Auction Detail

stamp tied by "Hillsboro N.C. May 27 1861" double circle datestamp to cover to "Priestly H. Magnum, Raleigh, No. Ca.", cover expertly restored and repaired with pencil notations on the front erased, very fine appearance, one of two Hillsboro provisionals known and the unique example used at the 3c United States letter rate, 2022 Civil War Philatelic Society certificate (Scott listed but unpriced)
This cover was first described in a 1984 article by Patricia A. Kaufmann describing the 1861 United States 3c Postmaster Provisionals used in the Confederacy (Confederate Philatelist Vol. 29, No. 5). Although the Confederacy was formed on February 4, 1861, the act prescribing the rates of postage in the CSA did not go into effect until June 1. As Kaufmann explains:
"Postmasters from seceded states which joined the Confederacy found themselves in a very difficult position. While most postmasters were sympathetic to the South and intended subsequently to accept Confederate postmaster commissions, they still were technically under oath to the United States Post Office Department until June 1, 1861. The United States demanded a confirming oath from these southern postmasters be­ fore they would ship additional supplies of U.S. stamps to them during the period between the formation of the Confederacy and June 1, 1861."
This unique set of circumstances led to the issuance of postage stamps by a small number of Confederate postmasters during this brief window in early 1861. While a Hillsboro 5c provisional (used June 7, under the newly-established Confederate postal service) has been recognized for some time (at least since the 1929 edition of Dietz's book), the cover offered here was not described until Kaufmann's article. 
May 27, 1861, the date of this cover, coincides with the date that North Carolina joined the Confederacy (after seceding from the United States a week prior). It was also the date that United States Postmaster General Montgomery Blair ordered the discontinuance of US mail through the seceded states except West Virginia. Both the Richmond Daily Dispatch and Macon Daily Telegraph announced that the Confederate Post Office Department would not be able to furnish new stamps for some time, which (combined with the patriotic fervor of being the newest state in the Confederacy) almost certainly led to the creation of this provisional stamp.