COV-4704
1856 Pondicherry HG 12 Cover
Scan or Photo Courtesy of Siegel Auction Galleries
Date
1856
Description
India, (French Settlement), Pondicherry, 1854, ½a Blue, Die II (2D; SG 6). Large to ample margins, just tied by "C/III" cancel on 1856 folded letter to Madras, red framed "PONDICHERRY/1856 January ?/Paid" boxed despatch datestamp (Giles 12) on back, red Madras arrival backstamp, cover with slight internal reinforcement and ink erosion, stamp with peripheral toning, still Fine, ex Dr. Kornan
Auction
The Magnolia Collection: India Stamps and Postal History, Part 5, Lot 206, (09/30/2025)
Same office
Other recorded marks at Pondicherry
15 marks15 other pre-1854 postal markings of Pondicherry are recorded in the census. Compare their figure numbers, dates and colours to identify the mark on your cover.
- Pondicherry HG 1handstampBlack1786–1823
- Pondicherry HG 1ahandstampBlack1818
- Pondicherry HG 2handstampBlack1795
- Pondicherry HG 3handstampBlack1804–1817
- Pondicherry HG 3AhandstampBlack1801
- Pondicherry HG 4handstampBlack1804–1815
- Pondicherry HG 5handstampRed1826–1836
- Pondicherry HG 6handstampBlack1826–1836
- Pondicherry HG 7handstampRed1838–1851
- Pondicherry HG 8handstampBlack1839–1841
- Pondicherry HG 9handstampRed1839
- Pondicherry HG 10handstampRed1839–1854
- Pondicherry HG 11handstampBlack1851–1854
- Pondicherry HG 12ahandstampBlack1850–1852
- Pondicherry HG 13handstampBlack1855–1862
About this record
This 1856 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Pondicherry HG 12 handstamp of the Madras Presidency, a mark graded “Very common” in this census — one of 24 surviving covers with this mark recorded. It has appeared at auction with Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, The Magnolia Collection: India Stamps and Postal History, Part 5, lot 206, (09/30/2025).