This fine impression of the 12 cents black George Washington postage stamp from the 1860s is a plate proof. The Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps & Covers defines proofs as "Trial printings of a stamp made from the original die or the finished plate." This proof is from the Second Designs / Regular Issue of 1861 and is printed on "card" (= Scott Catalogue # 69P4).
Tags: Scott Catalogue 69P4 plate proof card 12 cent cents 12c black George Washington Second Designs Regular Issue reprint reprints 1861
This is the first-ever three cents postage stamp in American history. It's part of a series of definitive stamps issued in the 1850s. It has multiple types and varieties, based on details of the margins and overall color. This one is type III (= Scott Catalogue # 26). The earliest stamps were imperforate and had to be separated using scissors. Perforated stamps were first issued in 1857.
Tags: 3 cents George Washington postage stamp stamps perforated type III 1857 definitive definitives cent 3c Scott Catalogue 26
This 3 cents George Washington postage stamp was issued by America in 1861 (= Scott Catalogue # 65). It is part of a set of 9 definitives issued from 1861 to 1866 and denominated 1 to 90 cents. The set replaced previous postage stamps that were declared invalid for postage at the onset of the American Civil War in the 1860s. This was done to prevent southern states from making money by selling older stamps.
Varieties with grills (= a grid of tiny punctures in the paper) were produced and issued in later years. The original 1861 issue has no grills.
Unlike most modern postage stamps, classic stamps were engraved - they look better when magnified. Modern stamps look worse when magnified.
Tags: 3 cent cents George Washington postage stamp stamps 1861 issue ungrilled no grill Scott Catalog 65
This design was used on America's second-ever postage stamp, the 10 cents George Washington issue of 1847 (Scott Catalog # 2). However, these modern reproductions more closely resemble the 1875 reproductions (Scott Catalogue # 4).
Tags: 10 cent cents Washington postage stamp stamps reproduction reproductions block four replica replicas George
This is the first-ever three cents postage stamp in American history. It's part of a series of definitive stamps issued in the 1850s. The three cents George Washington has multiple types and varieties, based on details of the margins and overall color. This one is type I (= Scott Catalogue # 11). It has a Louisville, Kentucky cancellation.
Early stamps were imperforate and were separated using scissors.
Tags: 3 cents cent 3c George Washington postage stamp stamps type I 1 1855 classic classics imperforate