These are the newest additions to my collection.
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One of the key values to a wine revenue stamp collection. Extremely scarce.
??? W. Tufts. Scarce rimless circle handstamp on matching partial box lid for TUFTS LOZENGES. I initially thought this was James W. Tufts of Tufts, Grosvenor & Co., which was founded in 1870, but the first initial appears to possibly be G. It's not a J. Also, the city ends in 'ville', not Boston. Also James W. Tufts was not involved in producing anything like throat lozenges.
Unattributed large-format retailer printed cancel on R3c on original box of 'Novelty Plaster Works White Felt Medicated Corn Plaster' that also features a beautiful adhesive label from E.W. Hoyt & Co. Beautiful piece!
Horizontal strip of 8 on an 1863 indenture. Per the Curtis Collection Census of Revenue Multiples now maintained by Siegel Auctions, this strip is far and away the largest reported multiple of R47a, with the next largest being a single damaged block of 4 and one strip of 5.
R. Krause. 3c Telegraph on a billhead, overpaying the 2c tax.
William Shew. Scarce California usage.
Whitney & Beckwith. Lovely 4-margin example of R14c with bold W&B handtsamp cancel on a CDV.
Charles Luling & Co. R87c and R68c paying $4.50 tax on an 1869 first of exchange for 'nine thousand dollars in gold' originating in Havana, Cuba.
L. von Hoffman & Co. Unsevered second and third of foreign exchange for 2,000 francs, each with 6c and 2c revenue stamps paying tax on the transaction.
Charles P. Persuhn. R32a with large margins on a January 1863 bill of lading (early matching usage) for barrels of produce and other goods bound for Curacao on the brig Alby. Large blue 'WEIGHT & CONTENTS UNKNOWN' handstamp at lower left.
T. P. Howell & Co. Horizontal pair of R78a along with a single R54c paying tax on an August 1863 promissory note.
Currently unlisted in Scott, only the second confirmed example known of the major double transfer on RG22. Catalogue value shown is that of the normal RG22.
Intact top margin block of twelve. Catalogue value is for three blocks of four. Currently the second largest intact (non-rejoined) multiple of R1b.
Samuel Fridenberg's Eagle Loan Office. Tattered, but it exists. Pawn tickets from the Civil War tax period are exceedingly rare, with less than 20 examples known.
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Co. Solo usage on a small-format promissary note. Unusual, as most uses are on large-format deeds and other business documents. Several blue threads apparent on the face of the stamp.
Illegal/improper usage of 2-cent horse and rider (Scott #113) postage stamp as a revenue on 1870 estate receipt.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Second National Bank. R15c with socked-on-the-nose handstamp cancel, on a lovely bicolor ornately-engraved 1868 interest certificate.
R100c, R98c and two R81d silk papers on 1870 Massachusetts mortgage.
Four R59a singles on a January 1863 Indiana mortgage, an early matching usage (EMU).
R87c and R96c paying $13.50 tax on an 1868 Ohio quit claim deed.
Unusual 'wallpaper' of overlapping R30c and R20c on an 1866 Iowa real estate indenture. Such ovelapping of revenue stamps was nominally illegal, but typically permitted. Eleven R30c + five R20c + 2 R1c paying 88 cents tax.
District Director Internal Revenue. 1958 memorandum of transfer of an interest in silver bullion with numerous silver tax stamps (RG63, RG65, RG67, RG70, RG124, and RG79) paying the 50% tax on profits. Quite scarce, not just for the RG79 ($60 denomination which constitutes $750 catalog value) but also the RG63 (8c denomination) which is not valued used in Scott. Because the tax rate was so high, low-denomination values are not frequently found on document.
Superb example with jumbo margins. Just the faintest trace of a blue handstamp cancel.
Second National Bank. Beautiful XF example with large margins, exhibiting same plate scratch (lower right numeral) as is found on R9c and R10c.
1991 PSE certificate listing Eric Jackson, Richard Friedberg, and Robert Cunliffe as expertizers. Blunted upper left corner, but incredibly scarce stamp regardless, with only 26 reported examples of the stamp.
Pacific Mail Steamship Co. Beautiful stamp with large XF margins, featuring 3 strikes of a very scarce handstamp cancel from the Pacific Mail Steamship Co. ship 'HENRY CHAUNCEY'.
Bowles Brothers & Co. A one of a kind document: an unsevered 1872 Second and Third of Exchange from the 'Triple-Currency Exchange', Bowles Brothers & Co., a rarely-seen banking entity on foreign exchange documents. It contains two sets of R109, R137, and RB1a, each set paying the correct 16 cents tax. Unusual not only in that the document is printed in multiple inks, but for my purposes in that it features two RB1a used improperly as documentaries on the reverse, both tied by herringbone cancels. Also, it contains one stamp from each of the three bi-colored revenue stamp series of the era: second issue documentary, third issue documentary, and first-issue proprietary... a virtually impossible combination.
Glidden & Williams Line of California Packets. 1866 bill of lading from the steamship company 'Glidden & Williams.' Bills of lading typically weren't printed in multiple inks, let alone metallic ink. The gold is bright and reflective; more beautiful in hand than the image implies.
Williams Homeopathic Pharmacy. Very unusual ornate proprietary medicine handstamp cancel. Too bad the strike isn't more robust.
Documents featuring both U.S. and non-U.S. revenue stamps are fairly scarce, the vast majority being Spanish American War period or later. Civil War period documents in this category stray into 'rare' territory. This is a very delicate 1870 Mexican bill of exchange with imprinted revenue stamp (renta papel sellado), also with two R15c affixed, presumably when it was presented for payment in Galveston, Texas. The imprinted revenue is #870.45 in Donald O. Scott & Frank A. Sternad The Revenue Stamped Paper of Mexico 1821-187. Currently the only reported U.S.-Mexico dual taxed document from the Civil War period.
E. Ruhling & Co. A large format (approximately 14-in x 6-in) 'Memorandum of Gold and Silver Bullion' from the Assay Office of E. Ruhling & Co. in Gold Hill, Nevada, recorded June 18, 1868. The stamp, sadly somewhat damaged, is State Revenue Catalog #DI-13, compound roulette 10x15.
Mike Mahler, in his article in the August 2019 issue of American Stamp Dealer & Collector magazine, displays an identical document dated several weeks prior (although he says his example is rouletted 10, not compound), and states the following:
Figure 6 shows a June 1868 report of E. Ruhling & Co. in Gold Hill, the sister city of Virginia City, in the heart of the Comstock, also stamped with the 5-cent dark green rouletted 10. The many details show that 1,006 ounces of 'Petaluma Mill slum,' evidently a bullion bar, was 96.7% silver, worth $1,231.67, and 2% gold for another $407.24, total $1,638.91 before the small loss in assaying. The eye-catching magenta-and-blue printing is probably explained by the imprint 'Trespass Print - Virginia, Nevada.' The shortlived Daily Trespass, published February 1867-October 1868, was named tongue-incheek by owner William J. Forbes, acutely aware that he was 'trespassing' in a field dominated by the celebrated Virginia City Territorial Enterprise. In a competitive job printing market, Forbes evidently offered Ruhling & Co. bicolored printing as an inducement to land the firm's business. This is the sole-recorded example of this remarkable form.
William J. Claus, Notary Public. Mid-20th century improper usages of postage stamps as revenues are increibly rare, much more so than 19th century examples. This is a 1934 quit-claim deed, with $4 of revenue stamps affixed and initialed by the original signer of the document. Then there is a pair of the 1932 3-cent Washington definitive (Scott #720) affixed by the notary public listed on the second page. Because the cancels on the 3-cent Washingtons match the initials of the notary rather than that of the original signer, presumably ths 6 cents was intended to pay the fee for notarizing the document (3 cents per signer). The Washington pair is a partial plate number imprint capture to boot! Interesting to note that it took a year before the deed was actually recorded.
Notary Public. Very unusual 'deed of stock brand', the first I have seen, transferring the rights to a cattle brand, showing the actual brand symbol.
Notary Public. Cemetary deed from the Pond Creek Cemetary Association, in the Oklahoma Territory prior to it beomcing a state.
Des Moines Gold Mining Co. of Colorado. Very delicate stock certificate printed on thin translucent paper.
Gunnell Central Gold Co. of Colorado. Fragile stock certificate printed on thin translucent paper like tissue paper.
Rose, Dinsmore, & Co. 1870 receipt, with 2-cent tax initially paid by the supplier (Rose, Dinsmore & Co., manufacturer of railway car springs) on February 2, improperly using a 2-cent horse and rider (Scott #113). When it reached the (audit?) office of the New York Central Railroad on February 25, a revenue stamp was properly affixed. Very scarce; currently the only reported example of both a #113 and revenue stamp on the same document.
Drovers & Mechanics National Bank. 2-cent Trans-Mississippi used improperly as revenue on a check written on the account of J. C. Heckert, 'manufacturer of fine domestic cigars, and dealer in leaf tobacco.'
W. P. Murray & Co. 2-cent Black Jack used improperly on a billhead from W. P. Murray & Co., 'refiners and dealers in carbon and lubricating oils, wool oil, tar, spirits of naptha, prepared benzole, &c.'
Doubly illegal: 3-cent Washington improperly paying the tax, and short-paying the tax owed (should have been 5 cents).
USPS. Improper use of proprietary battleship revenue as postage on an in-period cover. WHile the cover itself is nondescript, the proprietary battleships are seen improperly used far less frequently than their documentary counterparts.
Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad Co. Stock certificate featuring a detailed mining vignette at bottom center, stamp canceled by Toland Brothers. & Co.
Solo use of 1953 $2.75 denomination, not frequently seen on documents, along with two Pennsylvania state real estate transfer tax stamps.
Marcus L. Ward. Check with very interesting red 'SOLDIERS PAY' handstamp. Marcus L. Ward, later governor of the state of New Jersey, per Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Lawrence_Ward) Ward devised and managed one of the first systems in New Jersey for enabling soldiers to set aside monthly allotments of their pay for delivery to their families and gained the nickname “the soldiers' friend.” It is conceivable that this document is from that effort.
Charles W. Stevens. 'Manufacturer of solid black walnut mouldings, walnut & gilt ovals, walnut mirror frames, oval and square picture frames, gilt, rosewood and gilt mouldings, also wholesale dealer in photographic material'
Sanford's Independent Line. Freight receipt for goods carried aboard the steamer KATAHDIN. While the handstamp cancel at top does not tie the stamp, it's nice to have a full strike of the steamship cancel.
The Bismarck National Bank. Check from 'The Bismarck National Bank, successor to Bank of Bismarck' in the Dakota Territories. Documents from territories prior to their becoming states are fairly scarce.
First National Bank. Just a lovely vignette at left.
Lawrence & Cohen. Typeset (printed) provisional playing card company cancel, incredibly scarce on the 4-cent Playing Cards. Were it not for the condition issues, this would be a very valuable piece (a nicer-condition example sold for over $1,000 on Stamp Auction Network in 2019).
Pacific Mail Steamship Co. Single strike from the Pacific Mail steamship Oregonian. This ship used a straightline cancel with a large block sans-serif font, unlike the other ships, which used a thinner serifed font.
Foreign entry, design of 70c at top. Plate position 31.
B & R. Gorgeous socked-on-the-nose handstamp cancel with the red perfectly contrasting the blue and black of the underlying stamp.
Lee & Munson. Lee & Munson JOKES breath perfume handstamp cancel dated 1869, but stamp is clearly a silk paper with multiple blue threads apparent on both sides of the stamp. The silk paper did not exist prior to early-mid 1870, but it was not uncommon for users of proprietary cancels to use the same cancel for extended periods of time, so this cancel could easily have been used into 1870.
A one-of-a-kind piece, a complete bottom margin plate block of 16 used improperly as revenue stamps.
The Franklin Bank of Cincinnati. Doubling showing in lettering at bottom.
Crocker & Co., Bankers. Nice large-format oval bank handstamp cancel.
Jas. B. Haines & Sons. Block of 4 plus a single. Very unusual document. Not only is the date of the cancel two plus years PRIOR to the date the document was written, but the anti-protest clause at right is overly dramatic, encouraging the bank to 'PUSH VIGOROUSLY' for payment.
Farmers National Bank.
Pleasant Valley Wine Co. Lovely sight draft with vignette.
Double transfer in stars, plate position as yet unidentified.
USPS. A strip of three 1-cent Express (R1c) used illegally as postage, caught and a 6-cent penalty (double the postage amount) assessed. All 3 stamps are tied by a bold December 29, 1863 Washington, DC postal cancel. A lovely example of a wartime illegal/improper usage.
S. R. van Duzer. A 1-cent Proprietary (Scott #R3c) with printed/typeset precancel on an unfolded box top from S.R. van Duzer. This piece showcases perfctly what we collectors frequently lament as lack of care with respect to the stamps themselves, when in fact the workers of the period cared not one whit... nor were they required to. The sheets of stamps were cut up once removed from the printing press, and it didn't matter how close the cuts aligned with the perforations. The only thing that realistically mattered was affixing the canceled stamp to the product to prove the payment of tax. A very scarce piece.
First National Bank. Four 1876-81 checks from the First National Bank in Hartford, CT with 2-cent Propritary revenue stamps used illegally/improperly as documentaries. The top two 1876 checks have RB11a (silk paper) affixed, and the bottom two 1881 checks have RB11b (watermarked USIR) affixed.
Harnden Express Co. Express company receipt. The revenue stamps overlapping is nominally illegal, although universally condoned. Note that the two 1-cent Express stamps are paying the 2-cent recipt tax, not the 2-cent express tax, which by late 1865 had long since been repealed.
A very nice dual-EMU! A May 1863 protest document with the original instrument (a January 1863 promissory note) attached. It's odd in that the 25-cent revenue paying the tax on the protest is affixed not to the protest document itself, but to the original document, overlaying the 15-cent revenue paying the original tax. What is notable though, is that BOTH stamps are EMUs (early matching usage): R40a 15-cent Inland Exchange imperf paying the tax on the original promissory note, and R49a 25-cent Protest imperf paying the tax on the protest.
Joseph Greenleaf, Treasurer.
Tax Collector, City of St. Louis.
Four singles of the 10c Foreign Exchange on an 1865 Indiana indenture.
G & Co.
Scarce double transfer down left side, most visible in scrollwork, TWENTY, and FO of FOREIGN.
Very scarce position piece, a horizontal strip of four with full plate number imprint at right. Sadly torn in half and reattached. Catalogue value shown is simply that of two pairs.
Robbert Fitton. A fancy large-format embossed cancel from Robert Fitton, 'Manufacturers of Woolen Fancy Cassimeres' in Cavendish, Vermont. The word 'cassimeres' is an archaic spelling of cashmere.
Steve Kopecky, Notary Public. Uncut examples of R660, R664, R673, R706, and R707 on a 1957 warranty deed.
Pauline E. Koch, Notary Public. Uncut solo usage of 1953 $1.65 documentary on a 1957 warranty deed.
Fritz A. Nagel, Notary Public. Uncut examples of R571, R577, R595, and R607 on a 1953 warranty deed.
Partola Products Co. Uncut examples of R666, R675, R677 and R726 on a 1959 deed.
The Litchfield Security Co. 1898 Colorado promissary note with two 10-cent battleship documentaries and two provisional overprint revenues, the latter with overprints shifted dramatically to the north.
USPS. 1-cent battleship documentary used illegally as postage on a 1904 leather postcard to New Denver, British Columbia, Canada. Canadian receiving handstamp on reverse.
Samuel Dexter Hastings, State Treasurer. Very attractive bi-color draft.
Secretary of the State of Wisconsin. Unusual check from an audit of the state school fund income account.
USPS. 2-cent Proprietary battleship revenue stamp used illegally as postage on an 1899 Spanish American War patriotic cover.
USPS. Two 1-cent proprietary revenue stamps used illegally as postage on an 1899 Spanish American War patriotic cover.
Very scarce and under-catalogued imperforate between pair. I've seen less than 10 examples come to market over the last 20 years.
Very scarce and under-catalogued imperforate between pair. I've only seen examples come to market 2 or 3 times over the last 20 years.
Unusual large format (7in x 4in) 'Magic Lantern' glass slide in wooden frame with remains of a 15-cent 1st issue revenue stamp affixed, dated April 29, 1865, approximately two weeks after Lincoln's assassination.
The Peoples National Bank. Interesting check that straddles the beginning of the Spanish American War tax period. Check written on June 28, 1898 with the admonition 'this check not goot till July 2/98' submitted for payment on July 2, 1898 and revenue stamp affixed, a second day of tax usage.
James E. Woods, Notary. Second issue 30c and 20c paying 50 cents tax on an 1872 chattel deed.
Tropical Fruit Corp. Sight exchange document drafted in Kingston Jamaica on the Bank of Nova Scotia, with funds drawn on the account of the Tropical Fruit Corporation in New York, with multiple U.S. and Jamaica revenue stamps on the reverse.
Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co. Sequence of five annual life insurance policy renewal receipts from 1865 through 1869, all for the same policy, with the last one bearing an illegal use of the 1869 2-cent post horse and rider as a revenue stamp. Unlike today, life insurance policies were generally a luxury only the wealthy could afford, so they were not common.
Two confirming examples of the same diagonal plate scratch just touching liberty's head. Note also that what initially appear to be stray ink dots throughout are also persistent, which means that they are not merely a printing anomaly but more likely plate erosion. The left stamp exhibits an additional plate scratch at upper right which is not present on the right stamp, so presumably the left stamp was printed later, after an additional scratch had occurred.
Double transfer at bottom that resembles a doubled bottom frame line.
Largest jumbo I have seen of this stamp with three large margins. Unfortunately the top-to-bottom centering precludes grading.
Elgin National Watch Co. Very nice typeset printed cancel.
Second National Bank. Three versions of a uniquely engraved fish vignette from the account of John Elsey, a fish dealer. You can see variances both in color and in the position of the revenue imprint with respect to the vignette. Of special interest is the unique fish-shaped check protector used over the dollar amounts.
The London and San Francisco Bank, Ltd.
The Bank of Leadville.
National Bank of New England. Account of Emory Johnson, Manufacturer of Cotton Twines, Neptune Twine Mills. Not sure if it was printed in 2 colors or hand tinted. Small documents (checks, receipts, notes, etc.) printed in more than one color of ink are very unusual, as most companies would not have gone to the additional expense.
American National Bank. Account of The Sharps Rifle Co, with beautiful background vignette of crossed rifles.
City National Bank. Printed in black, red, green, and brown, with reflective gold ink used for the frame and banner borders. Account of the Travelers Insurance Co.
The Phoenix Insurance Co. Printed on translucent parchment/onion skin. Draft drawn on account of the Connecticut River Banking Co.
S. Lemon Banking Co.
First National Bank. Account of W.A. Lowell & Co., Dealers in Hardware, Cutlery, Stoves, Tinware and Furnaces, House Furnishing Goods. Revenue imprint shifted to the right instead of being printed at center, in order to not overlay the attractive vignette underprint.
C. H. McCormick & Bros.
Jacksonville National Bank. Account of John I. Chambers, Wholesale and Reatil Dealer in all Kinds of Lumber.
Merchant's Savings Loan & Trust Co. Changed via violet handstamp from original GERMAN NATIONAL BANK.
Merchants Savings Loan & Trust Co. Account of the McCormick Harvesting Machine Co.
Addison Goodell, Real Estate & Farm Loan Agent. Printed on dark blue paper.
Banking House of E. C. Haskett & Co. Printed in metallic bronze ink.
Indianapolis, Bloomington & Western Railway Co. Beautiful railroad piece printed in orange.
German Savings Bank. Majestic vignette and great font usage.
J.H. Branch & Bro., Bankers.
Piatt & Allen. Wholesale dealer in boots and shoes.
The National Bank of Somerset. Drawee combination manuscript and printed red; serial number printed in blue.
Traders National Bank. Account of Cephas M. Lewis, Commission Merchant. Train vignette. Printed in metallic gold/bronze ink.
Generic receipt.
First National Bank of Provincetown. Account of the Atlantic Mutual Fire and Marine Insurance Company. Very ornate check protector.
Townsend National Bank.
First National Bank of Manistee. Ornately engraved check from the Buckley & Douglas Lumber Co., 'Manufacturers of Lumber, Lath, Shingles & Salt,' Cityscape at left shows layout of factory grounds.
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