Pony Express, San Francisco, Apr. 17 (1861). Running Pony oval datestamp in red clearly struck on 10¢ Green on White Nesbitt entire (U15) addressed to A. W. Canfield, care of George Updyke & Co., New York City, sender's directive "Pony Express", no indication of $2.00 rate, carried on the Pony trip that departed San Francisco on Wednesday, April 17, 1861, and arrived in St. Joseph on April 30, entered the mails with green "St. Joseph Mo. Apr. 30" circular datestamp, small opening slit at top, faint stain spot at bottom right

VERY FINE. ONE OF THE FINEST EXAMPLES OF THE SAN FRANCISCO RUNNING PONY OVAL IN RED AND THE ONLY RECORDED RED STRIKE WITH A DATE. THIS APRIL 17, 1861, EASTBOUND TRIP FROM SAN FRANCISCO MARKED THE BEGINNING OF THE $2.00 PER HALF-OUNCE RATE PERIOD.

The April 17 trip was the first to occur in San Francisco after notice of the new $2.00 rate was received from St. Joseph by Pony Express. This marks the beginning of what postal historians call Rate Period 3, and it is also the early stage of Phase II, known as the Interim Phase, in which the Pony Express was operated as a joint private enterprise by COC&PP (now controlled by Holladay) and the Overland Mail Company, with Wells Fargo & Company acting as agents for the business. Starting on April 15, newspaper ads announced the new rates and that Wells Fargo would receive Pony Express mail (see first notice opposite).

The FKW census lists only five covers with the San Francisco Running Pony oval (SF-RP) struck in red instead of blue (see table below). The earliest has a blank date field and is used with the "Central Overland California & Pike's Peak Express Company, San Francisco, Cal." oval (SF-COCPP) dated March 20, 1861, also struck in red. The next sequential cover in the FKW census is an April 4, 1861, way-mail use from Sacramento without San Francisco markings. Following that are three covers sent from San Francisco on the same trip--April 13, 1861--each of which has the undated Running Pony oval in red and red SF-COCPP dated April 13. Finally, the fifth recorded cover (offered here) has a Running Pony red oval with the date inserted--April 17--and without the SF-COCPP oval. Two other covers from this April 17 trip are recorded (E69–offered in lot 15– and E70), both of which have the Running Pony dated oval struck in blue, not red. There are tiny flecks of blue ink present in the red strike on this cover. Changes in management and operations could be factors explaining why red ink was temporarily used by the San Francisco office.

From a collecting standpoint, this cover is the finest example of the red San Francisco Running Pony oval. An equally fine strike is found on the cover to England (E64), but the overseas use is of far greater significance and value. The strike on E63 is also very clear, but the upper right corner of the 10¢ entire has been cut out and repaired. The E61 and E65 covers have lightly inked strikes. The cover offered here (E67) is clearly struck with all details of the marking fully inked and visible.

FKW Census E67. Illustrated in Frajola-Kramer-Walske, The Pony Express: A Postal History (page 45). Ex Haas and "Edwards" (Grombacher). With 1966 P.F. certificate.

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