1c Blue, Ty. IV, Printed "paid" Precancel (9 var). Large margins at sides, in at top and bottom, printed "paid" pre-cancel in lower-case type, faint horizontal crease visible only when drying

VERY FINE APPEARANCE AND EXTREMELY RARE EXAMPLE OF THE ONE-CENT 1851 ISSUE WITH THE "paid" PRECANCEL.

Little is known about the lower-case "paid" and upper-case "PAID" precancels on the 1c 1851 Issue. The Ashbrook book illustrates several varieties of actual and supposed precancels. Ashbrook surmises that "the markings... were printed from newspaper type. In all probability the overprinting was done in a newspaper printing plant, and the stamps were used on wrappers enclosing newspapers or more than probable, on the newspapers themselves." Ashbrook's theory was borne out by the discovery of a wrapper containing The American Eagle of Cleveland, dated Feb. 2, 1857 (sold in our 2004 Rarities sale).

The example offered here was purchased by John Hall, Jr. in 1932 and is offered to the market for only the second time

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