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Unused 19th Century US Stamps
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The first official U.S. postage stamps were issued in 1847, depicting Benjamin Franklin on a 5-cent stamp and George Washington on a 10-cent stamp. Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson of New York City printed these first stamps, charging 25 cents per...
The first official U.S. postage stamps were issued in 1847, depicting Benjamin Franklin on a 5-cent stamp and George Washington on a 10-cent stamp. Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson of New York City printed these first stamps, charging 25 cents per thousand for two-color stamps and 20 cents per thousand for one-color stamps. Curiously, these stamps were not initially required to mail a letter. In fact, until 1856, people in the United States could mail a letter and expect the recipient to pay the postage. Naturally, a lot of recipients declined, or simply never found out they had mail, which was delivered to area post offices rather than directly to their doors.
These first U.S. postage stamps were printed on pregummed sheets, but they lacked perforations—postal clerks were obliged to cut individual stamps from the sheets with scissors. Franklin and Washington were the only individuals to appear on a U.S. stamp until 1856, when a Thomas Jefferson stamp, which also cost a nickel, was issued. In addition, throughout much of the 1850s, U.S. stamps were imperforate, until a 3-cent Washington stamp was issued in 1857. This new Washington stamp reflected a welcome decline in postage rates, although stamps issued in 1860 in 24-, 30-, and 90-cent denominations appear to have been bucking that trend. In the end, few people purchased the 90-cent stamps in the short year or so that they were printed, making them more rare as used stamps than as unused ones.
Between 1861 and 1865, the Confederate States of America (CSA) issued its own stamps as the nation struggled through a bloody Civil War. The 13 different stamps issued by the CSA were lithographed rather than engraved like Union stamps, which meant their quality was low. Worse, the portraits of former presidents Washington and Jefferson, who had owned slaves, now found their way onto CSA stamps, too. Andrew Jackson was also claimed by both the north and the south for 2-cent stamps in 1863, although a 15-cent stamp issued in 1866 after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln was obviously only used on Union mail.
In 1869, the U.S. Post Office issued its first stamps that did not merely depict a former president or, in the case of Franklin, national leaders. Known as the Pictorial Issue, the 10 stamps featured three portraits (Franklin, Washington, and Lincoln), a pair of eagles and shields, three images depicting the means of mail delivery (a horse, a train, a ship), and two images taken from paintings, one of Columbus landing in the new world and a second showing the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Because the issue was not well received—the square stamps were deemed too small by some, while others objected to the shift in subject matter—it lasted only a year, which is why used and unused stamps alike from the issue are quite collectible.
The Bank Notes followed in the 1870s and ’80s, so-called because they were printed by the currency printers such as the National Bank Note Company. For imagery, the Post Office returned to the practice of portraits, although the net was widened somewhat to include such notable Americans as General Winfield Scott and Admiral Oliver Perry. By the end of the century, the Post Office would give pictorials another try when it released its Columbian Issue, a collection of 16 horizontal stamps depicting everything from Columbus landing in the Americas (2 cents) to the explorer petitioning Queen Isabella for more money (5 cents) to his fleet (4 cents), including a stamp for the Santa Maria (3 cents). These 1893 stamps were timed for the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, which celebrated the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ arrival.
Continue readingThe first official U.S. postage stamps were issued in 1847, depicting Benjamin Franklin on a 5-cent stamp and George Washington on a 10-cent stamp. Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson of New York City printed these first stamps, charging 25 cents per thousand for two-color stamps and 20 cents per thousand for one-color stamps. Curiously, these stamps were not initially required to mail a letter. In fact, until 1856, people in the United States could mail a letter and expect the recipient to pay the postage. Naturally, a lot of recipients declined, or simply never found out they had mail, which was delivered to area post offices rather than directly to their doors.
These first U.S. postage stamps were printed on pregummed sheets, but they lacked perforations—postal clerks were obliged to cut individual stamps from the sheets with scissors. Franklin and Washington were the only individuals to appear on a U.S. stamp until 1856, when a Thomas Jefferson stamp, which also cost a nickel, was issued. In addition, throughout much of the 1850s, U.S. stamps were imperforate, until a 3-cent Washington stamp was issued in 1857. This new Washington stamp reflected a welcome decline in postage rates, although stamps issued in 1860 in 24-, 30-, and 90-cent denominations appear to have been bucking that trend. In the end, few people purchased the 90-cent stamps in the short year or so that they were printed, making them more rare as used stamps than as unused ones.
Between 1861 and 1865, the Confederate States of America (CSA) issued its own stamps as the nation struggled through a bloody Civil War. The 13 different stamps issued by the CSA were lithographed rather than engraved like Union stamps, which meant their quality was low. Worse, the portraits of former presidents Washington and Jefferson, who had owned slaves, now found their way onto CSA stamps, too. Andrew Jackson was also claimed by both the north and the south for 2-cent stamps in 1863, although a 15-cent stamp...
The first official U.S. postage stamps were issued in 1847, depicting Benjamin Franklin on a 5-cent stamp and George Washington on a 10-cent stamp. Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson of New York City printed these first stamps, charging 25 cents per thousand for two-color stamps and 20 cents per thousand for one-color stamps. Curiously, these stamps were not initially required to mail a letter. In fact, until 1856, people in the United States could mail a letter and expect the recipient to pay the postage. Naturally, a lot of recipients declined, or simply never found out they had mail, which was delivered to area post offices rather than directly to their doors.
These first U.S. postage stamps were printed on pregummed sheets, but they lacked perforations—postal clerks were obliged to cut individual stamps from the sheets with scissors. Franklin and Washington were the only individuals to appear on a U.S. stamp until 1856, when a Thomas Jefferson stamp, which also cost a nickel, was issued. In addition, throughout much of the 1850s, U.S. stamps were imperforate, until a 3-cent Washington stamp was issued in 1857. This new Washington stamp reflected a welcome decline in postage rates, although stamps issued in 1860 in 24-, 30-, and 90-cent denominations appear to have been bucking that trend. In the end, few people purchased the 90-cent stamps in the short year or so that they were printed, making them more rare as used stamps than as unused ones.
Between 1861 and 1865, the Confederate States of America (CSA) issued its own stamps as the nation struggled through a bloody Civil War. The 13 different stamps issued by the CSA were lithographed rather than engraved like Union stamps, which meant their quality was low. Worse, the portraits of former presidents Washington and Jefferson, who had owned slaves, now found their way onto CSA stamps, too. Andrew Jackson was also claimed by both the north and the south for 2-cent stamps in 1863, although a 15-cent stamp issued in 1866 after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln was obviously only used on Union mail.
In 1869, the U.S. Post Office issued its first stamps that did not merely depict a former president or, in the case of Franklin, national leaders. Known as the Pictorial Issue, the 10 stamps featured three portraits (Franklin, Washington, and Lincoln), a pair of eagles and shields, three images depicting the means of mail delivery (a horse, a train, a ship), and two images taken from paintings, one of Columbus landing in the new world and a second showing the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Because the issue was not well received—the square stamps were deemed too small by some, while others objected to the shift in subject matter—it lasted only a year, which is why used and unused stamps alike from the issue are quite collectible.
The Bank Notes followed in the 1870s and ’80s, so-called because they were printed by the currency printers such as the National Bank Note Company. For imagery, the Post Office returned to the practice of portraits, although the net was widened somewhat to include such notable Americans as General Winfield Scott and Admiral Oliver Perry. By the end of the century, the Post Office would give pictorials another try when it released its Columbian Issue, a collection of 16 horizontal stamps depicting everything from Columbus landing in the Americas (2 cents) to the explorer petitioning Queen Isabella for more money (5 cents) to his fleet (4 cents), including a stamp for the Santa Maria (3 cents). These 1893 stamps were timed for the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, which celebrated the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ arrival.
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