The D.K. Collection of Southern Postmasters' Provisionals of the American Civil War continued...

EXTREMELY FINE GEM. BY FAR THE FINEST OF THE FIVE RECORDED EXAMPLES OF THE VICTORIA 5-CENT POSTMASTER'S PROVISIONAL.

James A. Moody was appointed Victoria's U.S. postmaster on May 22, 1846. He was appointed C.S.A. postmaster on July 12, 1861, and served until he was replaced by a U.S. postmaster in April 1865 (this information from Vince King).

Moody issued 5c and 10c provisional stamps bearing his name. All of the stamps were printed from a typeset form on green paper. The 5c and 10c settings with large numerals are quite similar in composition. A second 10c setting with a small italic numeral "10" was also used. The only Victoria provisional covers known are both franked with a single 10c with large numeral, dated March 30 and June 23, 1863 (the earlier cover is lot 1123 in this sale).

The five recorded examples of the 5c Victoria provisional are all unused and off cover, as follows: 1) Sound with original gum, top right corner margins, ex Ferrary, Hind and Hall, the stamp offered here, 2) Described as having original gum, top left corner margins, ex Hessel ("small faults"), 3) Described as having "some original gum", top right corner margins, vertical crease, ex Caspary, Lilly and Kilbourne, 4) Uncancelled, left sheet margin, torn into design at bottom, Albert Steves photo, and 5) Unused, no gum, bottom right corner margins, light chipping and natural paper bubble, from a recent find, ex Felton (Siegel Sale 1016, lot 645).

No cancelled Victoria 5c stamps or on-cover examples are known. Of the five recorded stamps, the example offered here is by far the finest.

Ex Ferrary (with his purple trefoil handstamp on back), Hind and Hall. With 2000 P.F. certificate (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE. ONE OF TWO RECORDED COVERS BEARING THE VICTORIA 10-CENT POSTMASTER'S PROVISIONAL, OF WHICH ONLY FIVE EXAMPLES ARE KNOWN. THE TWO 10-CENT COVERS ARE THE ONLY RECORDED COVERS FOR ANY OF THE VICTORIA PROVISIONALS.

James A. Moody was appointed Victoria's U.S. postmaster on May 22, 1846. He was appointed C.S.A. postmaster on July 12, 1861, and served until he was replaced by a U.S. postmaster in April 1865 (this information from Vince King).

Moody issued 5c and 10c provisional stamps bearing his name. All of the stamps were printed from a typeset form on green paper. The 5c and 10c settings with large numerals are quite similar in composition. A second 10c setting with a small italic numeral "10" was also used. The only Victoria provisional covers known are both franked with a single 10c with large numeral, dated March 30 and June 23, 1863 (the cover offered here is the earlier of the two).

Our records contain five examples of the Victoria 10c Type I (large thin numerals): 1) Mar. 30, 1863 cover to J. San Roman, ex Brooks, Weatherly, Kilbourne and Gross, the cover offered here, 2) Jun. 23 (1863) cover to C. Hellenkamp, ex Caspary, Muzzy and Boker, 3) Unused stamp with small repair, ex Hessel, 4) A severely damaged stamp with one third of lower right missing when discovered by Albert Steves, and 5) Unused stamp with thin and horizontal crease ending in a small tear, from a recent find, ex Felton (Siegel Sale 1016, lot 646).

The two covers bearing the 10c Type I are the only covers recorded for any of the Victoria provisionals. The ex-Caspary cover was acquired by John R. Boker Jr. in the 1967 Muzzy sale and has not since been offered publicly. The cover offered here was acquired by Harold C. Brooks and sold to A. Earl Weatherly in another private transaction. Charles and Lucy Kilbourne acquired the cover directly from Weatherly in 1963. It was next sold in our 1999 Kilbourne sale and purchased by Charles and Tracy Shreve for William H. Gross for $105,000 (Siegel Sale 815, lot 156). D.K. acquired the cover in the 2009 Spink-Shreves sale of the Gross Confederate States collection for $95,000 hammer.

Illustrated in Ashbrook article on the Brooks collection (Stamp Specialist, Black Book, 1945). Source notation "Nassau 1940" on back (believed to be Weatherly's). Ex Brooks, Weatherly, Kilbourne and Gross. With 2010 P.F. certificate (Image)

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