Scan or Photo Courtesy of Siegel Auction Galleries
Date
4 November 1854
Description
India, 1854, ½a Blue, Die I (2; SG 2). Huge balanced margins, cancelled by clearly struck red circle of dots cancel (Cooper Ty. 1c) on 1854 petite native cover to Karachi, red framed "SHAPOOR/NOV _ 1854/Paid" despatch datestamp (unrecorded by Giles) with manuscript "4" date added on back, red framed Karachi (Nov. 6) arrival backstamp (unrecorded by Giles), cover with slightly rough opening at left and with some wrinkling, otherwise Extremely Fine, Cooper notes this circle of dots cancel as "very rare", even more so in red which he distinguishes as one of the rarest colors to find this cancel in
Auction
Sale 9054 - The Magnolia Collection: India Postal History, Part 7, Lot 10103, (2025)
About this Shahpore pre stamp cover
COV-2789 is a Shahpore pre stamp cover of 4 November 1854 bearing the Shahpore HG 1 handstamp, struck in red, recorded in the census of Shahpore postal history, Punjab. What is a pre stamp cover?
India, 1854, ½a Blue, Die I (2; SG 2). Huge balanced margins, cancelled by clearly struck red circle of dots cancel (Cooper Ty. 1c) on 1854 petite native cover to Karachi, red framed "SHAPOOR/NOV _ 1854/Paid" despatch datestamp (unrecorded by Giles) with manuscript "4" date added on back, red framed Karachi (Nov. 6) arrival backstamp (unrecorded by Giles), cover with slightly rough opening at left and with some wrinkling, otherwise Extremely Fine, Cooper notes this circle of dots cancel as "very rare", even more so in red which he distinguishes as one of the rarest colors to find this cancel in
Its recorded auction history runs through Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries Sale 9054 - The Magnolia Collection: India Postal History, Part 7 lot 10103 (2025).
2 images of COV-2789 are recorded (front, back); the Shahpore HG 1 mark itself is recorded in use 1854.
Questions about COV-2789
- What is COV-2789?
- COV-2789 is a recorded pre stamp cover of Shahpore, Punjab of 4 November 1854, bearing the Shahpore HG 1 handstamp in red. India, 1854, ½a Blue, Die I (2; SG 2). Huge balanced margins, cancelled by clearly struck red circle of dots cancel (Cooper Ty. 1c) on 1854 petite native cover to Karachi, red framed "SHAPOOR/NOV _ 1854/Paid" despatch datestamp (unrecorded by Giles) with manuscript "4" date added on back, red framed Karachi (Nov. 6) arrival backstamp (unrecorded by Giles), cover with slightly rough opening at left and with some wrinkling, otherwise Extremely Fine, Cooper notes this circle of dots cancel as "very rare", even more so in red which he distinguishes as one of the rarest colors to find this cancel in
- How scarce is the Shahpore HG 1 mark on this cover?
- The census grades Shahpore HG 1 as rare, counted from surviving recorded covers rather than estimated. The mark is recorded in use 1854.
- What is the provenance of COV-2789?
- Its recorded auction history runs through Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries Sale 9054 - The Magnolia Collection: India Postal History, Part 7 lot 10103 (2025).
- When was COV-2789 posted?
- COV-2789 is dated 4 November 1854, within the recorded period of use of Shahpore HG 1 (1854).
About this record
This 4 November 1854 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Shahpore HG 1 handstamp of the Punjab, a mark graded “Rare” in this census — the only surviving cover with this mark recorded so far. It has appeared at auction with Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Sale 9054 - The Magnolia Collection: India Postal History, Part 7, lot 10103, (2025).