Terms of SaleBid IncrementsGradingLinksContact

Sale 62: Western Postal History

Previous ChapterTable of ContentsNext Chapter

Sacramento & San Bernardino County

Lots 102-109

Lot 102    

(Sacramento) Hicksville, Cal., Dec 31 (1862), double oval (SAC-1510) alongside waffle grid killer on 3¢ rose, to Vermont, few trivial spots, Very Fine and rare.
Estimate    $300 - 400.

Realized: $270

email this lot to a friend

Lot 103    

(Sacramento) Mormon Island, Cala., July 25 (1854), nicely struck triple oval (SAC-1910) with "PAID" / 6, on stampless orange envelope to Boston, Extremely Fine, one of the finest known.
Estimate    $200 - 300.

Realized: $210

email this lot to a friend

Lot 104    

(Sacramento) Mormon Island, Cala., double-lined double oval postmark with "June 28" manuscript date and "10" manuscript rate marking on stampless cover to Milton, Massachusetts, then forwarded fully prepaid from Boston to South Mansfield, Massachusetts, "Paid" manuscript notation added at left & "Boston, Aug 2, 3cts" red cds and "Paid" red straight line handstamp applied at right, Very Fine and choice, a great strike of this marking which is notoriously difficult to find a complete marking, illustrated in Coburn's Letters of Gold (page 314).
Estimate    $300 - 400.

email this lot to a friend

Lot 105    

(Sacramento) Sacramento (Cal.) Aug 24, manuscript postmark and "40" manuscript rate marking on stampless cover to Bristol, Connecticut, with "Please forward at the first opportunity" sender's endorsement, "1849" docket in pencil that is probably not contemporary, minor stain at upper right, Very Fine, one of the rarest & most desirable California manuscript postmarks, ex-Haas, illustrated in Coburn's Letters of Gold (page 32).
Estimate    $750 - 1,000.

This cover is the basis for the August 24, 1849, listing in Williams of the earliest known Sacramento manuscript postmark.

Realized: $625

email this lot to a friend

Lot 106    

(Sacramento) Sacramento, Cal., Jul 8, cds (SAC-2580) and matching quartered cork cancels tying 1869, 10¢ yellowish orange on cover to Freiberg, North Germany, red Chicago exchange and transit backstamps, Very Fine, ex-Tatham.
Scott No. 116    Estimate $300 - 400.

Realized: $200

email this lot to a friend

Lot 107    

(San Bernardino) Barstow, Cal., Jul. 29, 1886, purple sawtooth cds (Williams unlisted, new SBE-505) and target duplex tying 1883, 2¢ red brown on cover to La Conner, Wash., with receiving backstamp and original enclosure; cover reduced at left, Very Fine, the only example of this townmark recorded, this postmark was applied two months after the Post Office opened at Barstow and as such is the earliest recorded mark from this location.
Scott No. 210    Estimate $500 - 750.

Realized: $350

email this lot to a friend

Lot 108    

(San Bernardino) Doble, Cal., Jan. 5, 1904, cds and killer duplex (SBE-2050) on M.O.B. Post Office cover to San Bernardino, Very Fine.
Estimate    $300 - 400.

Only three examples are known from this ghost town. One of the examples is a receiving mark and this is the best example of the known mark from this location. This Post Office operated for about six years; its location is at time under water at the eastern end of Big Bear Lake.

Realized: $325

email this lot to a friend

Lot 109    

(San Bernardino) Salt Springs 1863-64 John Scott Correspondence, of 14 letters to wife, six with original hand-carried covers addressed to Los Angeles and endorsed "Care M.W. Childs", letters mentioning gold excitement and miners, running an engine (probably for the mill) mention train passing through to L.A. (likely the method of travel for the correspondence), Mormons and Indians, a couple letters datelined from Amagosa, etc.; covers with opening tear at sides, otherwise Very Fine, an interesting correspondence from Salt Springs.
Estimate    $300 - 400.

The earliest recorded gold discovery in San Bernardino County occurred at Salt Springs, at a point on the Santa Fe-Salt Lake Trail. In 1863, the Amargosa Gold and Silver Mining Company of San Francisco acquired the mines at Salt Spring and in the fall of 1863, they installed a new mill that "met with good success for over a year." The company, however, went broke and the mill was sold in a sheriff's auction to Augustus Spear. On October 29, 1864, news broke in Los Angeles concerning the death of three men who were caretakers at the property. One of the men, had been killed by Indians, and the mill had been burned. The other two men were found 20 miles away, having committed suicide by putting bullets through their skulls. Two months later on December 4, 1864, Dr. J. A. Rousseau's party passed the mine and saw the destroyed mill. There were 4 buildings standing at that time. In the middle of the 1860s, a new company took over the mine and operated it successfully for a couple of months. Yet, even though they later were reported to have grossed $11,000 from one ore blast of two tons of ore, and during a period of one month, the five-stamp mill produced $58,000 in gold.

Realized: $425

email this lot to a friend

Lots 102-109

Previous ChapterTable of ContentsNext Chapter