Lot 30049 – 1871, 200 mon vermilion, plate 2, vertical strip of five, and 100 mon pair on cover

THE LARGEST MULTIPLE OF THE RARE 200 MON PLATE 2 ON COVER 1871, 200 mon vermilion, plate 2, vertical strip of five, positions 6 / 14 / 22 / 30 / 38, with positional pinhole at bottom left of position 38, with just two stamps touched at right, otherwise well margined showing a strong impression, in combination with 100 mon, plate 1, vertical pair, positions 26 / 34, wide margins, applied on reverse of large cover from Tokyo (Musashi Province) to Kakegawa (Totomi Province), tied by two complete strikes of large « Tokyo Kensazumi » postmark, showing clear framed dispatch « (year of ) Water Monkey 2nd Moon 11th Day/Tokyo Post Office » (Gregorian19 March 1872) datestamp in red alongside. The 1,200 mon franking was twice the 600 mon rate to Kakegawa. Some imperfections including small tear at top left in the pair and tiny tear in position 22 in the strip, the folded envelope with slight insect damage not affecting the franking, these not detracting from the great significance of this unique impressive showpiece. A unique franking including the 200 mon plate 2 with the largest used multiple on or off cover we have recorded. This multiple being of great significance as the plate 2 is by far scarcer than plate 1. This strip is a complete vertical column (6th) in the sheet.Note: The JSCA mentions a block of 10 as the largest known used multiple, but the book of the Ota Katsumi collection mentions a used strip of five as the largest known.