Sale 1003 — Specialized U.S. Collections, Air Post, Foreign Stamps & Covers

Sale Date — Wednesday-Friday, 15-17 December, 2010

Category — War Department Issues (Fancy and Kicking Mule Cancellations)

Lot
Symbol
Photo/Description
Cat./Est. Value
Realized
5493
 
War Department, Fancy and Other Cancellations. Approximately 80 different, pictorial types incl. Kicking Mule, Danbury Conn. Top Hat, Galena Ill. Beer Mug, New Orleans Cross with Rays, Eagle, Shields, Pumpkin, Leafs, Anchors, Stars; Negative and Positive Letters featuring Pittsburgh "RKN" Initials and Fort Leavenworth "E" in Wreath; Negative and Positive Numerals; miscellaneous types with scarce Wells Fargo and Co. oval on 15c, "(Drag) Boat" on 12c, "Cheyenne River Agency" Double Circle, patent cut, and "New York Paid All", virtually all select strikes, an incredibly nice collection of these interesting cancellations

E. 1,500-2,000
2,800
5494
 
Sale 1003, Lot 5494, War Department Issues (Fancy and Kicking Mule Cancellations)War Department, New Orleans Cut Cork Killers. Small collection of thirteen off-cover and one on cover, all different, the off-cover are all bold strikes and virtually all complete, the cover is slightly reduced large-size with 6c tied by large fancy grid of bars, "(Head)quarters Department of the Gulf, Official Business" imprint with printed address "Commanding Officer, U.S. Troops" with ms. "Holly Springs Miss" beneath, beautiful group, postal clerks in New Orleans carved hundreds of short-lived cork obliterators during the Bank Note era, most, but not all, were varieties of geometrics, both symmetrical and asymmetrical

E. 400-500
425
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5495
 
War Department, Washington, D.C. Cancellations. Collection of eight imprint covers and 15 off-cover used stamps, covers with 1c-3c values, three with numeral target duplexes (collector states one cover addressed in the hand of General William Tecumseh Sherman), four with numeral oval grid duplexes (numbers 1, 2, 3 and 5), last cover is large-size with Office of National Cemeteries imprint with 3c tied by so-called "Snowflake" Geometric, off-cover stamps with various Geometrics, two Leafs, Triangle (Railroad Station), red (local Mail) and purple quartered cork (1878 ink trial), all nice strikes, Fine-Very Fine lot

E. 300-400
750
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5496
 
War Department, Used Accumulation. Hundreds of stamps on pages, in glassines and loose, incl. Forts, Territorials, Towns, Fancy, Colored, Numerals, etc., also some from other Departments and a totally unrelated inexpensive used United States collection, generally Fine-Very Fine, the winner of this lot is going to have a sorting field day and will no doubt find many desirable items

E. 2,000-3,000
2,600
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5497
FC
Sale 1003, Lot 5497, War Department Issues (Fancy and Kicking Mule Cancellations)1c-90c War (O83-O93). Each with Kicking Mule fancy cancel, complete strikes except 90c somewhat light, this value, along with 24c additional ms. cancel, couple minor flaws

FNE-VERY FINE APPEARANCE. THE 7-CENT AND 90-CENT WAR DEPARTMENT VALUES ARE BELIEVED TO BE UNIQUE WITH THIS CANCEL.

This is without doubt the first time this "set" has been made available to the collecting public and would certainly make an eye-catching exhibition page

E. 2,000-3,000
3,250
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5498
FC
Sale 1003, Lot 5498, War Department Issues (Fancy and Kicking Mule Cancellations)6c, 12c War, Soft Paper (O117, O119). Single of former, two singles of latter, on piece with full strike of "Port Townsend, Wash. Apr. 23, 1883" double-circle datestamp, each stamp with Kicking Mule fancy cancel, the center and right Mules are standing on end since postmaster Learned turned the duplex canceller 90 degrees so that the stamps only received the Mule (killer) portion, Postmaster Learned must have been a "by the book" man since postal regulations mandated that a killer, not the circular datestamp, be used to cancel stamps (a regulation that was obviously not adhered to in many cases), Fine and handsome piece despite small perf flaws on one 12c, this is the largest known piece with Official stamps cancelled by "Kicking Mules", ex Clapp

E. 500-750
1,400
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5499
FC
Sale 1003, Lot 5499, War Department Issues (Fancy and Kicking Mule Cancellations)Kicking Mule Fancy Cancels on Interior Dept. Officials. Six singles and four on piece hinged to exhibit page, incl. single 15c and 30c values, examples on piece with Port Townsend Wash. circular datestamps, clear to bold strikes, stamp centering ranges from Very Food-Fine, couple small faults faults to be expected, overall a beautiful and Very Fine group of strikes, none are known on a full cover

E. 400-500
1,100
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5500
FC
Sale 1003, Lot 5500, War Department Issues (Fancy and Kicking Mule Cancellations)Kicking Mule Fancy Cancels on Agriculture Dept. Officials. Four singles hinged to an exhibit page, two of 3c value and two of 6c, clear to bold strikes and Fine-Very Fine centering, a choice group and very rare on Agriculture Dept. stamps, this group represents four of the 10 known, it is a mystery why they appear on this Department's stamps at all as there were no agencies near any of the five towns that used the cancel, it has been speculated that the stamps were used by travelling agents, or were cancelled from pre-stamped reply envelopes sent to one of the five towns

E. 750-1,000
750
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5501
FC
Kicking Mule Fancy Cancels on Official Stamps and Covers. Ten-page exhibit detailing the history and geography of the Kicking Mules and showing approximately 80 stamps and two entires, most stamps from War Dept., incl. lower denominations and 10c, 12c, 24c and 30c examples, clear to strong strikes, most stamps with genuine strikes but count of 80 also includes approximately 25 reference examples with fake cancels which are identified as such on the pages

E. 2,000-3,000
2,800
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5502
FC
Sale 1003, Lot 5502, War Department Issues (Fancy and Kicking Mule Cancellations)Kicking Mule Fancy Cancels on Official Penalty Envelopes. Five examples, incl. 3c Banknote affixed over Dept. of Interior penalty imprint, tied by two strikes of the mule and "Susanville, Lassen Co. Cal. Aug. 19, 1881" circular datestamp, yellow Post Office Department envelope with "Goleta Santa Barbara Co. Cal. Oct. 20, 1882" circular datestamp (missing top flap), Dept. of Interior legal-size imprint with "Neah Bay Wash. Aug. 19, 1884" circular datestamp, finally two different Forbestown Cal. usages, one an 1888 registry bill and the other an 1891 registered package receipt, Very Fine group

E. 300-400
1,400
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5503
FC
Sale 1003, Lot 5503, War Department Issues (Fancy and Kicking Mule Cancellations)Kicking Mule Fancy Cancels on U.S. Stamps and Covers. 13 items struck with Kicking Mule cancels, incl. six 1c-3c Bank Notes, 4c 1894-95 Issue, 1c and 4c Trans-Mississippi, 5c Columbian Issue cut square, also three covers, incl. one with pair No. 210 (one stamp defective), second with two No. 221 and single 6c 1894-95 Issue on 5c Entire (U223), finally one Forbestown Cal. registered package receipt, few small faults, Fine-Very Fine appearance, four P.F. or A.P.S. certificates accompany

E. 500-750
475
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