provisional handstamps at upper right of cover to Philadelphia, matching "Baltimore Md. Oct 10" datestamp at left, pressed horizontal filefolds, very fine, Hayes Census #39, USPCS Census #20059 (Scott $4,500)

Before 1972, the Scott Catalogue assigned major numbers to the different colors of Baltimore handstamped envelopes (white, buff, salmon, manila), with buff being the most common and the other three colors carrying a premium. John R. Boker, Jr. believed that these subdivisions were unnecessarily confusing, and convinced Scott to consolidate the listings into four major numbers. For specialists in the issue, salmon envelopes are still scarcer than some of their counterparts and are thus valued higher.

Provenance: Alfred H. Caspary (H.R. Harmer Sale 967, 1955)