Pony Express auction garners $4 million

NEW YORK, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- A historic collection of 63 U.S. Pony Express postmarked envelopes and stamps brought $4 million in a New York auction, officials said.

The pre-sale estimate for the collection was $2.5 million, the auction gallery that held the sale said Sunday.

Siegel Auction Galleries said the collection, owned by retired Hawaii businessman Thurston Twigg-Smith, included one of only two known existing Pony Express letters originating from Hawaii. It sold for $632,500, a record for a Pony Express item.

"The Hawaiian Pony Express cover (postmarked envelope) is one of the most important items in (U.S.) postal history," Scott R. Trepel of the gallery said.

"A half dozen postmarks including a Pony Express mark trace its travel from when it began its transcontinental U.S. journey from San Francisco after arriving from Hawaii."

The Pony Express operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861.

"The Pony Express service is an iconic part of Wild West history. Mail was carried by lone riders on horseback at full gallop between St. Joseph, Mo., and San Francisco, Calif., a distance of 1,900 miles over rocky terrain and through unpredictable rivers," said Trepel.