RARE COVER TO MALTA WITH BOTH RED "GIBRALTAR" ARC & 2-RING "...

Hammer

£200

RARE COVER TO MALTA WITH BOTH RED "GIBRALTAR" ARC & 2-RING "B.C./CADIZ" CONSULAR MARK; 18 Jan. 1827 EL from "Chicalana" (near Cadiz) to "Cospigua, Malta" charged "6[d]" with - most exceptionally - both a very fine 2-ring "B[ritish]. C[onsul]./CADIZ" mark (with a second poor strike alongside) and a fine red "GIBRALTAR" arc both on the front. Only two covers have been recorded with both of these Cadiz/Gibraltar marks (see 1836 lot above for the other cover); it seems that this letter could not travel by sea due to the January 1827 British Intervention in Portugal following the invasion of Lisbon at the start of the Miguelite Wars, and it would have been couriered overland. Important Exhibition item for Spain and Gibraltar collectors.