U311 cut square UPSS Die 88 fancy cancel geometric 3-bar inside a ring, notches

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

29x37mm. This cut square is Scott U311 with green indicium on white paper. The United Postal Stationery Society (UPSS) identifies these 2c Washington envelopes with this indicium as Die 88. This copy has no watermark.

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 the hoard are from 1891 to 1893. 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.

Some of the cut squares and very few of the stamps in the Union City hoard have partial circular date stamps that identify the post offices associated with the accompanying obliterator designs. The obliteration design on this cut square is similar to a handful of other designs found in the hoard. They all involved a ring of the same size with either hand-carved bars or blocks inside. Sidney, Ohio, for example, employed one or more of these designs, but the post office of origin for this particular design is unknown at this time.

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. This example has a gash along the inner ribbon line below the “E” in STATES and a widening of that ribbon line below the gash. Only three copies with this variation have been found in the Union City hoard. The second issue with this copy is more common; it is the two notches in the outer frame line of the design below the “O” of TWO.

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

All stamps are carefully packaged for safe delivery.

APS Member

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.