PUERTO RICO, Coamo Provisional, 1898, 5c Black, Ty. III-III (201). Positions 6-7, horizontal pair showing the fancy outlined "5" which is found only on these two positions from the sheet of 10, full framelines all around, uncancelled and affixed to cover to Mrs. R. D. Potts at The Presidio, San Francisco Cal., "Military Sta. 1 Porto Rico. Wash D.C. Aug. 30 '98 12 M." duplex cancel struck partly off top of cover next to pair, backstamped with "San Francisco Sep. 12 '98 11 PM" duplex and "Presidio Cal. Rec'd. Sep. 13, 1898 9 AM", minor soiling and bottom of cover with small tears, accompanied by letter from Capt. Potts to the New England Stamp Company offering Coamo stamps and covers for sale

VERY FINE COVER AND LETTER. THIS IS ONE OF ONLY TWO KNOWN COVERS BEARING A PAIR OF THE RARE 5-CENT 1898 COAMO PROVISIONAL. IT IS ALSO ONE OF ONLY THREE KNOWN FRANKINGS TO SAN FRANCISCO.

The first knowledge in the philatelic world of the existence of the Coamo provisional stamps was most likely provided by Captain R. D. Potts's use of the stamps on mail to his wife in San Francisco, rather than Alfred O. Tittmann's purchase of the remainder sheets, which became known later. Shortly after Potts mailed his letters an article about the Coamo Provisional appeared in Mekeel's Weekly Stamp News. The cover offered here is the first of three sent by Potts to his wife and may have been the source of the Mekeels article. One other Potts cover also bears a pair and these two are the only Coamo covers recorded with pairs. While the stamps were not valid on mail sent outside of Puerto Rico, Potts was a collector and recognized the philatelic significance of using the Coamo Provisional on his mail. Ten Coamo covers are known in total, including the three which were sent by Captain Potts. The re-emergence of these covers after decades off the market has afforded the opportunity to compile an updated census of the known covers, which is available at http://www.siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/PR_201/PR_201.pdf

The accompanying letter from Capt. Potts to the New England Stamp Co. is dated January 28, 1900. It describes how he came into possession of provisional stamps while serving in the U.S. force that captured Coamo, and states that he sent three covers to his wife, using a total of five stamps. This exactly matches the known population of Potts covers and stamps used on them.

Census No. 201-COV-05. Ex Junghanns. Listed in Scott as pair on cover but unpriced. Scott Retail as single on cover

Image Magnifier / Download

Power Search for Comparables