Scan or Photo Courtesy of Cavendish Philatelic Auctions Ltd
Date
1841
Description
MERGUI - RARE CONCESSION RATE COVER WITH "MOULMEIN/SHIP LETTER/FREE" C.D.S., ETC.; 27 Nov. 1841 EL (worn folds and minor reinforcing) from "Mergui" to Cheshire headed & countersigned for the Concession Rate for "Private John Green, H. M. 84th Regt." with a partly fine very rare red encircled "MOULMEIN/SHIP LETTER/DECEM 14/FREE" d.s. (only 5 or 6 known; this the Earliest Known?) on the flap (just touched by small opening tear) with matching fair red "CALCUTTA/FREE" cds and British backstamps alongside; also with fair oval red Bombay "INDIA" and very fine black (Portsmouth?) charge-mark on the front. Contents include; thanks for some newspapers received and "...this Town being upwards of 250 miles from the Headquarters of the Regiment. There is but 32 men of us here on detachment...". Very few Concession Rate covers are known from this period.Cross Reference: MILITARY - PENNY CONCESSION RATES, INDIA
Auction
Worldwide & Great Britain Stamps & Postal History, Lot 431, (2019)
Same office
Other recorded marks at Moulmein
6 marks6 other pre-1854 postal markings of Moulmein are recorded in the census. Compare their figure numbers, dates and colours to identify the mark on your cover.
About this Moulmein pre stamp cover
COV-4875 is a Moulmein pre stamp cover of 1841 bearing the Moulmein FP 4 handstamp, struck in black, recorded in the census of Moulmein postal history, Burma. What is a pre stamp cover?
MERGUI - RARE CONCESSION RATE COVER WITH "MOULMEIN/SHIP LETTER/FREE" C.D.S., ETC.; 27 Nov. 1841 EL (worn folds and minor reinforcing) from "Mergui" to Cheshire headed & countersigned for the Concession Rate for "Private John Green, H. M. 84th Regt." with a partly fine very rare red encircled "MOULMEIN/SHIP LETTER/DECEM 14/FREE" d.s. (only 5 or 6 known; this the Earliest Known?) on the flap (just touched by small opening tear) with matching fair red "CALCUTTA/FREE" cds and British backstamps alongside; also with fair oval red Bombay "INDIA" and very fine black (Portsmouth?) charge-mark on the front. Contents include; thanks for some newspapers received and "...this Town being upwards of 250 miles from the Headquarters of the Regiment. There is but 32 men of us here on detachment...". Very few Concession Rate covers are known from this period.Cross Reference: MILITARY - PENNY CONCESSION RATES, INDIA
Its recorded auction history runs through Cavendish Philatelic Auctions Ltd Worldwide & Great Britain Stamps & Postal History lot 431 (2019).
1 image of COV-4875 is recorded; the Moulmein FP 4 mark itself is recorded in use —.
Questions about COV-4875
- What is COV-4875?
- COV-4875 is a recorded pre stamp cover of Moulmein, Burma of 1841, bearing the Moulmein FP 4 handstamp in black. MERGUI - RARE CONCESSION RATE COVER WITH "MOULMEIN/SHIP LETTER/FREE" C.D.S., ETC.; 27 Nov. 1841 EL (worn folds and minor reinforcing) from "Mergui" to Cheshire headed & countersigned for the Concession Rate for "Private John Green, H. M. 84th Regt." with a partly fine very rare red encircled "MOULMEIN/SHIP LETTER/DECEM 14/FREE" d.s. (only 5 or 6 known; this the Earliest Known?) on the flap (just touched by small opening tear) with matching fair red "CALCUTTA/FREE" cds and British backstamps alongside; also with fair oval red Bombay "INDIA" and very fine black (Portsmouth?) charge-mark on the front. Contents include; thanks for some newspapers received and "...this Town being upwards of 250 miles from the Headquarters of the Regiment. There is but 32 men of us here on detachment...". Very few Concession Rate covers are known from this period.Cross Reference: MILITARY - PENNY CONCESSION RATES, INDIA
- How scarce is the Moulmein FP 4 mark on this cover?
- The census grades Moulmein FP 4 as rare, counted from surviving recorded covers rather than estimated. The mark is recorded in use —.
- What is the provenance of COV-4875?
- Its recorded auction history runs through Cavendish Philatelic Auctions Ltd Worldwide & Great Britain Stamps & Postal History lot 431 (2019).
- When was COV-4875 posted?
- COV-4875 is dated 1841, within the recorded period of use of Moulmein FP 4 (—).
About this record
This 1841 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Moulmein FP 4 handstamp of the Burma, a mark graded “Rare” in this census — one of 5 surviving covers with this mark recorded. It has appeared at auction with Cavendish Philatelic Auctions Ltd, Worldwide & Great Britain Stamps & Postal History, lot 431, (2019).