30c Ultramarine & Carmine (121). Bright colors, minor perf toning, tied by circular cork cancel and "Pittsburgh Pa. Jul. 14" (1870) duplex datestamp on Phantom Rate cover with printed address to Paris, France, red crayon "18/2" credit applied at New York (no datestamp), red London transit (Jul. 30) and matching "PD" in oval handstamp, Calais transit datestamp, faint Paris receiving backstamp, faint toning along top of cover and skillfully cleaned

VERY FINE. THE ONLY RECORDED EXAMPLE OF THE 30-CENT 1869 PICTORIAL ON A PHANTOM RATE COVER. A MARVELOUS COMBINATION OF PHILATELIC RARITY AND POSTAL HISTORY SIGNIFICANCE.

This cover was mailed from Pittsburgh soon after the New York foreign-mail office began applying the newly-reduced (effective 7/1/70) 6c per 10 grams (-1/3 oz.) credit to letters sent fully prepaid to France via England. The sender would not have known about the unannounced prepaid rate to France, so this was probably stamped 30c for a letter weighing just over one ounce (3x 10c Direct rate with French postage collect). The New York office weighed the letter at just under one ounce, thus it had sufficient postage to be sent fully prepaid at the unannounced 10c per half-ounce rate with a 6c credit to G.B. for every -1/3 ounce (10 grams). The "18" of the "18/2" credit represents the 3x 6c credit (20-30 grams), and the "2" represents the second weight class of the 4c per half-ounce U.S. share of postage (over -1/2 oz., up to 1 oz.). Combined, the 18c credit to G.B. and 8c U.S. postage required 26c prepayment, thus the 30c 1869 overpaid the rate by 4c.

Illustrated in 1869 PRA Census (p. 201, where the rate is misinterpreted). Ex Lounsbery and Coulter. With 1967 and 2006 P.F. certificates.

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