U317 or U316? 1890 UPSS Die 88, Celina, Ohio 1892 partial circular date stamp

Item Specifics

Country

United States

Catalog Number

U317

Stamp Type

Postal Stationery

Condition

Used

Stamp Format

Single

Topic

People - Politicians

Year of Issue

1890

Item Description

44x48mm. 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. There is no watermark. The partial circular date stamp (CDS) is from Celina, Ohio and has an August 24, 1892 date. There is a dark dot on the president’s cheek.

I am not sure if this is U316 manila wrapper paper or U317 amber-manila paper. The paper quality definitely identifies it as manila paper and the color is far more yellow than the hundreds of manila paper examples in the hoard. The quality and color identify it as something other than amber paper. It is diagonal laid paper, suggesting an envelope rather than a wrapper. I have identified 16 Die 88 cut squares of this paper type and color in the Union City hoard. Of these, 15 are diagonal laid paper and one is wove paper.

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. I have found five other cut squares from Celina in the hoard. All are dated 1892. 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.

Celina is located 27 miles north-northeast of Union City, but the rail route was indirect. According to an 1889 railway guide, the shortest route seemed to be via the 24-mile trip from Celina south to Ansonia, Ohio on the Cincinnati, Jackson and Mackinaw Railway. From Ansonia, it was nine miles west to Union City on the C. C. C. & St. L. (Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis) Railway.

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 only variety I see on this copy is the small spur on the tip of the tooth below the “CE” of CENTS. In 1955, H. S. Dickinson identified 29 varieties in his study of the Die 88 indicium. This spur was his B-29 variety. This cut square is the only copy in the Union City hoard I have found with this variety. However, Dickinson didn’t mention any examples where that tooth was actually connected by a line to the line below the “CE.” I have found two, and possibly three, copies of such a variety in the Union City hoard.

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Seller Information

Seller

keesindy (4648)

Registered Since

04/11/2016

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Store

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Item Location

Indiana, United States

Ships To

United States

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.