St. Helen. The entire population in Roscommon County in 1890 was only 2,033. The Village of Roscommon is the county seat. It's population in 1890 was 511. Timber harvesting, milling and lumber exports were the major industry at St. Helen. Lumber was also a major factor in the Union City economy and was probably the reason this cut square from St. Helen found its way into the Union City hoard. This is the only St. Helen cancellation I found in the hoard.

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. Some display progressive characteristics.

The primary variety on this cut square is the serif on the lower bar of each letter “E” in the UNITED STATES POSTAGE text. Serifs are usually absent, but I have identified over 150 Die 88 cut squares in the hoard with the serifs. When they do exist, the serifs vary in size from one cut square to the next. The serifs in this cut square are about as large as they get. These large serifs are the least common in the Union City hoard.

This copy also has a v-shaped notch in the outer frame line above the “TE” of UNITED. I have identified 22 Die 88 copies from the hoard with this notch. This copy also has two other variety characteristics. One of those is the relatively common ring of green ink around the hair ribbon at the back of the president’s neck and at his eye. The other is the serifs on the “T” of CENTS. Only two copies in the hoard contain all of these characteristics.

You may combine this item with other stamp sale items to save on shipping. Thank you for looking.

All stamps are carefully packaged for safe delivery.

APS Member

Seller Information

Seller

keesindy (4625)

Registered Since

04/11/2016

Feedback

100%

Store

Stamps from Keesindy

• Sales

Item Location

Indiana, United States

Ships To

United States

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.