MARION, VA., 10¢ black (55X2), commonly known as the “Marion Check” due to the “Check” label at top; with manuscript "X" cancel affixed to reverse across the flap of a folded letter datelined "Marion Nov. 2nd 1862" with bold PAID 10 straightline cancel at top right and MARION VA NOV 3 circular datestamp at bottom left. The business letter is from Look & Lincoln and is addressed to Mssrs. Jones & Miller Lynchburg Va. The stamp was damaged upon opening; it was repaired with the left edge of the letter neatly moved to the right to keep the stamp intact, Extremely Fine appearance, 2021 Pascal Scheller certificate. SCV $30,000. $13,000.

This rare piece was considered missing and lost for more than 100 years. It appears with a description but no photo in the Crown census, last known to have been sold in the Worthington collection in 1917. In Earl Antrim’s records of Marion provisionals (he died in 1976), he shows a photo of the stamp described as in the Worthington sale and it is the same stamp. Of the seven covers known, one is part of the Tapling collection at the British Library, thus only six are available to collectors. The Tapling copy is sound but most of the others all have condition issues with the stamp, cover, or both. An on-cover example with cosmetic restoration described as one of the finest available was hammered down for $62,500 at a Siegel auction in April 1999. AN UNPARRALLED OPPORTUNITY TO ACQUIRE A CONFEDERATE PROVISIONAL ARISTOCRAT at a reasonable price. It is also the latest recorded use on cover. The list of the various owners of the Marion checks reads like a who’s who of Confederate philately.