Lot
1814 
Confederacy, (Prize Court Mail) 1861 (May 23) New Orleans La. to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, orange cover addressed to Capt. A. H. Depass of Bark Meaco bearing United States 5¢ brown (30A), 10¢ green (35) and 30¢ orange (38), all tied by two strikes of slightly indistinct "New Orleans, La. May 23" cds, prepaying the 45¢ British mail rate via G.B. with appropriate magenta "24" cent credit rating to G.B., carried by Cunard Line Europa from Boston May 29th to Liverpool arriving Jun. 8, red "London Paid JU 8 61" transit cds, then by steamer to Brazil, docketed by Philadelphia Prize Court with red "17" at left and "201. / H.F.", stamp with flaws including scissor s.e., partial flap, Very Fine. Estimate $7,500 - 10,000.
A REMARKABLE UNIQUE 1857 ISSUE USE TO RIO DE JANEIRO, WHICH WAS LATER USED AS EVIDENCE IN THE PHILADELPHIA PRIZE COURT.
The Bark "Meaco", with Captain Depass was returning from Rio de Janeiro to New Orleans when it was captured on September 5, 1861 while anchored off Pass a L'Outre, Louisiana by the USS "Brooklyn", one of the blockaders of the mouth of the Mississippi River. The "Meaco", with its crew was sailed to Philadelphia and libeled by the Philadelphia Prize Court. The cover is docketed by Prize Court Commissioner Henry Flanders, a well-respected scholar on maritime law, with his "H.F." initials and with the red "17" denoting the court case number. Since both the "Meaco" and her cargo were found to be the property of Confederates, the "Meaco" was sold by the Prize Court for $6,000 and her cargo of 3,000 bags of coffee for $86,000.
Realized: $15,000