U.S. 3c Embossed Postal Stationary

This is a piece of American express mail history — a Pacific Stage & Express Company envelope with an embossed 3¢ U.S. postal stationery stamp, most likely dating to the mid-1800s, during the height of westward expansion and the gold rush era.

• Pacific Stage & Express Co. Printed Frank:
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This is a piece of American express mail history — a Pacific Stage & Express Company envelope with an embossed 3¢ U.S. postal stationery stamp, most likely dating to the mid-1800s, during the height of westward expansion and the gold rush era.

• Pacific Stage & Express Co. Printed Frank:
  The left side shows a stagecoach pulled by a team of horses, with “PAID” beneath. This indicates that the private express company had already been paid for transporting the letter across their route.

• 3¢ U.S. Postal Stationery Stamp (on the right):
  This is an embossed red stamp issued by the U.S. Post Office Department, showing a bust of George Washington, and was commonly used on envelopes from the 1850s–1870s.

Pacific Stage & Express Co. was one of many private stagecoach companies operating in the American West before the expansion of the federal postal system. These companies carried mail, packages, and passengers across rough terrain, especially in California, Oregon, Nevada, and the surrounding regions.

These envelopes were often used to carry mail between remote mining towns and urban centers, with the final leg of delivery handled by the U.S. Postal Service (hence the official 3¢ postage).

This type of envelope is considered a private express company franked envelope, a subgenre of Western Express covers. They're highly collectible due to their historical connection to frontier transportation, their artistic engravings (like this stagecoach vignette), and their relative rarity today.