5¢ Red Brown (1), huge margins to large including portion of adjoining stamp at left, tied by red grid cancel with matching "New-York Feb. 19" circular datestamp on Valentine envelope with beautiful scrollwork design lithographed in gold on front and back, addressed to Northcastle, New York

Extremely Fine and spectacular 5¢ 1847 Valentine cover.

In 1845 Congress changed the basis of postage charges from one rate per sheet of paper to one rate per half ounce. Since envelopes would have been counted as an extra sheet of paper under the old system, the switch to a weight class paved the way for letter-and-envelope stationery. Still, the practice of folding a letter and writing the address directly on the letter sheet continued well into the 1860s and 1870s. The use of envelopes increased slowly during the life of the 1847 Issue.

The 5¢ 1847 is recorded on a number of Valentine and ladies' covers, but this example, in our opinion, is one of the most striking envelope designs. It is also desirable as a smaller size cover (137 x 93mm).

Ex Louis Grunin, Duane B. Garrett, Ryohei Ishikawa and Guido Craveri. With 1993 P.F. certificate.

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