AMER AUGUST 2015
The live portion of this session begins on Monday, August 24, 2015.
FOUR VERY RARE PONY EXPRESS STAMPS.In 1860, the call went out for small, brave young men that could ride a horse well. The rides were dangerous, but the pay was good. These were the Pony Express riders usually younger than 18 years old who were expected to cover 250 miles a day in spite of inclement weather and Indian attacks. Before 1860, it could take up to eight weeks to get mail from the East Coast to California. For the businessmen and bankers in growing Sacramento, that was too long. As the Civil War approached, they wanted news quickly and both the Union and the South wanted to persuade the state to join its side. The Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company developed the Pony Express to reduce the time it took to get news from the North to California. The first ride left St. Joseph, Missouri on April 3, 1860, and arrived in Sacramento, California just ten days later. In April 1861, Wells Fargo and Company took over the Pony Express routes west of Salt Lake City. To make accounting easier and to advertise their company, they hired Britton and Company to print stamps for the eastbound mail from California. Four rare varieties of Pony Express stamps are represented here, 10c, 25c blue, 25c red and $1. The red $1 stamp here is especially scarce and an actual cancelled example. $1 red was used to cover the fee for a half ounce letter and was used from July 1861 until October 1861. The Virginia City Pony Express was established in August of 1862 as strictly a Wells Fargo company project, running from San Francisco, Sacramento, Carson City and Virginia City. The rates on this run started at 25 cents per half ounce and down to 10 cents between California and Virginia City. The red 25 cent stamp was used during the final months of service and is very rare. SIZE: CONDITION: Good to very good, red 25c has fold and reductions in upper right hand corner, is glued to paper backing. The cancelled $1 has light fading and staining but retains full borders. 48441-12 JS (3,000-5,000)