ONE of the most valuable envelopes ever sent to Bolton was sold for £4,370 - nearly £1,000 more than expected - at an auction in London.
The pale blue envelope which originally cost ten old pence to send to Bolton from New Zealand in 1870, was snapped up by an un-named bidder at the auction, staged by Spink.
The envelope was addressed to Mrs WM French, Rose Hill, Bolton-le-Moors, and is valuable because the Franco-Prussian war in Europe prevented the letter from being carried on its normal route.
It could not go through France, so it was diverted via the Italian port of Brindisi and arrived in Bolton via Italy, Germany and Belgium. On its way, the envelope was stamped: "Insufficiently paid for Brindisi route, deficient postage, 3d."
Only one similar envelope is thought to exist in the world, the "insufficiently paid" stamp adding greatly to its value.
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