Scan or Photo Courtesy of Siegel Auction Galleries
Date
1854
Description
India, 1854, 4a Red & Deep Blue, 4th Printing, Head Die III, Frame Die II (6Fa; SG 22). Two cut to shape singles, margins to just touching outer frameline, intensely rich colors, used with 1a Red, Die I (4; SG 12), margins to touching outer frameline, each tied by distinctive blue "C/152" cancels on cover to Paris, France, sender's directive "Voie de Suez & Marseille" , red framed "TRANQUEBAR/1857 December 24/Paid" despatch datestamp (Giles 6) on back, red "INDIA PAID" crescent handstamp, Madras, red French entry (Jan. 26, 1858), and Marseille a Paris (Jan. 26) transit and Paris (Jan. 27) arrival datestamps, "8" due handstamp, cover with slight edgewear VERY FINE. A RARE AND HANDSOME USE OF TWO 4-ANNAS OF THE FOURTH PRINTING AND ONE-ANNA LITHOGRAPHS ON COVER FROM TRANQUEBAR. Tranquebar was a Danish territory from 1620 until the British captured it during the Napoleonic Wars in 1808 and held it until 1814 (before being sold back to the British in 1845).
Auction
The Magnolia Collection: India Stamps and Postal History, Part 3 (Sale 1325), Lot 3192, (2024)
Same office
Other recorded marks at Tranquebar
8 marks8 other pre-1854 postal markings of Tranquebar are recorded in the census. Compare their figure numbers, dates and colours to identify the mark on your cover.
- Tranquebar HG 1handstampBlack1800–1829
- Tranquebar HG 2handstampRed1822–1823
- Tranquebar HG 2Ahandstamp1811
- Tranquebar HG 3handstampRed1831–1837
- Tranquebar HG 4handstampRed1838–1849
- Tranquebar HG 5handstampBlack1843
+2 more at this office.View all Tranquebar marks and postal history →
About this Tranquebar pre stamp cover
COV-5172 is a Tranquebar pre stamp cover of 1854 bearing the Tranquebar HG 6 handstamp, struck in red, recorded in the census of Tranquebar postal history — the office known today as Tharangambadi, Madras Presidency. What is a pre stamp cover?
India, 1854, 4a Red & Deep Blue, 4th Printing, Head Die III, Frame Die II (6Fa; SG 22). Two cut to shape singles, margins to just touching outer frameline, intensely rich colors, used with 1a Red, Die I (4; SG 12), margins to touching outer frameline, each tied by distinctive blue "C/152" cancels on cover to Paris, France, sender's directive "Voie de Suez & Marseille" , red framed "TRANQUEBAR/1857 December 24/Paid" despatch datestamp (Giles 6) on back, red "INDIA PAID" crescent handstamp, Madras, red French entry (Jan. 26, 1858), and Marseille a Paris (Jan. 26) transit and Paris (Jan. 27) arrival datestamps, "8" due handstamp, cover with slight edgewear VERY FINE. A RARE AND HANDSOME USE OF TWO 4-ANNAS OF THE FOURTH PRINTING AND ONE-ANNA LITHOGRAPHS ON COVER FROM TRANQUEBAR. Tranquebar was a Danish territory from 1620 until the British captured it during the Napoleonic Wars in 1808 and held it until 1814 (before being sold back to the British in 1845).
Its recorded auction history runs through Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries The Magnolia Collection: India Stamps and Postal History, Part 3 (Sale 1325) lot 3192 (2024).
2 images of COV-5172 are recorded; the Tranquebar HG 6 mark itself is recorded in use 1850–1858.
Questions about COV-5172
- What is COV-5172?
- COV-5172 is a recorded pre stamp cover of Tranquebar, Madras Presidency of 1854, bearing the Tranquebar HG 6 handstamp in red. India, 1854, 4a Red & Deep Blue, 4th Printing, Head Die III, Frame Die II (6Fa; SG 22). Two cut to shape singles, margins to just touching outer frameline, intensely rich colors, used with 1a Red, Die I (4; SG 12), margins to touching outer frameline, each tied by distinctive blue "C/152" cancels on cover to Paris, France, sender's directive "Voie de Suez & Marseille" , red framed "TRANQUEBAR/1857 December 24/Paid" despatch datestamp (Giles 6) on back, red "INDIA PAID" crescent handstamp, Madras, red French entry (Jan. 26, 1858), and Marseille a Paris (Jan. 26) transit and Paris (Jan. 27) arrival datestamps, "8" due handstamp, cover with slight edgewear VERY FINE. A RARE AND HANDSOME USE OF TWO 4-ANNAS OF THE FOURTH PRINTING AND ONE-ANNA LITHOGRAPHS ON COVER FROM TRANQUEBAR. Tranquebar was a Danish territory from 1620 until the British captured it during the Napoleonic Wars in 1808 and held it until 1814 (before being sold back to the British in 1845).
- How scarce is the Tranquebar HG 6 mark on this cover?
- The census grades Tranquebar HG 6 as common, counted from surviving recorded covers rather than estimated. The mark is recorded in use 1850–1858.
- What is the provenance of COV-5172?
- Its recorded auction history runs through Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries The Magnolia Collection: India Stamps and Postal History, Part 3 (Sale 1325) lot 3192 (2024).
- When was COV-5172 posted?
- COV-5172 is dated 1854, within the recorded period of use of Tranquebar HG 6 (1850–1858).
About this record
This 1854 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Tranquebar HG 6 handstamp of the Madras Presidency, a mark graded “Common” in this census — one of 12 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 3 (Sale 1325), lot 3192, (2024).