U.S. 1869 Pictorial cover to Buenos Aires in Dec. 9-10 Cherrystone auction of rare worldwide stamps and postal history

By Charles Snee

Cherrystone Philatelic Auctioneers will tempt bidders with more than 1,400 lots of rare United States and worldwide stamps and covers during a Dec. 9-10 sale at its gallery in Teaneck, N.J.

The two-day auction will take place in four parts, with sessions each day at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Eastern Time.

“Highlights include better U.S. singles and covers, further offerings from the Al Kugel Collection of Postal History (Offered on behalf of the American Philatelic Society), Great Britain and British Commonwealth, South America with Colombia and Colombian States, Bruce Jarvis collection of Western Ukraine, plus close to 200 lots of Large Lots & Collections with additional portions of the Marty Farber stock,” Cherrystone said.

During the opening session on the morning of Dec. 9, an attractive item of United States postal history will come up for bids: a cover mailed April 22, 1869, from Providence, R.I., to Buenos Aires (spelled “Ayres” in the handwritten address), Argentina.

The 18¢ franking consists of two 1869 Pictorial stamps: a 6¢ ultramarine George Washington (Scott 115) and a 12¢ green SS Adriatic (117). Both stamps are canceled with a single strike of a mute target ring handstamp.

According to Cherrystone, the two stamps combined to pay the scarce 18¢ ¼-ounce rate to Argentina.

A reasonably clear “Providence R.I. April 22” circular datestamp appears just to the left of the 6¢ Washington stamp.

The red “8” handstamp below the stamps, which was applied in New York City, represents the 8¢ credit to England for carrying the cover from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Buenos Aires.

In the Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers, Scott 115 is valued on cover at $475, and Scott 117 on cover is valued at $450.

Cherrystone is offering this cover mailed April 22, 1869, from Rhode Island to Argentina with an estimate of $900 to $1,000.

A rarity of Imperial China will cross the auction block on the first day of the sale: an unused surcharged 1897 30¢ on 24¢ carmine Junk on the Yangtse stamp (Scott 64).

The stamp bears the Large Dowager surcharge that shows narrow spacing (1½ millimeters on the first printing) between the Chinese characters and the numerals in “30.”

According to Cherrystone, the stamp has full original gum, a small hinge remnant and nibbed perforations at top. Included with the stamp is a 2023 Frumkin certificate.

Cherrystone describes the stamp as an “excellent example of the so-called ‘Red Ruby,’ one of Imperial China’s great rarities.” Fewer than 10 are known, Cherrystone said.

Cherrystone lists this unused surcharged 1897 30¢ on 24¢ carmine Junk on the Yangtse stamp with an estimate of $37,500 to $40,000.

The rare stamp is valued at $80,000 in the Scott Classic Specialized Catalogue of Stamps and Covers 1840-1940. That value is italicized to indicate an item that is a challenge to value accurately because it trades infrequently in the philatelic marketplace.

The catalog for the Dec. 9-10 sale of rare U.S. and worldwide stamps and postal history can be viewed and is available for download on the Cherrystone website, www.cherrystoneauctions.com, with online bidding options available through Cherrystone.

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