The Classic Cancel

Item #	Description	Price
8900	Four official stamp envelopes, one of the five types used for the official card proofs: Justice, Executive, Interior, and Navy. All are VF and intact. While I prefer to sell as a group, any individual envelope may be purchased for $30.	SOLD
8158	#O2, fine and fresh 2¢ Interior, canceled by a VF strike of Wheel of Fortune fancy commercial killer, quite scarce on this issue. Stamp has an extremely well pressed crease that is invisible in fluid.	$50
7707	#O3, fine 3¢ Agriculture, fresh and sound, canceled by a VF SOTN strike of purple solid 5-point star in circle killer. Attractive fancy cancel.	$25
7052	#O3, fine 3¢ Agriculture, sound, canceled by a black leaf killer. All fancy killers on Agriculture Department stamps are scarce.	$20
6759	#O3, XF 3¢ Agriculture, tiny corner perf bend at UL, otherwise sound, canceled by a SOTN strike of a negative 5-point star in circle. Fancy killers scarce on the Agriculture stamps.	$25
7544	#O6, F-VF 12¢ Agriculture, sound, attractive 4-ring target killer. Scott catalog $260.	$150
8546	#O12 F+ 3¢ Executive, tied to VF intact EXECUTIVE MANSION envelope, WASHINGTON, D.C. JUL 21 postmark (1877 docketing) by diamond grid killer. Cover sent to T. C. Rogers, Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Stamp has a few short perforations at bottom right and a 3mm pre-application sealed tear at upper right. Scarce and attractive cover. Scott catalog $1200.	~~$575~~ ~~$475~~ $450
7526	#O12, fine 3¢ Executive, sound, quartered cork killer. Scott catalog: $225.	$45
7638	#O15, fair-fine 1¢ Interior, tiny perf faults at bottom, tied on intact small, unsealed U.S. Patent Office corner envelope, paying the circular mail rate from Washington, DC to Canandaigua, NY. Small cover stain at lower left. Scarce use on small envelope.	SOLD
8693	#O18, fine 6¢ Interior, sound, tied by quartered cork killer with WASHINGTON, D.C. JUN 10 (1876 docketing on reverse) postmark on Department of Interior Office of Indian Affairs corner envelope to Minnetonka, MN, slight reduction at right.	$95
9272	#O18, VF, sound 6¢ Interior, canceled by a fine, typical strike of very scarce "USED UP" killer of Traverse City, Michigan (Cole ML-89).	$50
6754	#O21, 15¢ Interior, F-VF+, sound, bearing a superb SOTN strike of intense black cross fancy killer.	$25
8613	#O24, F-VF 90¢ Interior, tiny, almost imperceptible thin, otherwise sound, with SOTN unusual 5 bar killer with internal circle. This is the scarce major double transfer pos. 17 stamp with all features clear. Scott catalog $250.	SOLD
8499	#281, fine, sound, on VF intact Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey corner penalty cover, WASHINGTON D.C. DEC 17 1904 machine postmark, to London, England. NEW YORK, N.Y.-FOR. B'CH 1904 DEC 18 transit and LONDON DE 29 04 receiver on reverse. Ex-Login.	$75
8559	#O27, fair-fine 3¢ Justice, sound, canceled by VF+ SOTN strike of large star in crescent fancy fraternal killer. Unusual fancy killers like this are exceptionally difficult to locate on any value Justice Department stamp. Terrific!	SOLD
8456	#304, fine 5¢ Lincoln 1903 issue, New York, NY OCT 30 1903 postmark, paying UPU rate to Germany on VF intact Department of Justice penalty envelope (blue printing), two small tears at left, Wm. Henry Willis Referee in Bankruptcy corner. Department of Justice penalty mail used to foreign destinations is quite scarce.	SOLD
7690	#O39. F-VF 7¢ Navy, sound, lightly toned, canceled by a leaf killer of unknown origin. Scarce stamp, especially with fancy cancel.	~~$80~~ ~~$75~~ $60
7971	Post Office Department, New York, intact penalty cover, mailed from Havana, Cuba to Germany. Not having separate penalty envelopes for the U.S. Cuban postal administration, the cover had its "New York" address scratched out and "Havana - Cuba Register" penned in its place. The cover bears a purple 3-line "HAVANA, CUBA / APR 2 1899 / REGISTERED No. ___ [187]" hand stamp, and two strikes of 2-line "CHAS. F. W. NEELY / Chief, Bureau of Finance" identifying the sender. The cover bears 22 centavo postage composed of four different U.S. provisional surcharged stamps (Scott Cuba: #221, #223Ax2, #224x2, #225x2, all with faults) canceled by four strikes of purple "HAVANA, CUBA" in oval postmarks. (As of the date of mailing, assuming a matching of U.S. 5¢ per ounce UPU rate and 8¢ registry rate for postage to Germany with the 22 c. Cuban postage on this cover, the postage either represents a double weight cover overpaid by 4 c. or a triple rate cover underpaid by 1 c.) The cover is addressed to Mr. M. O. Borrmann, P.O, Aue, Saxony, Germany (23 4 99 AUE back stamp). I note by examination under bright light that the address under the label and the address on the label are, unexplainedly, the same. I suspect that the addressee was a stamp dealer and that this cover contained samples of the U.S. surcharged postage stamps. I base this solely upon a single 1912 German registered cover bearing the addressee's corner name and address that I located on eBay. If the above was all there was to this item, it would by itself be an exceptional penalty usage. But the story behind Charles F. W. Neely and his Cuban postal administration cohorts makes it much more interesting. The department of post of Cuba was reorganized under the authority of Estes G. Rathbone, appointed director of posts on December 21, 1898, by the Postmaster-General of the U.S. On January 7, 1899, Rathbone created the bureau of finance. Charles F. W. Neely was appointed as bureau chief. He was charged with the custody of the stamps, stamped paper, stamped envelopes, postal cards, and newspaper wrappers, and also issuing the same to postmasters. These responsibilities additionally would have included servicing requests from stamp collectors and dealers, both domestic and foreign. In late August or early September 1899, the surcharged U.S. stamps were replaced by newly designed Cuban stamps. On September 11, 1899, the remainder of the surcharged stamps (net of a sufficient number to satisfy requests from stamp collectors) were ordered destroyed. The burning of original sealed packages of these stamps was reported executed on September 13. The amount of postage destroyed was fraudulently misreported allowing the involved parties to embezzle post office funds through the sale of the retained portion of the the reportedly destroyed stamps. The embezzlement was subsequently discovered by audit. See a highly readable recent journalistic account of these events. See also a Congressional document detailing events.	SOLD
7353	#O49, fine, sound 3¢ Post Office, canceled by a VF SOTN strike of a letter "W" fancy killer, manuscript Winooski (Falls), VT, DEC 6, 1876 postmark (DPO Chittenden County, 1846-79) on VF intact canary official envelope. Cover contains the original signed receipt for registered packages (scan). Killer appears much like a positive square and compass Masonic symbol. Clear 2019 Philatelic Foundation certificate stating that it is a "genuine usage".	$70
7994	#O49, VF 3¢ Post Office, sound, on VF intact lemon P.O. Official Business envelope with blue NO. LEOMINSTER, MASS., MAR 9 postmark (DPO Worcester County 1851-97), blue target does not tie stamp.	$20
9059	#234, F-VF sound 5¢ Columbian tied by Washington DC APR 15 93 postmark and ellipse killer on intact Post Office Department Dead Letter Office cover to England, sent to Baring Bros., London and forwarded. Cover bears three receivers, a black "26 APR 93 R" on front, a red "27 APR 93 AK" and LONDON-W.W APR 27 93 P" on back. Foreign destination usages of Columbian issue stamps on penalty mail abroad are quite scarce. Cover wrinkled at right.	SOLD
8607	#237, fine sound 10¢ Columbian, VF WASHINGTON D.C. REG double oval registry postmark on XF intact Post Office Department penalty entire, purple Stamp Division hand stamp. Cover bears a purple REGISTERED WASHINGTON, D.C. AUG 3 1895 double ring postmark on front and BALTIMORE, MD. REG. DIV. AUG 4 1895 receiver on reverse. Very attractive.	SOLD
9537	#UO7, VF intact Post Office Department entire canceled by a superb strike of PETERSBURG VA. JUN 30 postmark and 5 point star in circle killer, to Postmaster Richmond County, VA. Manuscript "RB" [registry business] at upper left.	$30
9426	Post Office penalty envelope, RICHMOND, VA. DEC 23 1880 REGISTERED postmark and blue double oval ticket ribbon G. [George] K. GILMER, P.M. dated double oval hand stamp, essentially intact red embossed wax seal, "REGISTERED LETTER DEPARTMENT RICHMOND VA. POST OFFICE, part flap missing, small edge faults at left.	~~$40~~ $35
9107	Post Office Department, POST OFFICE AT NEW YORK Official Business penalty envelope, locally mailed, VF and intact, canceled by a VF-XF strike of scarce NEW YORK N.Y. FEB 6 95 Constantine machine cancel (Hanmer dial 1, killer 3). Unusual, scarce killer on penalty mail.	~~$45~~ $40
8496	Post Office Department penalty card form 1528, XF NEW ORLEANS LA. JUL 10 88 postmark and numeral 4 ellipse killer, sent to the publisher of Railway Conductor's Monthly requesting discontinuation of book mailing to dead address, addressee left the city. Card bears a "New Orleans, La." purple hand stamp.	$15
9565	#O47S, 1¢ Post Office SPECIMEN special printing, F-VF sound large margin copy. Scott catalog $45.	~~$25~~ $20

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