Recently discovered second known on-cover use of U.S. 1875 3¢ reissue in June 25 Siegel Rarities of the World sale

By Charles Snee

The second known on-cover use of the rare 1875 reissue (Scott 125) of the United States 1869 3¢ Pictorial stamp (114), discovered in Europe in 2024, is one of 320 philatelic items of distinction that Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries will offer during its June 25 Rarities of the World sale in New York City.

The sale will be held in two sessions that will begin at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time at Siegel’s headquarters on W. 38th St. in Manhattan.

Emphasis is on classic-era United States stamps and postal history from the late 19th through the early 20th centuries.

Highlights include one of two recorded examples of the rare New Haven, Conn., 5¢ dull blue postmaster’s provisional stamp on buff paper (Scott 8XU3); the renowned matching pair of 1847 5¢ and 10¢ issue covers mailed from Waukegan, Ill., in June 1850; Steven Walske’s single-frame exhibit collection of 1869 Pictorial issue covers to France; a postcard mailed Oct. 30, 1911, from El Paso, Texas, franked with one of the 13 recorded examples of the 1911 Vin Fiz Flyer airmail semiofficial stamp (Scott CL2); and a Japan ¼-boo black Sutherland & Co. local post stamp on yellow paper, one of just seven examples available to collectors.

In his commentary in the Rarities sale catalog, Siegel president Scott R. Trepel recalls his formative years in the philatelic auction business, when he worked closely with Elizabeth Pope. She disagreed with the targeted approach to auction catalog mailings, which was based on the assumption that buyers only wished to see items that aligned with their interests.

“[Pope] always said, ‘a collector doesn’t wake up in the morning and decide to fall in love with a new area,’” Trepel said. “She observed that many collectors started a new collecting area because they stumbled upon it while perusing an auction catalog.”

According to Trepel, Siegel’s annual Rarities of the World sale provides an excellent opportunity to discover and pursue a new collecting area “because it presents outstanding examples of numerous collecting areas in a survey style.”

“This is the best way to — as Elizabeth would say — induce a collector to ‘fall in love’ with a new area,” Trepel said. “This year’s Rarities sale exemplifies the concept.”

The second on-cover use of the rare 1875 reissue of the U.S. 1869 3¢ Pictorial stamp comes up for bids early in the 1:30 p.m. session.

Both sides of the eye-catching 1884 registered cover are shown. The back bears the handstamp of notable philatelist Joseph Rechert of Hoboken, N.J. According to Siegel, Rechert also mailed the other known cover franked with Scott 125. Both covers were mailed to philatelists in Paris, France.

The 1875 3¢ reissue is used in combination with an 1882 5¢ brown Garfield stamped envelope (Scott U222), 1881 1¢ brown orange reissue (133a), 1875 2¢ brown reissue (124), 1883 4¢ blue Jackson (211) and 1882 5¢ yellow brown Garfield (205).

In the catalog lot description, Siegel reviews the philatelic significance of the cover:

“Prior to the discovery of this cover in Europe in 2024, there was only one recorded example of the 3c 1869 Pictorial Reissue on cover. That famous cover was lot 453 in the sixth sale of the Alfred H. Caspary collection (H.R. Harmer, Nov. 19-21, 1956). It is additionally franked with 1c and 2c 1869 Pictorial Reissues, as well as Bank Note stamps, paying the triple 5c UPU [Universal Postal Union] rate plus 10c registry fee. After the Caspary sale the 3c cover mysteriously disappeared and was not seen again until it was offered more than 60 years later in a 2017 Spink sale.

“The cover offered here has a similar franking, but with 5c less postage, paying the double 5c UPU rate plus 10c registry fee. It has the backstamp of Joseph Rechert, a well-known philatelist of the period who was the first International Secretary of the American Philatelic Association. The handwriting on the Caspary cover and the cover offered here is the same. This cover is addressed to Gustave Beil, a Parisian philatelist of the period (member 328 of the American Philatelic Society).

“This cover emerged in Europe in 2024 and becomes the second cover known with the rare 3c 1869 Pictorial Reissue. Along with the Caspary cover and the unique four-stamp franking with 1c, 2c, 12c and 15c Reissues (Sale 1211, lot 536), these are the three most spectacular and important 1869 Pictorial Reissue covers.”

Accompanying the cover is a Philatelic Foundation certificate issued Dec. 23, 2024, stating that the cover represents a genuine use of the 1875 3¢ reissue.

Another extremely rare stamp will cross the auction block near the end of the sale: a Japan ¼-boo black Sutherland & Co. local post stamp on yellow paper, one of only seven examples available to collectors.

Siegel’s catalog description for the stamp provides a brief history of Sutherland & Co. and its local post stamps:

“Sutherland & Co. was the name of a stagecoach service that ran between Yokohama and Tokyo in 1871, just before the first stamps were issued in Japan and before the inauguration of the Japanese Governmental Postal System. The post was established by James Wilson Sutherland, an Englishman, and John Farmer, an American. Both came to Japan in 1867 as agents for Cobb & Co. of Australia. They established their independent stagecoach company in 1871, with service between Yokohama and Tokyo. In addition to passengers, they also carried mail prior to the establishment of the Japanese Post Office. In 1872 a fire destroyed their office, and the firm merged with Cobb & Co.; Sutherland became its main representative in Yokohama.

“The Sutherland & Co. stamps are known in two denominations of the local currency: the ¼ Boo on yellow paper and the One Boo on rose paper. Each denomination was printed in sheets of 8, arranged 2 across and 4 down with straight edges on all four sides—therefore, all known examples have one or two straight edges. The label and denomination at top and bottom were printed from regular metal type, and the central portion of the design depicting the post rider was printed from a woodblock engraving. The ¼ Boo rate was for letters, while the One Boo rate was for parcels. All but one of the 7 known examples of the One Boo on rose paper have been altered in manuscript to read 1/4 Boo, indicating that there was little need for the parcel denomination.

“The yellow and rose Sutherland & Co. stamps have always been ranked among the world’s greatest philatelic rarities. The issue was included in Encyclopedia of Rare and Famous Stamps by L. and N. Williams. According to Dr. Inoue’s census of 15 stamps in total, 8 of the ¼ Boo on yellow paper are recorded, including 2 unused and 6 used (3 with pen ‘X’ cancel, 3 with ‘City of Yedo’ handstamp). Of the 7 One Boo stamps on rose paper, there is only one without the denomination changed in manuscript to 1/4 Boo (unused); the remaining 6 on rose paper have the ‘1/4’ manuscript rate change (5 unused, 1 used with ‘City of Yedo’ cancel).”

A total of five Sutherland & Co. local post stamps reside in museums. Two of those stamps are owned by the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C.

Just 10 stamps are available to collectors: seven on yellow paper and three on rose paper.

The ¼-boo stamp in this year’s Rarities sale was discovered in a collection in England in 2003, according to Siegel. The current owner acquired the stamp at auction that same year. Siegel is offering this rarity of Japan with an estimate of $30,000 to $40,000.

To learn more about the Sutherland & Co. local post stamps, Siegel recommends Kazuyuki Inoue’s article in Fakes Forgeries Experts (No. 9, May 2006) and Thomas Lera’s article in the March-April 2009 issue of the Collectors Club Philatelist.

Full details of the 2024 Rarities of the World auction, including a downloadable version of the 222-page catalog and online bidding options, are available on the Siegel website.

Connect with Linn’s Stamp News: 

    Sign up for our newsletter