I hope everyone has had a lovely holidays and those that braved travelling to see their families managed to do so without too much difficulty and inconvenience. I stayed in Geneva to avoid the uncertainties and was hoping to make some progress on the website but unfortunately got very little of what I wanted to get done, so this will be the total sum of my (overdue) work on the website before I go back to work on tomorrow. My girlfriend insists that it’s good to take a break from stamps occasionally, but I’m not so sure about that…
First up is a rare Cricket Ground cancellation from Nottingham. Unfortunately the green colour is slightly faded, but it’s a nice clear strike and at £145.50 it was a bargain when often they sell for more than £1’000.
This registered envelope with two 4½d Jubilees is paying a very scarce rate: 9d, with the envelope sent at the double rate and a late fee of 4d (as indicated by the handstamp). A cheap item for only £19.01. There’s a similar franking on on eBay at the minute for £75 “buy-it-now” which I still think is a very good price as this is only the sixth 4½d+4½d franking I’ve seen (plus only seven 9d single frankings).
This commemorative medal for the Jubilee of the Uniform Penny Postage is quite scarce. As you can see from the original paper packet, the medal was produced by Spink & Son, and it depicts Queen Victoria and the Uniform Penny Postage 1d stationery envelope on one side, and Sir Rowland Hill and the Mulready envelope on the other. Examples of the medal were made in white metal, bronze, silvered bronze, aluminium (as this example is according to the vendor) and solid silver. It sold for £198.50.
And finally we have this envelope sent registered from Charlestown (Fife, Scotland) to Norway at the triple rate plus 2d registration; although I’m not sure it actually got there. The reverse shows the despatch and Edinburgh transit beneath an “Officially Sealed in the Returned letter Office” label applied in London, with the front showing two strikes of London registered datestamps dated within a couple of days of sending. Perhaps the clue is on the front at the left, with the manuscript “Coin 3 Krones / Notes 10 ditto”. It could be that it was returned to the sender at London because they hadn’t made use of the more secure Post Office registered envelopes to send their money? If anyone knows any better then please feel free to use the comments section below. An interesting item at £29.01.
The 1887 Jubilee Issue 