U311 1890 Die 88 fancy cancel ellipse 11 horizontal bars, 2 center bars wider

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

37x44mm. 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. The Scott catalog number for this laid white paper example is U311 and it has most of a United Postal Stationery Society (UPSS) watermark 8.

The obliterator design is an unusual ellipse with 11 horizontal bars. The two center bars are wider and there are five narrower bars at the top and four at the bottom. This was the only copy of this design in the Union City hoard. I have found no information about this design and do not know if this design was manufactured or carefully hand carved. There is a paper bend in the upper right-hand portion of the cut square and light soiling along the right edge. There is light yellowish discoloration along the bottom and left edges, probably from exposure to air while the remainder of the cut square was protected (see next paragraph).

The stamps 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.

Although mail was coming to Union City via three railroads from all over the country, much of it seemed to be coming 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.

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; some display progressive characteristics. The obvious variation on this copy is the green ink around the hair ribbon at the back of the president’s neck. This is a fairly common inking issue, but is more pronounced on this copy than normal.

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

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Seller Information

Seller

keesindy (4648)

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.