Lot 30107 – 1872, 1/2 Sen Matsuda printing, plate 3, vertical pair on cover, earliest recorded usage

1872, 1/2 sen brown, Matsuda printing, plate 3, vertical pair, positions 15 / 23, irregular perforation at lower right, very fresh used on reverse of cover from Tokyo to Shimodate (destination within 100km distance), tied by two strikes of framed non-standard “Ken” postmark on dispatch. Alongside with framed “(year of) Water Monkey 10th Moon 12th Day / Tokyo P. O.” (Gregorian 12 November 1872) datestamp.

The earliest usage recorded of the lowest “Cherry Blossom” denomination.