Ohio 6 1/4 Cent Covers

Matthew E. Liebson
Ohio 6 1/4 Cent Rate Covers

The 6 1/4 cent rate is a phantom rate; it never existed for U.S. mail. The official rate was 6 cents, which was difficult to pay in U.S. coinage. Fractional Spanish colonial currency circulated freely in the United States as legal tender until 1857, and 6 1/4 cents corresponds precisely with 1/2 real (8 reales being equivalent to a United States dollar). Covers bearing a 6 1/4 rate are generally prepaid and reflect a postmaster correctly accounting for the actual amount collected by him for the letter.

See "The Pickayune Rate", Ohio Postal History Journal Issue #103 (March 2003), page 6. The 6 1/4 cent rate was also mentioned in the Spring 1977 issue of the Journal, in a J.K. Gibson article. For more information on the impact of coinage generally on postal rates, see Richard Frajola's Postal Charges and Payment Methods in the United States 1792-1921.

Known Ohio-origin "pickayune" covers are listed below. Further reports are solicited.

Town	Illustration	Date	Rate	Destination	Postmark	Source
Belleville		4/1/18??	paid (double)	Mt. Vernon OH	manuscript	J. Stotts collection
College Corner		1/28/1840	paid	Liberty IN	manuscript	M. Liebson collection
Coolville		4/23/1832	paid	Athens OH	manuscript	M. Liebson collection
Hamilton	n/a	10/4/1842	paid	Cincinnati OH	CDS	E.N. Sampson article, 1966
Lee	n/a	2/20/1841	unpaid	Athens OH	manuscript	OPHJ #85, p. 19
Letart Falls	n/a	3/12/1832	paid	Chester OH	manuscript	OPHJ Vol. II, No. 2 (Spring '77)
Martinsburgh		5/15/1833	unpaid	Mt. Vernon OH	manuscript	M. Reasoner collection
Martinsburgh		9/25/1838	unpaid	Mt. Vernon OH	manuscript (forwarding)	M. Reasoner collection
Martinsburgh		10/6/1838	unpaid	Newark OH	manuscript (forwarding)	M. Reasoner collection
Maumee City		12/3/1837	paid	Toledo OH	CDS	M. Liebson collection
Middlebury	n/a	12/19/1828	unpaid	Kendall OH	boxed straightline	E.N. Sampson article, 1966
Morristown		7/18/1832	paid	St. Clairsville OH	manuscript	M. Liebson collection
Waterford		10/21/1827	paid	Marietta OH	manuscript	R. Frajola collection

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