U312 cut square, UPSS Die 88 variety, Prairie City, Iowa CDS November 1891, EFO

Item Specifics

Country

United States

Catalog Number

U312

Stamp Type

Postal Stationery

Condition

Used

Stamp Format

Error

Topic

People - Politicians

Year of Issue

1890

Item Description

39x45mm (bottom and left edges). 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. It contains no watermark 8. The Scott catalog number for this example on amber paper is U312. The killer is indistinct and possibly incomplete, but may be a small letter “X.”

The stamps in the 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.

This cut square with partial CDS was one of three from Prairie City, Iowa. I have found only 20 cut squares in the hoard from Iowa. Three of them (two on amber paper) have a Prairie City cancel. This copy has a November 1891 date while the other copy on amber paper has a partial December 1891 CDS. Prairie City is in an agricultural area east of Des Moines and about 450 miles from Union City. The 1890 Prairie City population was 684. Multiple railroad routes from Prairie City were available for mail service to Union City. However, the cut square copy on white paper includes a Winchester postmark. Winchester is located nine miles west of Union City on the C. C. C. & St. L. (Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis), or Big Four, railroad that also served Union City.

The Die 88 stamped envelope indicia were printed in huge quantities. They display a wide variety of inking problems (including setoffs) and die varieties that fall under the EFO (errors, freaks and oddities) umbrella. Except for a few newly identified items that are yet to be confirmed, these characteristics are repeating and documented; some display progressive characteristics. There is one notable characteristic on this and the other Prairie City amber paper cut square. The crowns (tops) of the shields at the bottom of the indicia are unusually tall. This variety is a relatively recent addition to the list of varieties and is rare in the Union City hoard.

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 (4649)

Registered Since

04/11/2016

Feedback

100%

Store

Stamps from Keesindy

• Sales

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.