California Pony Express, New-York, Apr. 6 (1861). Partly clear strike of ultramarine oval datestamp on 10¢ Pale Green on Buff Nesbitt entire (U16a) with Wells Fargo & Company black printed frank, addressed to James Pullman, Sansome and Sacramento Streets, San Francisco, no indication of $2.00 rate (Rate Period 3) and no government post office markings, carried by Wells Fargo to St. Joseph where green "Pony Express, The Central Overland California & Pikes Peak Express Company, St. Joseph, Mo. Apr. 14" large oval within circle datestamp was applied before the cover was carried on the Sunday, April 14, westbound trip to San Francisco, some minor toning around edges

VERY FINE. THIS IS THE EARLIEST RECORDED WESTBOUND PONY EXPRESS COVER FROM THE PHASE II OPERATIONAL PERIOD AND RATE PERIOD 3. THE USE OF THE WELLS FARGO & COMPANY BLACK FRANK IS VERY UNUSUAL--ONLY ONE OTHER IS RECORDED (AN EASTBOUND USE).

The Phase II (Interim) operational period and Rate Period 3 started in St. Joseph on April 1, 1861, and the first westbound trip left on Thursday, April 4, followed by trips on Sunday, April 7, and Thursday, April 11. No covers from these three trips are recorded. The cover offered here is the earliest recorded westbound mail to which the new $2.00 per half-ounce rate and Phase II handling procedures applied.

Wells Fargo & Company became involved with the Pony Express in April 1861 and issued stamps for use in the West and a franked entire for use in the East. The first Pony Express frank--Type I--was printed in red on the 10¢ Green on White Nesbitt entire (U15). Several unused examples of the Type I frank are known, but only two used examples are recorded, dated with the "California Pony Express New-York" oval on May 7 and June 22, 1861 (FKW W41 and W43). The rarity and dates of use of the Type I frank suggest it was used briefly and with limited distribution before the Type II franked entire was issued after July 1.

This cover is a fascinating Interim Phase usage. The black frank is found on only two Pony Express covers. The other is on the 3¢ Star Die entire to France with a $1.00 Red Pony Express stamp and blue San Francisco Running Pony oval dated July 27, 1861 (E126). It was sent unpaid to France, and the 3¢ embossed stamp counted for nothing. The cover offered here is a westbound use, and the sender presumably used the 10¢ franked entire to pay postage and the Wells Fargo fee during the Interim Phase.

A puzzling aspect of this cover is the lapse between the April 6 New York date and the April 14 St. Joseph date. Typically, there is a difference of four or five days. A few covers are known with an 8-day difference. In this case, the mail might have just missed the April 11 departure and was datestamped for the next trip on April 14.

FKW Census W38. Illustrated in Walske-Frajola, Mails of the Westward Expansion, 1803 to 1861 (page 228).

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