Scan or Photo Courtesy of Siegel Auction Galleries
Date
1816
Description
India, Calcutta, 1817, "KING'S SEA/POSTE. PAID/CALCUTTA" Handstamp in Red (Giles SD5). Clear strike with "Calcutta Packet Letter 4 SE 4, 1817" oval datestamp (Giles SD7) on folded letter datelined Panda Aug. 26, 1817, addressed to Bath, England, "MORE/TO/PAY" double-circle handstamp, red India Packet Letter (Mar. 3, 1818) and red London (Mar. 3) transit datestamps, manuscript internal rate notations on back and variously rated on front, Very Fine, a scarce use of the King's Sea Postage Paid marking, only in use from Apr. 1816 to Dec. 1818
Auction
Dr. Soli Contractor, (December 1999)
Sale 9020, Lot 10025, — The Magnolia Collection Part 5
Provenance
Magnolia Peter Cockburn FRPSL Dr. Soli Contractor
Same office
Other recorded marks at Calcutta
183 marks183 other pre-1854 postal markings of Calcutta are recorded in the census. Compare their figure numbers, dates and colours to identify the mark on your cover.
- Calcutta HG 1handstampBlack1775–1787
- Calcutta HG 1ahandstampBlack1775–1786
- Calcutta HG 2handstampBlack1775–1787
- Calcutta HG 3handstampBlack1776–1789
- Calcutta HG 4handstampBlack1787
- Calcutta HG 5handstampBlack1788
+177 more at this office.View all Calcutta marks and postal history →
About this Calcutta pre stamp cover
COV-218 is a Calcutta pre stamp cover of 1816 bearing the Calcutta SD5 handstamp, struck in red, recorded in the census of Calcutta postal history — the office known today as Kolkata, Bengal Presidency. What is a pre stamp cover?
India, Calcutta, 1817, "KING'S SEA/POSTE. PAID/CALCUTTA" Handstamp in Red (Giles SD5). Clear strike with "Calcutta Packet Letter 4 SE 4, 1817" oval datestamp (Giles SD7) on folded letter datelined Panda Aug. 26, 1817, addressed to Bath, England, "MORE/TO/PAY" double-circle handstamp, red India Packet Letter (Mar. 3, 1818) and red London (Mar. 3) transit datestamps, manuscript internal rate notations on back and variously rated on front, Very Fine, a scarce use of the King's Sea Postage Paid marking, only in use from Apr. 1816 to Dec. 1818
Its recorded auction history runs through Spink Dr. Soli Contractor (December 1999); Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries Sale 9020 lot 10025; and Spink Auction: 22026 - Stamps and Covers of Asia featuring the Peter Cockburn FRPSL Collection of Malaya B.M.A. lot 193.
2 images of COV-218 are recorded (front, back); the Calcutta SD5 mark itself is recorded in use 1816–1818.
Questions about COV-218
- What is COV-218?
- COV-218 is a recorded pre stamp cover of Calcutta, Bengal Presidency of 1816, bearing the Calcutta SD5 handstamp in red. India, Calcutta, 1817, "KING'S SEA/POSTE. PAID/CALCUTTA" Handstamp in Red (Giles SD5). Clear strike with "Calcutta Packet Letter 4 SE 4, 1817" oval datestamp (Giles SD7) on folded letter datelined Panda Aug. 26, 1817, addressed to Bath, England, "MORE/TO/PAY" double-circle handstamp, red India Packet Letter (Mar. 3, 1818) and red London (Mar. 3) transit datestamps, manuscript internal rate notations on back and variously rated on front, Very Fine, a scarce use of the King's Sea Postage Paid marking, only in use from Apr. 1816 to Dec. 1818
- How scarce is the Calcutta SD5 mark on this cover?
- The census grades Calcutta SD5 as common, counted from surviving recorded covers rather than estimated. The mark is recorded in use 1816–1818.
- What is the provenance of COV-218?
- Its recorded auction history runs through Spink Dr. Soli Contractor (December 1999); Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries Sale 9020 lot 10025; and Spink Auction: 22026 - Stamps and Covers of Asia featuring the Peter Cockburn FRPSL Collection of Malaya B.M.A. lot 193.
- When was COV-218 posted?
- COV-218 is dated 1816, within the recorded period of use of Calcutta SD5 (1816–1818).
About this record
This 1816 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Calcutta SD5 handstamp of the Bengal Presidency, a mark graded “Common” in this census — one of 27 surviving covers with this mark recorded. It has appeared at auction with Spink, Dr. Soli Contractor, (December 1999); Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Sale 9020, lot 10025; Spink, Auction: 22026 - Stamps and Covers of Asia featuring the Peter Cockburn FRPSL Collection of Malaya B.M.A., lot 193.