A cover displaying a Hawaiian 1851 5c blue missionary stamp is the lead lot of Robert A Siegel's October 22 sale in New York, with a $100,000-150,000 estimate.
The auction features a strong selection of Hawaiian Stamps and Covers.
 Only eight 5c Hawaiian missionary covers are known to exist |
The lot is one of the best examples of the eight covers to feature the stamp and one of only two stamped with a forwarder's marking.
GD Gilman, the forwarder in question, posted the letter from Lahaina, Hawaii to Portland, Maine - a journey that took well over a month.
The missionary stamp was the first ever issued in Hawaii and is named because it appears on correspondence from missionaries based on the island.
It was designed and printed by Henry M Whitney, the local postmaster, and was used between 1851 and 1856.
In June last year, the Dawson cover, the only example to feature both 2c and 5c missionaries, sold for a record $1.9m at Robert A Siegel.
A single 1851 13c missionary stamp, one of only seven extant, is valued at $37,000.
We have a phenomenal selection of stamps and covers available, including this 1918 cover sent from the remote Atlantic island of Tristan Da Cunha.
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