Lot 90077 – 1869 issue 6c blue (115), tied by mute cancel, used in combination with France 1868 20c Blue Napoleon III Lauré (3)

1869 issue 6c blue (115), tied by mute cancel, used in combination with France 1868 20c Blue Napoleon III Lauré, 3 examples (Yvert 29B), French stamps tied by a strike of railway postmark „CP2„ on 1870 entire letter to Paris, France, red « New York Apr.18 » circular datestamp, London AP 30 70 transit, GB/40c anglo-french postal treaty marking and Paris 30 avril 1870 arrival backstamps, with 10 decimes postage due.

VERY FINE. THE ONLY 6-CENT 1869 COVER KNOWN TO US SHOWING A MIXED FRANKING WITH FRENCH STAMPS. AN IMPORTANT COVER THAT DEMONSTRATES THE PECULIAR POST-TREATY PERIOD OF UNITED STATES AND FRENCH MAILS.

The expiration of the 1857 U.S.-French postal treaty on January 1, 1870, left both countries without a new agreement to govern the exchange of mails and division of postage. The U.S. Post Office Department announced that letters sent direct to and from France would be charged 10c, the rate generally applied to any country with which the U.S. had no postal treaty. Letters could also be sent by British Open Mail via England at the 4c rate. The Phantom Rate, announced only for Algeria but also applicable to France, provided another means of prepaying mail to France via England. However, these three options still did not allow a correspondent to prepay the full postage with his own country’s stamps, and covers from this post-treaty period typically show due markings of the receiving country.

True mixed frankings — so-called Group I mixed frankings — are defined in the 1869 PRA census as having stamps of two or more countries applied conjunctively to pay the rate or rates necessary to carry the letter from the sender to the addressee. Group I mixed frankings are more desirable than covers showing combination frankings for forwarding. Only very few 1869 issue Group I covers are recorded, the most famous being the Bill Gross US 1869 10 cent + France 20c/40c cover sold at Siegel auctions and estimated at the time 50.000-75.000 USD. There is also a 2c 1869+6c 1870 cover to France with a similar 20c/40c French franking. The cover offered here is the only recorded 1869 6c used used in combination with french stamp on a Group I mixed franking

Expertise: Signed Calves, Scheller and Philatelic Foundation certificate (2024)

Provenance: Schatzkes (Paris 1974 lot 24).