Lot
957 
(TransA - Ocean) (Reprisal Period) 1848 (Mar. 20) London, England to Philadelphia Pa., folded letter with red London Paid (3.20) cds and red manuscript "1/-" prepaid rating, carried by Ocean Line Washington from Southampton Mar. 21st to New York arriving Apr. 7th New York blue manuscript "29" rate for 24¢ packet plus 5¢ inland postage, Very Fine. Estimate $200 - 300.
This is a rather unusual cover. The double circle postmark is a London Postmark. The one shilling rate was the British rate for a ½ oz. letter to go by packet to the United States. This was announced in the General Post Office's Instruction No. 9 of June 1847 stating "Letters conveyed by these Packets [referring to Packets between the United States and Bremen touching at Southampton] between Great Britain and the United States, will be liable to the usual British Packet postage of 1s for a letter not exceeding ½ an ounce." (The "discriminatory rate".) On 3 March 1845 the U.S. Congress passed an act establishing that mail between the United States to any ports in Great Britain or France, or any foreign port not less than 3,000 miles away transported in the U.S. mail [by U.S. contract mail vessels] would require 24 cents per ½ oz. with the U.S. inland postage added. Since there were no American contract mail vessels going overseas at the time, the rate wasn't charged. However, when the Ocean Line started operations in June 1847, this rate became effective. So the postage due on the cover was 24 cents plus 5 cents U.S. inland postage or 29 cents. It would appear that the New York exchange office applied the 29¢ as a retaliatory rate, but this is not so. In the first place, Congress had not acted to establish a retaliatory rate on March 20. Further, when it was passed, only mail carried on "foreign vessels" was subject to the rate.
Realized: $150