Lot
741 
Sacramento City, Cal., Nov 20, large serifed cds (type 1, early use) and manuscript "12½" rate marking on folded letter to San Francisco, also red San Francisco, Cal., 30 Dec cds and matching red "2" rate handstamp, which suggests this letter was missent or mislaid for over a month and then the origin postmark and rate were either misread or disregarded and so the letter was treated as a drop letter, letter is headed "Sacramento City Nov 16th 1850" and from an "old friend" to John Caperton, a former Texas Ranger and a Deputy Sheriff in San Francisco, letter (1 page) concerns a collection but the writer also asks "Will you be so kind as to look in the Post Office at San Francisco and see if there is not some letters for me. I've tried writing to the postmaster also the express line, I don't believe either possess any accommodation or are worth a dam… cholera has worsened", Very Fine and an enigmatic combination of rates, this letter has previously been interpreted as having been advertised for 2¢ but that scenario is doubtful since the addressee was a municipal official who surely called for his letters regularly. Estimate $300 - 400.
Sacramento City large serifed circular date stamps--without integral rate and with the official Post Office name with "City" and featuring a serif typeface--are known used from November 19, 1850, onward with 96 examples recorded in the "40" rate period that ended June 30, 1851. In that period, two devices with slightly different letter spacings were used concurrently. Of the total, which includes both devices, 18 examples appear on folded letters or covers sent at the 12½¢ rate, 63 at the 40¢ rate, 9 at the 80¢ double rate, and 6 at other rates.
Realized: $400