Madison Court House Fla., 3c Gold on Bluish (3AX1). Large to huge margins, clear strike of "Madison C.H. Flo. Feb. 21" (1861) circular datestamp, deep thin and tiny pinhole

EXTREMELY FINE APPEARANCE. ONE OF THE MOST ATTRACTIVE OF THE FIVE RECORDED OFF-COVER MADISON COURT HOUSE, FLORIDA, POSTMASTER'S PROVISIONALS.

The Madison Court House Provisional was the subject of a definitive article by Patricia A. Kaufmann in the American Philatelist and the Confederate Philatelist (the article, with updates, can be viewed at http://www.trishkaufmann.com/madison.php ). The Madison Provisional is one of six stamps that the Scott Catalogue now lists separately as "3c 1861 Postmasters' Provisionals". They are distinct from the 5c and 10c Confederate Provisionals in that the postmasters who issued the stamps were still technically under the control of the U.S. Post Office Department, and were remitting postal receipts to the Department (and were avoiding ordering new U.S. stamps in anticipation of a final change in administrative control of their offices). The 1861 Provisionals are all 3c adhesives or handstamps, reflecting the then-current U.S. letter rate. One of the recorded Madison Court House examples bears a manuscript "(P)aid in (Money)" in the handwriting of Postmaster Samuel J. Perry.

Only six examples of Scott 3AX1 are recorded, including four with the normal "CENTS" spelling (one is known only from an old photocopy at The Philatelic Foundation), the unique "CNETS" error, and the only recorded on-cover example. There is also the unique Madison 5c Provisional press-printed entire, listed in the regular C.S.A. Provisional section (137XU1).

Ex Judge Philbrick, Sir William Avery, Ferrary, Lapham, Moody and Dr. Briggs. With 1996 C.S.A. certificate.

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