Bank Note Issues 1870-1893 (#123-229)
The Bank Note issues represent the cream of the crop for the United States
specialized collector. In the years between
1870 and 1893 dozens of varieties of stamps were produced. These varieties –
stamps that appear similar but are treated
as distinct issues by philatelists – include the scarcest and most valuable stamps
in US collecting. Similar appearing stamps
of this era are distinguished from one another based on many characteristics
including color, paper type, the appearance of
a security feature called a grill, and a series of “secret marks” included by one
of the printers.
Much of this variety is due to the fact that the stamps were produced through a
succession of contracts with different
security printing companies - the National, Continental and American Bank Note
Companies. When Postmaster General
Jonathan A. J. Creswell commissioned the new series of stamps in 1870, the security
printing industry in America was in its
heyday. From Canada to Argentina the emerging economic engine of the Western
Hemisphere produced a nearly insatiable
demand for paper documents that would be difficult to counterfeit. Common examples
include stamps for postage and tax
collection, currency, and stock and bond certificates. In the 19th Century, one of
the best weapons against counterfeiting
was the use of ornate and intricate engravings that could only be produced by a
master craftsman. In the thriving industry
that arose to meet this need, firms competed fiercely to recruit the best engravers
and win the most lucrative contracts from
both public and private institutions.
The background of the Bank Note issues is very political. It is widely reported
that the Pictorial series of 1869 was terribly
“unpopular.” This view is reflected both in official government documents as well
as the philatelic press reports of the day.
In actuality it is difficult to know whether the general public was critical of the
stamps (if they cared one way or the other) or
if criticism of the Pictorials was confined to bureaucrats and stamp collectors.
Regardless, it is clear that President Grant’s
administration sought to distance itself from the Johnson administration in any way
possible, and the look of the nation’s
postage stamps was no exception. The Pictorials were small therefore the Bank
Notes were large. The Pictorials featured
“frivolous” themes therefore the Bank Notes featured stately busts of deceased
Americans in profile.
The National Bank Note Company, which had the contract for printing the Pictorials,
printed the first series of the new
stamps between 1870-1. The stamps were printed on a hard, white paper. Some of
these stamps were “grilled” with a
special embossing machine, a technique intended to prevent the reuse of stamps by
making it harder to wash off cancellation
ink. Sometimes the grill on these issues is faint and other times it is
nonexistent. Experts disagree on whether National
intentionally did not grill all of the stamps issued under its contract, or if the
un-grilled issues are accidental. Regardless,
most examples do not have a visible grill. The grilled examples have different
Scott numbers and are considerably more
valuable.
The National Bank Note Company’s contract expired in 1873 and the Continental Bank
Note Company won the contract
to continue printing the series. Most of the stamps printed by Continental can be
distinguished from the National printings
by the identification of small design differences. These minor changes are called
the “secret marks” and were almost
certainly added to the plates intentionally by Continental to help distinguish its
work.
Secret marks are known on the 1 through 15 cent issues and are found in the
following locations:
- 1 cent Franklin: A small crescent in the pearl to the left of the numeral “1.”
- 2 cent Jackson: A small diagonal line under the scroll at the left of “U.S.” This mark is often difficult to see and the stamp may also be distinguished by color (it is a deeper brown compared to the red brown of the National printing).
- 3 cent Washington: The under part of the upper tail of the left ribbon is heavily shaded.
- 6 cent Lincoln: Darkening of the first four vertical lines in the lower part of the left ribbon.
- 7 cent Stanton: Small semi-circles at ends of lines outlining ornament at lower right corner.
- 10 cent Jefferson: Crescent cut into ball beneath “E” of “POSTAGE.”
- 12 cent Clay: End of ball in numeral “2” is crescent.
- 15 cent Webster: V of color at bottom of triangle in upper left corner.
In 1875 a small quantity of the Continental issues were produced on a hard, bright-white wove paper without gum. These “Special Printing” stamps were only available through the Third Assistant Postmaster General’s Office. The stamps of this series are quite rare. There were no more than a few hundred of any of the values printed. However, because they were collectible at the time they were sold, a good number did survive and are in the hands of collectors.
In 1877, the United States Congress directed that the printing of all notes and securities be transferred to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The Post Office Department continued to have stamps printed privately until 1894. Nonetheless, the loss of the U.S. notes and securities business was a major blow to the security printing industry which immediately scrambled to reorganize and consolidate. The National, Continental and American Bank Note Companies merged under the name of the American Bank Note Company which assumed the contract for printing stamps in 1879.
When American first took over the contract it used the Continental plates. The American stamps are distinguished from the Continental printings by paper type. American used paper that is described as “soft porous.” When held to a light, soft porous paper looks mottled or quilted. All of the 1893 Columbians were printed by American on soft porous paper, so any example from that series can be used as reference when comparing paper types.
In 1881 American re-engraved the 1, 3, 6 and 10 cent varieties to sharpen the image. These re-engraved issues have subtle variations that require some expertise to distinguish from the product of earlier plates. The design variations are as follows:
- 1 cent Franklin: Crescents added to upper left balls.
- 3 cent Washington: Less oval shading around the vignette.
- 6 cent Lincoln: Three vertical lines in left frame.
- 10 cent Jefferson: Four vertical lines in left frame.
In 1882 the 5c Garfield replaced the old 5c Taylor design, resulting in a new stamp and a new Special Printing.
In 1890, American introduced a series of redesigned, smaller stamps which anticipated the look and feel of definitive stamp issues for the next 50 years. Referred to, appropriately, as the Small Bank Notes these stamps are also easy to identify with only a few varieties in the 2 cent Washington issues.
In 1894 the Bureau of Engraving and Printing took over the printing of U.S. postage stamps bringing an end to the era of the Bank Notes.
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