FLOAT
A 3c Nashville, Tennessee postmaster provisional of 1861 (CSA catalog 4AX1) - a representative Confederate postmaster provisional; the comps this constituent cites (Nashville 5c patriotic cover, Greenville 5c unused) are not pictured.

Confederate Postmaster Provisionals (general)

Maker
Confederate States of America — local postmasters
Year
1861
Rank
90 of 100

Confederate Postmaster Provisionals (general)

Confederate Postmaster Provisionals (general) by Confederate States of America — local postmasters (1861) is ranked 90 in the FLOAT 100 for Stamps. It sold for $31,860 on 3 March 2017. When the CSA Post Office took over in 1861 before general issues were printed, local postmasters created emergency provisionals — extreme rarities forming one of the most prized US specialties.

What is it, and why is it in the FLOAT 100?

When the CSA Post Office took over in 1861 before general issues were printed, local postmasters created emergency provisionals — extreme rarities forming one of the most prized US specialties.

Representative high comps: Nashville, Tenn. 5c provisional on patriotic cover; Greenville, Ala. 5c unused provisional (1 of ~4 unused)

What is the best-sourced number for it?

Figure
$31,860
Kind
Realized at auction
Date
3 March 2017

Robert A. Siegel, 3 Mar 2017: Nashville 5c provisional patriotic cover $31,860; Greenville Ala. 5c unused provisional $18,400. Linn's URL now redirects; figures from indexed snippet, well-attested.

This is a realized sale. Somebody paid it. Source.

How this is made

The figure
One reference price, taken from a named public source and shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
Realized or not
A realized price is a completed sale. A market asking price and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
Why no grade ladder
Most FLOAT 100 entries are individual objects. There is one of this, so there is no population and no spread across grades to show.
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2026-08-08