Lot Details

1871, 48 mon, early printing, plate I, a horizontal strip of four, positions 5-8, tied by three strikes of kiban ra-14 (Tarui, Mino Province), with double-circle type KG "Tarui -7.13" alongside, to the reverse of a cover to Osaka, with arrival type N1B1 Meiji 8.7.15 (15 July 1875).

One of very few recorded 48 mon covers cancelled by kiban postmark, and the latest recorded usage of the 48 mon Plate I on cover.

Rate: Nationwide letter, basic weight 2 sen, unified standard rate of the third rate period from Meiji 6.4.1 onward.

Reference: Illustrated in Dragon Covers, p. 119.