CSA 3, 2¢ green tied MOBILE ALA JUN 27 1863 double-circle datestamp on cover to Gaius Whitfield Esq Demopolis Ala. with ms. “Printed Circular” at top – the scarcer of two possibilities, other being a drop cover. Envelope somewhat rumpled and stamp with horizontal crease, nonetheless scarce and attractive use. SCV $3,500. $1,800.

Gaius Whitfield (1804-1879) was a successful planter, eventually owning 30,000 acres in Alabama and Mississippi. Gaius loved both places, and traveled up and down the Tombigbee River to his two homes. During the Civil War, Gaius Sr. learned of the Union Army’s impending approach. Fearing looters, he buried six-hundred $20 gold pieces in a secret place on his plantation, Shady Grove. Rumors of a treasure map to the location of the gold circulated until 1926, when his grandson Gaius Whitfield III found the map and located the gold.