COV-4719
17 May 1856 Pondicherry HG 12 Cover
Scan or Photo Courtesy of Siegel Auction Galleries
Date
17 May 1856
Description
India, (French Settlement), Pondicherry, 1854, ½a Blue, Die II (2D; SG 6). Large margins to touching at left and top, tied by "C/III" cancel on 1856 folded letter to Madras, red framed "PONDICHERRY/1856 May 17/Paid" boxed despatch datestamp (Giles 12) on back, black framed "AM" handstamp, red Madras (May 19) arrival backstamp, Very Fine
Auction
The Magnolia Collection: India Stamps and Postal History, Part 5, Lot 208, (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 17 May 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 208, (09/30/2025).