History of the Postage Stamps of the United States of America Part 14

15 cents, black.

Issued originally for registered letters, this stamp also served the next year, princ.i.p.ally to prepay the postage on letters to Belgium, Prussia, Holland, Switzerland and the German Postal Union.

The entire series of 1861-63-66 was reprinted in 1874.

It may also be noticed, that the act of the x.x.xIX Congress, Session I, Chapter 281, approved July 27, 1866, authorized the use in all post offices of weights of the denomination of grams, 15 grams to equal one half ounce, and the postal laws to be applied accordingly.

Also the Act of the XL Congress, Session I, Chapter 246, Section 10 and 11, approved July 29th, 1868, provided penalties for re-using stamps that had once paid postage, and authorized the sale of stamps at a discount of five per cent to persons to sell again as agents.

OBSERVATIONS.

The plates of this issue having been prepared with a view of perforating, the stamps are placed sufficiently far apart to allow a perforation, without ordinarily cutting into the stamps. Occasionally eccentricities may be found, which are the result of accident. The sheets, as in the previous issue, consist of 200 stamps, the central point is indicated by three lines at the top and at the bottom, and the sheets are cut apart on this line and distributed in half sheets of 100, or ten stamps in ten rows. The printer's imprint is generally to be found at the center of the top and bottom of each half sheet, at about 4 mm. from the printed stamps, and consists of a small colored label with a dotted edge, inscribed "National Bank Note Co." preceded by "New York," and followed by "City" in colored capitals. The plate number also appears near this.

The ONE CENT varies in color from a pale blue to a dark blue, generally of the shade known as ultramarine. The paper is ordinarily white with a yellowish cast, but there are specimens which appear surfaced with the same ink as the stamp, which is probably an accident from imperfect wiping of the plates, and others the paper of which has a pale pink cast, both on the front and back.

The TWO CENTS varies from grey to black, with occasional specimens partially tinted with the ink, probably from the same cause as in the one cent.

_Variety._ Doubly perforated at the sides.

The THREE CENTS varies from a very faint rose to a deep rose, with occasional specimens tinted as in the other values, probably from the same cause.

_Variety._ Doubly perforated at sides.

" " top and bottom.

There are also a few specimens known of a scarlet tint. They resemble the ordinary stamps of this value in all other particulars, and it does not appear to be settled whether they were ever used or not. Proofs, both perforated and unperforated, exist in this shade, and the better opinion would seem to be that all of this shade are proofs. It is claimed, however, that a sheet, or part of a sheet unused, was picked up at the New York Post Office by a collector.

Strips of ten stamps adhering, forming a vertical row from the sheet, and showing a double perforation along the sides are also exhibited.

Unperforated specimens have been catalogued.

The FIVE CENTS was originally issued in a pale yellow brown or ochre, but was changed in September to a darker brown, with a reddish cast, there is also a brown with a yellowish cast, another with a blackish cast and a chestnut brown. It would appear that the latter is the true color composed of red, yellow and black, and that the others result from some improper mixing of these colors, by which one or the other predominates.

_Variety._ Doubly perforated at the sides.

A "yellowish brown," meaning the brown with a yellowish cast, has been chronicled unperforated.

The TEN CENTS is light and dark green. The lighter shade is generally called a yellow-green, but the two shades differ only in intensity.

The TWELVE AND FIFTEEN CENTS also vary from grey to deep black.

The TWENTY-FOUR CENTS is violet, and pale or dark lilac.

The THIRTY CENTS is of two shades of orange, and an orange-brown.

The NINETY CENTS is faint deep blue and indigo blue.

The number of the several values of these stamps issued, without the _grille_ is approximated as follows: it being not quite certain whether a few with the grille were not issued prior to the dates to which the enumeration is made.

1 cent 91,256,650 2 cents 254,265,050 3 cents 1,847,559,100 5 cents 8,258,460 10 cents 28,872,780 12 cents 7,639,525 15 cents 2,139,300 24 cents 10,238,650 30 cents 3,208,980 90 cents 337,770

XXI.

THE ISSUE OF 1867-9.

The Act of the x.x.xIX Congress, Session I, Chapter 114, Section 7, approved June 12th, 1866, ent.i.tled an Act to amend the Postal Laws, had provided among other things.

"Sec. 7. And be it further enacted: that whenever it shall become expedient in the opinion of the Postmaster General to subst.i.tute a different kind of postage stamps for those now in use, he shall be, and is hereby authorized to modify the existing contracts for the manufacture of postage stamps, so as to allow the contractors a sum sufficient to cover the increased expenses, if any, of manufacturing stamps so subst.i.tuted."

The Report for the Postmaster General for the year ending June 30th, 1867, states that experiments had been made in printing postage stamps on an embossed paper, which appeared to offer a fair guarantee against fraud; that the tissues of the paper were broken by the process, so that the ink of the cancelling stamps penetrated the stamps in such a manner as to render cleaning impossible; that the adhesiveness of the stamps was also increased, to say nothing of other advantages, which recommend the invention. Some of these curious experiments will be noticed in the chapter on Essays. The plan adopted was, however, to emboss the stamp, after it was printed, with a series of small square points, arranged in the form of a rectangle, much in the same way that checks are sometimes treated to prevent alteration. This breaks the tissues of the paper. The French collectors call this a _grille_, or grating, which it resembles.

There were several varieties used on this issue, and they were applied to the stamps then current, without other change in the design, paper, color or gum.

ISSUE OF 1867 TO 1869.

The first variety was a grille covering the entire stamp, adopted May 8th, 1867, and applied only to the;

3 cents, rose, perforated 12, grilled all over.

If this is examined with a gla.s.s on the face of the stamp, there appear to be rows of slightly raised squares, separated by depressed straight lines, with a still more raised cross, formed by diagonal lines running from corner to corner of the square. If the back is examined, the straight lines appear raised, the crosses depressed. In all specimens examined, the embossing is very flat.

The second variety does not cover the entire stamp, but shows a rectangle, measuring 13 by 16 mm., composed of 16 rows of 20 small squares each. It was adopted August 8th, 1867, and was applied only to the;

3 cents, rose, perforated 12, large grille.

Copies with this grille may be found in which one side row or the other shows only half squares instead of whole ones, also with some of the top or bottom rows missing, wholly or partly.

_Var._ 12 by 16 mm., 15 by 20 rows, 3c., perf. 12.

12 " 15 " 15 by 18 " 3c "

The appearance of this grille, examined on the face, is just the reverse of the preceding, as the straight lines are raised and the crosses depressed.

The third variety was a still smaller rectangle, about 11 by 14 mm., composed of 14 rows of 17 small squares or parts of squares. The date is January 8th, 1868. Numerous variations may be found. It was applied only to the;

1 cent, blue, perforated 12, medium grille.

2 " black " 12 "

3 " rose " 12 "

10 " green " 12 "

12 " black " 12 "

15 " black " 12 "

_Var._ 11 by 14 mm., 15 by 18 rows, 3c, rose, perf. 12.

11 by 14 mm., 14 by 17 " 3c " "

14 by 17 " 3c " "