FLOAT
The 1845 New York postmaster's provisional 5c black Washington - an example of the most-used postmaster provisional; the 'ACM' initials of the priced variety are not verified on this copy.

US 1845 New York Postmaster's Provisional 5c

Maker
United States — New York, N.Y. postmaster (Robert H. Morris)
Year
1845
Rank
92 of 100

US 1845 New York Postmaster's Provisional 5c

US 1845 New York Postmaster's Provisional 5c by United States — New York, N.Y. postmaster (Robert H. Morris) (1845) is ranked 92 in the FLOAT 100 for Stamps. It sold for $750 on 1 July 2015. The earliest and most-used US postmaster provisional — the gateway rarity of pre-1847 US philately.

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

The earliest and most-used US postmaster provisional — the gateway rarity of pre-1847 US philately.

Scott 9X1, 5c black on bluish, signed 'ACM' (Marcellus); the most-used postmaster provisional

What is the best-sourced number for it?

Figure
$750
Kind
Realized at auction
Date
1 July 2015

Robert A. Siegel, July 2015: signed sound 9X1 examples realized $500-$750 (a graded XF-90 made $1,000 at Kelleher, May 2015). Scott catalogue $500-$1,825 by signature/condition; premium covers run into five figures. Cited figure is the upper of the clustered Siegel July-2015 single-stamp realizations.

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.
Archive
2026-08-08