Stamps and Covers of the World - Day 1

NUEVA CALEDONIA. 1870 (December 16). Small envelope to PARIS with Eagles 5 c. pair (rare used in N. Caledonia) + 20 c. blue + 40 c. orange, all with margins in places, all tied (by indentation or to the cover) by mainly very fine Noumea dotted diamonds with fine matching boxed PD and fair to fine 2 ring NLLE CALEDONIE/*NOUMEA* cds alongside, but also unusually also having a fine handstruck ´4´ (decimes) arrival charge (for the extra Brindisi route charge) cancelled en route; presumably because the Marseille route had just become available again with the raising of the Siege of Paris? Very few covers have been recorded with the Eagle 5 c. value used in New Caledonia. Cert. I.F. BRUN.