Scan or Photo Courtesy of Sephils
Date
1835
Description
India 1835 Pre-stamp Entire Letter from Sultanpore via Benares (Giles #3 - Used later than recorded) to Simlah, featuring a clear Benares Post Office circular date stamp, manuscript postal markings, and red wax seal.
Auction
Same office
Other recorded marks at Benares
18 marks18 other pre-1854 postal markings of Benares are recorded in the census. Compare their figure numbers, dates and colours to identify the mark on your cover.
- Benares HG 1handstampBlack1810–1820
- Benares HG 2handstampBlack1811
- Benares HG 4handstampBlack1827-35
- Benares HG 5handstampBlack1829
- Benares HG 6handstampBlack1832–1835
- Benares HG 7handstampRed1838–1853
+12 more at this office.View all Benares marks and postal history →
About this Benares pre stamp cover
COV-5738 is a Benares pre stamp cover of 1835 bearing the Benares HG 3 handstamp, struck in black, recorded in the census of Benares postal history — the office known today as Varanasi, North Western Provinces. What is a pre stamp cover?
India 1835 Pre-stamp Entire Letter from Sultanpore via Benares (Giles #3 - Used later than recorded) to Simlah, featuring a clear Benares Post Office circular date stamp, manuscript postal markings, and red wax seal.
Its recorded auction history runs through Sephils 780 lot 0114 (2026).
2 images of COV-5738 are recorded; the Benares HG 3 mark itself is recorded in use 1824–1836.
Questions about COV-5738
- What is COV-5738?
- COV-5738 is a recorded pre stamp cover of Benares, North Western Provinces of 1835, bearing the Benares HG 3 handstamp in black. India 1835 Pre-stamp Entire Letter from Sultanpore via Benares (Giles #3 - Used later than recorded) to Simlah, featuring a clear Benares Post Office circular date stamp, manuscript postal markings, and red wax seal.
- How scarce is the Benares HG 3 mark on this cover?
- The census grades Benares HG 3 as common, counted from surviving recorded covers rather than estimated. The mark is recorded in use 1824–1836.
- What is the provenance of COV-5738?
- Its recorded auction history runs through Sephils 780 lot 0114 (2026).
- When was COV-5738 posted?
- COV-5738 is dated 1835, within the recorded period of use of Benares HG 3 (1824–1836).
About this record
This 1835 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Benares HG 3 handstamp of the North Western Provinces, a mark graded “Common” in this census — one of 21 surviving covers with this mark recorded. It has appeared at auction with Sephils, 780, lot 0114, (2026).