Lot 7363
Ricketts & Hall, 127L1, 1c Red on Bluish, Outer Circle Removed, Unused
Among the Great Rarities of United States Local Posts, The Only Unused Example
Mise à prix: $5,000
Estimation: $8,000 - $10,000
Unused, with the outer circle bearing the firm name and address removed with a small thin spot at top.
The Ricketts & Hall One Cent Dispatch stamp is among the great rarities of United States local posts. Kelly, who devoted decades to studying Baltimore private posts, recorded only half a dozen examples and wrote that the circular stamps issued by Ricketts & Hall "are among the real rarities of United States locals." Gronowski's 1994 census in The Penny Post identified seven examples. There has been one additional discovery since, bringing the total to eight. Of these, four retain the full outer label and four have the outer circle cut away — believed to reflect sale to a successor proprietor. Only three are recorded on cover. This is the sole example recorded as unused among the eight known, and the only off-cover example without a pencil cancellation. The post operated for no more than five months from No. 4 Rechabite Hall in Baltimore beginning February 1857, and the tiny volume of mail handled accounts for the stamp's extraordinary rarity. No forgeries are known.
Provenance
Ex Maurice Burrus
Informations sur la vente
The Philatelic Icons Sale 2026 | June 26-28
Sale 33b: Locals (continued): Eagle City Post - Whittlesey's Express — Sunday, June 28, 2026 | 3pm EST, 12pm PST
We are honored to present The Philatelic Icons Sale, the largest and most significant auction Americana Stamps has ever offered.
America's history lives in the letters that crossed goldfields and battle lines, in express covers that linked frontier towns to the outside world, and in the stamps that mark how a young country built its postal system from scratch. This sale brings together more than 1,500 lots that trace that story, including philatelic icons seldom offered to the public.
This auction is a natural fit for 2026, the 250th year of the United States, and for the Boston 2026 World Expo (May 23 to 30, Booth 141), the once-per-decade international exhibition where we are proud to open the sale. More than 750 lots are accompanied by Philatelic Foundation certifications, the largest concentration of certified material we have ever offered in a single sale.
As always, the sale is designed to serve both the collector and the researcher. Whenever available, you can expect:
✔ High-resolution imagery of all aspects of the item
✔ Links to reference articles and supporting research
✔ Links to philatelic certifications
✔ Census data and population insights
✔ Provenance details to trace notable histories
Whether you are pursuing a long-sought rarity or simply enjoy the chance to study material of this caliber, we invite you to explore the Philatelic Icons Sale and join us in Boston for our largest in-person preview to date.