THE RARE TINY BLUE SCALLOPED "SUN" DATESTAMPS OF THE 1860s -...

Hammer

£160

THE RARE TINY BLUE SCALLOPED "SUN" DATESTAMPS OF THE 1860s - LOCAL OR CHILE COVERS, ETC.; 31 Aug. 1865 & 27 Oct. 1867 very fine strikes of the rare tiny London scalloped "SUN" cds in blue; on stampless cover ex Chile to France (with hexagon-framed "GB/2F875/10c" Accountancy Mark on the front) or on a local London env. with 1d Red respectively. The SUN marks have different sized scallops (10 or 12) and are similar to the (relatively common) pre-1840 red types found on Free mail; plus a Nov. 1839 free front with a very fine strike of the larger red "SUN" cds (16 scallops). Very few examples of this blue "SUN" mark have been recorded, and it is a mystery what its function really was after 1840, though it may have been for delayed missorted mail. (3 items)Cross Reference: FRANCE, ACCOUNTANCY MARKS, FREE MAIL, CHILE