FLOAT
The Alexandria 'Blue Boy' itself - the only known 1847 Alexandria postmaster's provisional on blue paper, on its cover to Jannett Hooff Brown. This is the pictured object priced by this constituent.

US Alexandria 'Blue Boy' Postmaster's Provisional

Maker
United States — Alexandria, Va. postmaster
Year
1847
Rank
43 of 100

US Alexandria 'Blue Boy' Postmaster's Provisional

US Alexandria 'Blue Boy' Postmaster's Provisional by United States — Alexandria, Va. postmaster (1847) is ranked 43 in the FLOAT 100 for Stamps. It sold for $1,180,000 on 22 June 2019. The single most famous US postmaster provisional — unique, on blue paper, on a one-of-a-kind cover.

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

The single most famous US postmaster provisional — unique, on blue paper, on a one-of-a-kind cover.

5c black on BLUE paper (Type I), Alexandria; the unique surviving example, on cover to Jannett Hooff Brown

What is the best-sourced number for it?

Figure
$1,180,000
Kind
Realized at auction
Date
22 June 2019

H.R. Harmer, Erivan Haub Collection Sale 1, 22 June 2019: $1.18 million. NOTE: figure is for the unique COVER. Prior sale via Feldman 1981 for $1M.

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