U311 1890 cut square UPSS Die 88, Cincinnati Ohio CDS & ellipse cancel, faults

Item Specifics

Country

United States

Catalog Number

U311

Stamp Type

Postal Stationery

Condition

Used

Stamp Format

Single

Topic

People - Politicians

Year of Issue

1890

Item Description

46x 45mm. This cut square was among thousands of stamps and cut squares collected from businesses at Union City, Indiana in the early 1890s. Most of the readable postmarks in this hoard are from 1891 to 1893. Most of the 11-12,000 cut squares have the two-cent green Washington indicium that the United Postal Stationery Society (UPSS) identifies as Die 88. This is a Die 88 example on laid white paper and the Scott catalog number is U311. There is no watermark. The full circular date stamp (CDS) is from Cincinnati, Ohio. The date is March 2, 1893. The obliteration design is an ellipse with horizontal bars. The center has a numeral “2” within a letter “C.”

There is some stray ink from either the cancel or other sources. There is some discoloration at both left corners and a small tear at the left edge. The back side shows staining from the cancellation ink.

The stamps in the Union City hoard had been soaked from the envelopes around the time of their collection. The stamps and cut squares were then sorted and tied tightly with string and sewing thread into bundles of 100 each. That process protected most of the items from damage and aging for over a century. I inherited and began unpacking the bundles in 2000. None of these sale items from the hoard has ever been in a collection.

Mail was arriving at Union City from all over the country via three railroads. Much of that mail was from small cities and towns in Indiana and Ohio and to a lesser degree from smaller communities in other nearby states. In other words, most of the fancy and geometric cancels probably originated within 150 to 200 miles of Union City.

Cincinnati is only about 78 miles south of Union City and was the source of a lot of the mail represented by the Union City hoard. According to a 1910 railway guide, the most direct rail route from Cincinnati to Union City would have been via the C. C. C. & St. L. (Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis) Railroadnorth to Dayton, Ohio, and then northwest on the Dayton and Union Railroad to Union City. The rail distance via that route was 91 miles.

The Die 88 stamped envelopes were printed in huge quantities. They display a wide variety of inking problems and die varieties, many of which fall under the EFO (errors, freaks and oddities) umbrella. Except for a few newly identified items that are not yet confirmed, these variations are found on multiple copies and have been documented by others. Some of these variations display progressive characteristics. I don’t see any variety characteristics of significant on this copy.

You may combine this item with other stamp sale items to save on shipping. Thank you for looking.

All stamps are carefully packaged for safe delivery.

APS Member

Seller Information

Seller

keesindy (4649)

Registered Since

04/11/2016

Feedback

100%

Store

Stamps from Keesindy

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Item Location

Indiana, United States

Ships To

United States

Shipping Instructions

About 3½ years ago, I stopped selling and shipping outside the US due to new postal rules and rapidly rising costs. The USPS is raising postal rates again in January 2019. Today, December 25, 2018, due to the continuing rise in the cost of postage and associated fees, I am reluctantly raising my general shipping fee for the first time in many years. My sales here at HipStamp involve no additional charge for the purchase of multiple stamps. Shipping is via USPS unless otherwise specified. Be sure to contact me before making your purchases if you have questions.

Returns Accepted

Yes

Returns Policy

All items may be returned unless otherwise stated in the listing. Of course, I cannot be responsible if uninsured items are damaged during shipping. If you are dissatisfied with a purchase, contact me within 7 days of your receipt of the item to make arrangements for returning it. If I have made an error in my listing or the item is not as described, you will receive a full reimbursement plus the pre-agreed-upon cost to return the item.