Lot 76
1841 1d Red-brown. Small envelope sent from Chester to Portsmouth, "Mini-cut"
The Phillips Collection of Great Britain | Part IV | S24008
Auction: 9 July 2024 at 11:00 BST
Description
1841 1d Red-brown. Small envelope sent from Chester to Portsmouth displaying an 1841 1d, Red-brown, cut with the so called "MINI-CUT" tied by a Chester ‘180’ numeral. At the P.O. the sender handed the letter + the Postal-fees to the P.O. clerk, who sold stamps, attached the adhesive to the letter and cancelled at the same time. A dishonest clerk could cut from the vertical row of 20 stamps - 22 stamps and from the horizontal row of 12 stamps - 13 stamps, thus gaining 46 extra stamps from one whole sheet making a small "Fortune" of 46d or 3/10d, which he put in his own pocket. Often such thievery was soon detected and the receiver of such a postal-item had to pay a fine of double the normal fee, as displayed by a handwritten “2” in red at top right. overall toning yet a spectacular item. SG8.
