Unbound
1861 · [New York]
[New York], 1861. Unbound. Very good. This 1½” s 3¼” franking indicia was clipped from the left edge of a special Wells-Fargo 10-cent franked envelope that would have been used between 1 April and 30 June 1861 during the Pony Express’s Third Period when it carried mail for an additional $2 per half ounce. It is from a Type 1 westbound envelope as identified by the comma after Placerville. Most westbound mail during this period was not enclosed in WF Type I franked envelopes, probably because they were not available until sometime in May.
The envelope would have been purchased from a Wells-Fargo agent (probably at New York) for $2.10, and sent within packet by the U.S. mail to post office at St. Joseph, Missouri, who would have transferred them to the local Pony Express agent, who, in turn processed them for delivery by rider to California. There are only two known postally used examples, both originating in New York, however several unused envelopes exist as well.
Similar Type 2 envelopes without the comma were used later during the Fourth Period, during July through October, when rates dropped to $1 per half ounce. They would have been handled similarly. There are only 19 known examples which originated from Philadelphia, Cambridge Massachusetts, Caseyville Kentucky, and St. Louis. . (For more information, see Frajola, Kramer, and Walske’s The Pony Express: A Postal History, The Pony Express, a 2007 exhibit at the Siegel Auction website, “Pony Express Mail, 1860-1861 in Mails of the Westward Expansion, 1803 to 1861” at the Western Cover Society website, and Trepel’s Wells, Fargo & Company 1861 Pony Express Issues.)
As noted by Trepel in the Siegel Auction listing, “Inexplicably, these . . . have been omitted from the Scott U.S. Specialized Catalogue. At the very least, they belong with the other Wells Fargo issues.” Postally used examples sell for incredibly high prices. Most recently, a more common Type 2 postally used entire envelope sold at H.R. Harmer’s ERIVAN X auction in April 2024 for a hammer price of $50,000. The envelope shown is not included in this lot.
I have been unable to locate auction results for any unused examples of either Type1 or Type 2 envelopes or clipped indicia , however unused examples of much more common Pony Express items sell for 2-4% of postally used similar items. So . . . this item is priced accordingly. . (Inventory #: 010474)
The envelope would have been purchased from a Wells-Fargo agent (probably at New York) for $2.10, and sent within packet by the U.S. mail to post office at St. Joseph, Missouri, who would have transferred them to the local Pony Express agent, who, in turn processed them for delivery by rider to California. There are only two known postally used examples, both originating in New York, however several unused envelopes exist as well.
Similar Type 2 envelopes without the comma were used later during the Fourth Period, during July through October, when rates dropped to $1 per half ounce. They would have been handled similarly. There are only 19 known examples which originated from Philadelphia, Cambridge Massachusetts, Caseyville Kentucky, and St. Louis. . (For more information, see Frajola, Kramer, and Walske’s The Pony Express: A Postal History, The Pony Express, a 2007 exhibit at the Siegel Auction website, “Pony Express Mail, 1860-1861 in Mails of the Westward Expansion, 1803 to 1861” at the Western Cover Society website, and Trepel’s Wells, Fargo & Company 1861 Pony Express Issues.)
As noted by Trepel in the Siegel Auction listing, “Inexplicably, these . . . have been omitted from the Scott U.S. Specialized Catalogue. At the very least, they belong with the other Wells Fargo issues.” Postally used examples sell for incredibly high prices. Most recently, a more common Type 2 postally used entire envelope sold at H.R. Harmer’s ERIVAN X auction in April 2024 for a hammer price of $50,000. The envelope shown is not included in this lot.
I have been unable to locate auction results for any unused examples of either Type1 or Type 2 envelopes or clipped indicia , however unused examples of much more common Pony Express items sell for 2-4% of postally used similar items. So . . . this item is priced accordingly. . (Inventory #: 010474)
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