Lot 50123 – 1858–59 ½d Rose Perforated – Multiple Stamps on Entire

1858–59 ½d Rose Perforated – Multiple Stamps on Entire

½d rose, perforated, comprising three singles, a pair, a strip of three, and a strip of four, all tied by Toronto Grid on entire letter 29 April 1859, with red PAID to Scranton, Pennsylvania. This represents a double letter rate. Showpiece.

Only one other franking is known with more Pence stamps: the famous thirteenfold internal letter, and another featuring a block of 12 ½d imperforate, illustrated in Boggs.

Note: For ½d stamps, purchases of 20 or more allowed a 5% discount. The stamps were valid for letter postage, as confirmed in a letter dated 11 January 1858 to a postmaster, though such usages were exceptional. Illustrated in Arfken.

Provenance: Morton, Lea, Nickle, Carrington, Wilkinson, Hackmey.

Expertise: Cert. Vincent Graves Greene (2002)