In many cases, the only thing that gives a revenue stamp's cancel any context is to find one still on its original document. There are whole specialties devoted to revenues on document, the tax rates being paid and when and where they were used.
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While the strip of 5 of R197 or R208 is interesting, it is the additional usage of the large format Virginia notary stamp (SRC #D1) that is of note here. On-document usages are quite scarce, with populations in the double digits, and usages in conjunction with federal revenues are virtually unheard of, this being one of only two thus far reported. The catalog value listed above is for the notary stamp off document.
While the stamps are completely munched, the value and scarcity is that it is an illegal/improper use, not just of postage, but demonetized postage as revenues. Quite scarce.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Very scarce use of a demonetized postage stamp as a revenue.
Scott #26, demonetized at this point, used illegally as a revenue stamp on an 1869 estate receipt, with an R24c on the reverse paying a certificate tax for a court filing.
Illegal use of 1-cent Benjamin Franklin (Scott #63) postage stamp as a revenue on a check.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Horizontal pair of 1-cent Benjamin Franklin (Scott #63) postage stamps illegally used as revenues. Unusual to find multiples.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Nice pair of 1-cent Benjamin Franklin (Scott #63) postage stamps used illegally as revenues on part of a purchase agreement.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Pair of 1-cent Benjamin Franklin (Scott #63) and a single 3-cent George Washington (Scott #65) postage stamps, illegally used as revenues on a sworn statement by the superintendent of the Cincinnati Type Foundry. Ex-Morrissey.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Illegal use of 1-cent Benjamin Franklin (Scott #63) postage stamp as revenue on a bank check.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Illegal use of 1-cent Benjamin Franklin (Scott #63) postage stamp as a revenue stamp, along with a nominally illegal use of the 1-cent Proprietary (R3c), as well as numerous 2-cent revenues, on a ledger page.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
1-cent Benjamin Franklin (Scott #63) postage stamp used illegally as a revenue on a bank check with a great arm-and-hammer vignette in green. Tax was underpaid, as it should have been 2 cents.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Very early illegal usage of a 1-cent Franklin postage stamp underpaying the 2-cent tax on a check from the Tioga Rail Road Co.
Very interesting piece. A 1-cent Franklin postage stamp used illegally as revenue, along with a horizontal pair of 10-cent Power of Attorney part perforates on a February 1863 voting proxy (early matching usage) from the Quincy mining company. A similar document (sans illegal usage) is shown in Mike Mahler's book U.S. Revenue-Stamped Documents of the Civil War Era. The proxy was for 3 related family members, hence what should have been 30 cents tax. Either the clerk grabbed the wrong blue stamp in their haste, or they ran out of 10-cent revenue stamps and grabbed something that looked close. Either way, the document is doubly illegal: (1) postage stamp used as revenue, and (2) short payment of the tax.
Horizontal pair used improperly as revenues on an 1867 receipt.
Just an incredible piece! Doubly illegal, with postage stamps used as revenues, and miscalculation of the tax owed. Two promissory notes (one year and two year) dated February 22, 1865, each for $450, with 15 randomly placed #65. The correct tax, five cents per $100 or part thereof, should have been 25 cents per note, or 50 cents, but the illegal attempted payment, 45 cents was based on the cumulative total of $900. The two receipts on the back are not taxable because they were on the same sheet of paper as the notes.
Illegal use of 3-cent George Washington (Scott #65) postage stamp as revenue.
Illegal use of 3-cent George Washington (Scott #65) postage stamp as revenue.
Illegal usage of 3-cent George Washington (Scott #65) postage stamp as revenue on an attractively engraved Illinois marriage license.
Illegal use of 3-cent George Washington (Scott #65) postage stamp as revenue on a receipt for a coat.
Illegal use of 3-cent George Washington (Scott #65) postage stamp as revenue on a receipt. Cancel is Tolman N-11-C.
Illegal use of 3-cent George Washington (Scott #65) postage stamp as revenue, overpaying the check tax. Indian vignette.
Nice combination use of revenue stamp and 3-cent George Washington (Scott #65) postage stamp used illegally as revenue on a promissory note.
Nice combination illegal usage of 3-cent George Washington (Scott #65) postage stamp as revenue with R5c.
Illegal use of 3-cent George Washington (Scott #65) postage stamp as revenue on piece. Nice embossed seal.
Illegal use of 3-cent George Washington (Scott #65) postage stamp on document with the transaction in 'thalers'.
Combination usage of 3-cent George Washington (Scott #65) postage stamp illegally used as revenue, and R5c, on the certificate portion of a document.
3-cent George Washington (Scott #65) postage stamp used improperly as a revenue, along with an R5c on a sworn statement. Oddly enough, the R5c is canceled 1/1/65, but the #65 appears to be canceled 1/1/66.
Illegal/improper use of 3-cent George Washington (Scott #65) postage stamp as revenue on a check.
Two #65 along with two 2-cent Bank Check revenues paying 10 cents tax. It's too odd and haphazard to be contrived; everyone who looked at it believes it to be legitimate, but it doesn't match the tax rate tables. The postage stamps were affixed AFTER the revenue stamps, so it's not a matter of the improper usage being discovered and then paid. Additionally, the revenue stamps total 4 cents, whereas the postage stamps total 6 cents paid. The mathematical tabulation on the reverse is exactly double the document amount on the front. Some speculated that there may have been a secondary document attached and the 10 cent total was improperly paying the tax on both transactions. Another supposition was that it might be for a penal bond (one amount if paid before a certain date, and a penalty kicked in after that date). Any ideas?
Attractive illegal use of 3-cent George Washington (Scott #65) postage stamp with a socked-on-the-nose handstamp cancel. Very unusual in that the vast majority of illegal usages were manuscript canceled (smaller companies in remote locations unlikely to be able to afford handstamps).
Illegal use of 3-cent George Washington (Scott #65) postage stamp used as revenue on an attractive billhead from Grant & Prest, 'Wholesale and retail dealers in groceries, agricultural implements, field and garden seeds.'
Illegal use of 3-cent George Washington (Scott #65) postage stamp as revenue stamp on a handwritten receipt from the New London Northern Rail Road.
Horizontal pair of 3-cent Washington (Scott #65) used illegally as revenues on a sale of land.
3-cent Washington used illegally as revenue on bank check.
3-cent Washington used illegally as revenue on bank check.
Illegal usage of 3-cent Washington as revenue on a bank check.
3-cent Washington overpaying the 2-cent tax rate for a receipt. A correcting revenue stamp appears to have fallen off.
Two 3-cent Washington singles used illegally as revenue stamps on an 1865 certificate of debt for an estate.
3-cent Washington used illegally as a documentary revenue on an 1865 promissory note.
Doubly illegal: 3-cent Washington improperly paying the tax, and short-paying the tax owed (should have been 5 cents).
3-cent Washington used improperly as a revenue stamp on an 1866 marriage certificate from Sycamore, IL. Doubly illegal, as the tax was also underpaid by 2 cents, as the rate was 5 cents. There is an attached statement from the bride's parents granting permission for the marriage.
Illegal use of 10-cent George Washington (Scott #68) postage stamp as a revenue on document.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Illegal use of 10-cent George Washington (Scott #68) postage stamp as revenue on an 1867 promissory note.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Improper use of 10-cent George Washington (Scott #68) postage stamp as revenue on a promissory note.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Illegal usage of two 10-cent George Washington postage stamps (Scott #68) as revenues on an 1863 chattel mortgage of half interest in boat Mary Elianor and its furnishings, of Trumansburg Landing (N.Y.), to secure payment of note for $323, tax 20 cents at 1863 Mortgage rate of 10 cents per $200.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Illegal use of 10-cent George Washington (Scott #68) postage stamp as revenue. The handwriting on the stamp matches that of the check signature, however it appears to be overpaying the tax rate five-fold. The check tax was only 2 cents.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
10-cent Washington used illegally as a revenue stamp on an 1859 draft from the Iron Cliffs (Mining) Co. The tax due on the transaction was 10 cents, but the underlying 2-cent revenue imprint (RN-B1) was ignored, as is the case on all reported examples of the Iron Cliffs drafts. Tying blue oval handstamp is especially nice.
10-cent Washington used illegally as revenue on an 1865 document, written entirely in German. Very unusual.
Very scarce and unusual illegal usage of 30-cent Ben Franklin on an 1867 receipt for the purchase of stamps. There would have been no reason for a 30-cent tax on this transaction. The ink color and hand of the stamp's cancel match that of the document, so it does not appear that this is a fabrication. Given that the size and color of the stamp match that of the 2-cent Bank Check and the 2-cent USIR, I speculate that a hurried clerk grabbed the nearest small orange stamp, thinking it was the appropriate revenue stamp. We'll never know for certain. The stamp also has an extra row of perforations.
Illegal use of 2-cent Andrew Jackson 'Black Jack' (Scott #73) and 3-cent George Washington (Scott #65) postage stamps as revenues. Lovely mixed usage.
Combination of 2-cent Andrew Jackson 'Black Jack' (Scott #73) postage stamp used with 3-cent George Washington (Scott #65), illegal use as revenue on piece.
Illegal usage of 2-cent Andrew Jackson 'Black Jack' (Scott #73) postage stamp as a revenue on document.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Illegal use of 2-cent Andrew Jackson 'Black Jack' (Scott #73) postage stamp as revenue on part of an indenture.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Illegal use of 2-cent Andrew Jackson 'Black Jack' (Scott #73) postage stamp as revenue.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Illegal use of 2-cent Andrew Jackson 'Black Jack' (Scott #73) postage stamp as revenue.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Bill of lading from the Boston and Providence Railroad, with an illegal usage of 2-cent Andrew Jackson 'Black Jack' (Scott #73) postage stamp as revenue.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Illegal usage of 2-cent Andrew Jackson 'Black Jack' (Scott #73) postage stamp as a revenue on document.
Illegal usage of 2-cent Andrew Jackson 'Black Jack' (Scott #73) postage stamp as a revenue on document.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Illegal use of 2-cent Andrew Jackson 'Black Jack' (Scott #73) postage stamp on a receipt from the Connecticut Retreat for the Insane.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Illegal use of 2-cent Andrew Jackson 'Black Jack' (Scott #73) postage stamp as a revenue, along with an R15c, on a promissory note.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Illegal use of 2-cent Andrew Jackson 'Black Jack' (Scott #73) postage stamp as revenue stamp, subsequently caught and R15c affixed over the top, on a court document.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Illegal use of 2-cent Andrew Jackson 'Black Jack' (Scott #73) postage stamp as revenue.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Illegal use of 2-cent Andrew Jackson 'Black Jack' (Scott #73) postage stamp as revenue on a receipt with Indian vignette.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
2-cent Andrew Jackson 'Black Jack' (Scott #73) used illegally as revenue, along with an R15c on a receipt. it appears that the illegal usage was caught, and then the revenue stamp was affixed to legally pay the tax.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
2-cent Andrew Jackson 'Black Jack' (Scott #73) postage stamp used illegally as revenue, caught, and then an R6c affixed over the Black Jack, legitimately paying the tax.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
2-cent Andrew Jackson 'Black Jack' (Scott #73) used illegally as revenue on a doctor's receipt.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
2-cent Andrew Jackson 'Black Jack' (Scott #73) used illegally as revenue on a document fragment, along with a 3-cent Telegraph part perf (R19b). Unusual combination. Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use of #73 on cover plus the value of an R19b.
1868 promissory note made out by French immigrant. Doubly illegal, with both proprietary stamps and postage stamps used instead of documentary revenue stamps. Correctly rated at 10 cents tax. Ex-Morrissey.
2-cent Andrew Jackson used illegally as postage on bank check.
2-cent Andrew Jackson used illegally as a revenue stamp, along with a 5-cent Agreement 1st issue revenue stamp, underpaying the tax on this promissory note. Per rate tables, the tax should have been 10 cents, not 7 cents.
2-cent Andrew Jackson used illegally as a revenue stamp on a receipt from the Oregon Stage Company.
2-cent Black Jack used illegally as revenue on an 1866 receipt from an estate.
2-cent 'Black Jack' used illegally as revenue on a receipt from the Commissioner of Public Schools in Baltimore for a principal's desk.
2-cent Andrew Jackson 'Black Jack' used illegally as a revenue stamp on an 1864 check, caught, and a 2-cent Bank Check revenue subsequently affixed.
A lovely example of the 2-cent Andrew Jackson 'Black Jack'on a probate court receipt for a distribution from an estate.
2-cent 'Black Jack' used used illegally as a revenue stamp on an 1864 check, tied with black oval handstamp cancel.
2-cent black Andrew Jackson used illegally as a revenue stamp on an 1865 check, caught, and a 2-cent orange Bank Check revenue (R6c) subsequently affixed.
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.'
2-cent 'Black Jack' used improperly as a revenue stamp on a merchant billhead. Undated.
2-cent Andrew Jackson 'Black Jack' used improperly as revenue on 1864 check.
2-cent Black Jack used improperly as a revenue on an 1864 bank check.
2-cent Black Jack used improperly as a revenue stamp on an 1867 receipt. The writer must have been a physician: holy illegible handwriting, Batman!
Block of 3 5-cent Thomas Jefferson red-brown (Scott #75) postage stamps used illegally as revenues on 1866 promissory note to J.H. Gulliford, a musical instruments dealer. Secondary transaction on the back is a 'confession of judgement', an extremely rare transaction, only a handful reported to exist. Mahler (1999) rarity rating of 9 with only 4 reported examples at that time. Ex-Turner (Lot 526 in the 1980 Turner sale, sold for $575 including BP at that time; transaction on back was not noted).
Catalogue value shown is just for a pair and single stamps off cover.
1978 APEX certificate. 5-cent Thomas Jefferson red-brown (Scott #75) used illegally as revenue on a piece of a ledger from the German import house of Loeschigk, Oesendock & Co.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Illegal use of 5-cent Thomas Jefferson (Scott #76) postage stamp as revenue.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Spectactular combination usage of 4 singles along with R58c and a pair of R15c paying the 49-cent tax. Not only is it a one-of-a-kind illegal usage of postage stamps as revenues, but it also features a great single-line handstamp cancel in blue. Ex-Joyce.
Catalogue value shown is two pairs not on cover.
Very attractive illegal use of 5-cent Thomas Jefferson (Scott #76) postage stamp on a marriage license and certificate.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Horizontal pair of 5-cent Thomas Jefferson (Scott #76) postage stamps used illegally as revenue stamps on a promissory note fragment, along with two R24c paying the tax on a subsequent transaction.
Catalogue value shown is for pair off cover.
Margin imprint single of 5-cent Thomas Jefferson (Scott #76) postage stamp used illegally as a revenue stamp on an affidavit. Ironically, the document is attesting to the fitness of a William Henderson to practice law.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
An illegal use of 5-cent Thomas Jefferson (Scott #76) postage stamp as revenue tied by embossed company seal to a certificate for the second installment payment on a purchase of one share of stock in 'Sterling's Ambrosia Manufacturing Company.' Sterling's Ambrosia was a hair tonic.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
5-cent Thomas Jefferson used illegally as a revenue stamp on an 1865 marriage certificate from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Illegal/improper use of 15-cent Abraham Lincoln (Scot #77) postage stamp on an order for payment, taxed as an inland exchange. Ex-Curtis.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Illegal usage of Scott #78 as a revenue, combined with R18c (x2) and R25c, paid the 35-cent tax rate on a $7.00 photograph.
Scarce illegal usage. Tolman S-14.
24-cent George Washington (Scott #78b) postage stamp used illegally on a document fragment, along with a pair of R32c and an R15c.
Catalogue value shown is for stamp off cover.
Vertical pair, either Scott #86 (E grill) or #92 (F grill) used improperly as revenues on a March 1869 draft. While the stamps themselves have condition issues, this is an incredibly scarce piece. Not just because grilled issues used improperly as revenue stamps are very uncommon, but also in the fact that it is a Texas usage. Revenue stamped Texas documents from the Civil War era are very scarce, as there were not yet any major population centers in Texas at this time, so very few documents survived.
Illegal/improper use of Scott #90, 12-cent Washington F grill as revenue. Overpayment of two 5-cent Agreement taxes between each of the parties of the first part and the party of the second part. Very scarce usage.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Illegal use of 2-cent Jackson F grill (Scott #93) postage stamp along with an R37c, underpaying the tax on a promissory note (tax should have been 15 cents, not 12 cents).
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Illegal use of 3-cent Washington F grill (Scott #94) postage stamp as revenue.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Nice illegal usage of a 3-cent George Washington F grill (Scott #94) combined with an R27c on a promissory note.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
A matched set of three promissory notes written on the same date, all with illegal uses of 10-cent George Washington F grills (Scott #96) as revenues.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal uses on cover for the 3 documents.
Vertical pair of 1869 1c Ben Franklin, used improperly as revenue stamps on document. Very rare, one of only two reported pairs used as revenue stamps.
Illegal usage of 2-cent horse and rider (Scott #113) postage stamp as a revenue on document.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Beautiful illegal usage of 2-cent horse and rider (Scott #113) postage stamp as revenue on a receipt. The vast majority are found with manuscript cancels, whereas this one has a bold blue oval handstamp cancel. The stamp color is bright and fresh as well.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
2-cent horse and rider (Scott #113) split grill used illegally as postage on document.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use of non-split grill on cover. Stamp has been lifted to verify split grill and carefully replaced.
Illegal use of Scott #113 (2-cent horse and rider) as a revenue stamp.
Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Block of 4 and a single, used illegally as revenue stamps, paying 10-cents tax on a January 1, 1872 promissory note. Used blocks of #113 are incredibly scarce, considerably more so than mint blocks. To my knowledge, this is the only reported revenue usage of a #113 block.
Illegal usage of 2-cent horse and rider (Scott #113) postage stamp as a revenue on document. Catalogue value shown is for normal postal use on cover.
Illegal usage of 2-cent horse and rider (Scott #113) postage stamp as revenue stamp on a note payable on Mechanics Bank (Providence) due this month on deposits.
2-cent horse and rider used illegally as revenue on a receipt of payment for cheese.
1869 2-cent horse and rider postage stamp used illegally as a revenue stamp on a receipt for an estate's purchase of marble grave stones.
Three 2-cent Post Horse and Rider singles used illegally as revenue stamps paying tax on three receipt transactions on the same ledger sheet for shares of a pension from an estate.
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.
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.
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.
3-cent Locomotive used illegaly as a revenue stamp on an 1870 Lousiville receipt, overpaying the 2-cent receipt tax due.
Extremely scarce illegal usage, 2-cent grilled banknote used as a revenue. This is the first grilled banknote I have seen used illegally.
2-cent Andrew Jackson used illegally as a revenue stamp on an 1872 bank check.
Two-cent Andrew Jackson used illegally as a revenue stamp on an 1873 check with an eagle vignette.
Illegal use of postage stamp as revenue.
10-cent Jefferson used illegally as postage on an 1871 promissory note.
Illegal/improper use of 1-cent Franklin as a revenue, underpaying the 2-cent check tax.
Illegal use of postage stamp as revenue.
Illegal use of banknote as postage, caught, and then revenue stamp subsequently affixed.
Illegal use of 2-cent Andrew Jackson (Scott #157) as revenue stamp on a check.
Illegal use of Scott #157 as revenue stamp on an 1873 check with vignette.
Illegal use of Scott #158 as a revenue stamp overpaying the tax on a check.
3-cent Washington improperly used as a revenue stamp, overpaying the 2-cent tax on an 1879 bank check, tied by a huge magenta 'PAID' handstamp cancel.
Illegal use of postage stamp as revenue on a bank check.
Improper/illegal use of postage as revenue. The stamp is a bit munged, but the cancels are superb. Ornate oval from Indian Head National Bank as well as a straight line cancel from Highland Foundry Co.
Spectactular oval handstamp cancel on a 2-cent Andrew Jackson used illegally as a revenue stamp on a holographic check.
2-cent Andrew Jackson used illegally as a revenue stamp on a holographic check.
Improper use of 2c vermilion Andrew Jackson paying 2 cents tax on an 1879 check, subsequently caught, and an R152b affixed properly paying the tax, the latter tied via embossed cancel.
Illegal use of postage stamp as revenue.
Nice group of 5 checks from the same bank all featuring Scott 183 (2-cent Andrew Jackson vermilion) used illegally as revenues. From the same lot as this group of 5 checks all with Scott 206 used illegally as revenues.
Improper/illegal use of the 2-cent Andrew Jackson vermilion postage stamp as a revenue.
Nice group of 5 checks from the same bank all featuring Scott 206 (1-cent Benjamin Franklin gray blue) used illegally as revenues. From the same lot as this group of 5 checks all with Scott 183 used illegally as revenues.
This looks like a nondescript illegal usage, a bit beat up, likely a $10-15 item at retail. But the timing is curious. It's dated February 21, 1891... but that stamp wasn't issued until 1894. Unless it's a contrived item, the only thing I can think of is that it was retroactively taxed at the time the check was submitted for payment, some 3+ years later. The reverse shows nothing except for the endorsement of the payee, presumably a family member.
2c Washington used improperly as postage, caught, and then a 2c battleship documentary affixed to properly pay the check tax.
Illegal usage of postage stamp as a revenue on document.
Illegal use of postage as revenue.
Illegal use of postage as revenue.
Postage stamp used improperly as revenue on an attractive brewery check.
Postage stamp used improperly as revenue on an attractive brewery check.
Illegal usage of postage as revenue.
Broken series of 5 checks from the First National Bank of Cambridgeport, all with postage stamps used illegally as revenue stamps.
2-cent Washington used illegally as a documentary revenue stamp on a Colorado Springs promissory note.
Pair of drafts from the National Black River Bank in Proctorsville, Vermont, each with a 2-cent postage stamp used illegally as a revenue stamp, tied with handstamp cancel. One went through uncaught, whereas the other one was caught at the bank where submitted, the National Exchange Bank in Boston, where a revenue stamp was subsequently affixed and hammered by a bold boxed handstamp cancel. The added bonus being that both documents are dated July 1, 1898, the first day of the tax.
2-cent Bureau definitive used improperly on an October 1898 Boise City, Idaho bank check.
2c Washington bureau used improperly as a revenue stamp on an 1899 store check from John W. Hastings drawn on the First National Bank, Wellsboro, PA.
Vertical pair, used improperly as revenues, along with a myriad of hyphen-hole perforated battleship documentaries, paying tax on a stock transfer, on the reverse of a stock certificate issued to and signed by one of the company owneers. Additionally, the 2-cent battleship documentary next to the postage stamps is also an improper/illegal use, as it is a reused revenue stamp, dated a full 2 years befoe the date this stock certificate was ever issued.
2-cent Washington used improperly as a revenue stamp on a 1900 bank check.
Postage illegally used as revenue.
2-cent George Washington Bureau definitive used illegally as a revenue stamp on a check from The Cloverdale Creamery in Ellensburg, Washington, the check written June 30, 1898, the day before the tax went into effect, presented for payment on July 1, the first day of tax. A beautiful illegal/improper first day usage.
A check on the Frontier National Bank in Eastport, Maine, dated July 6, 1898, with bisected 3-cent (Scott #268) and 1-cent (Scott #279) bureau issues improperly paying the 2 cent tax (1.5 cents + 0.5 cents = 2 cents). Across the pair of bisects is a manuscript cancel reading 'I.R. SLW & Son 7/6/98'.
S.L. Wadsworth & Son was ship chandlery established in Eastport in 1818 and still exists as a hardware store today.
While at first glance this piece may appear to be philatelic rather than commercial, arguments can be made as to why it is a legitimate improper usage (that might sound like a bit of an oxymoron, but what I mean is an illegal usage done out of expediency or to defraud the government rather than a collector's creation).
A superb illegal usage! Block of 4 and a single of Scott #273, the 10-cent Daniel Webster green, used illegally as revenues, along with a 50-cent battleship, paying $1.00 tax on a Michigan surety bond, canceled July 2, 1898, the second day of the tax. Ex-Curtis.
Illegal usage of vertical strip of 3 and pair of Scott #273, the 10-cent Daniel Webster green, paying the 50-cent tax on an 1898 warranty deed. Great magenta 'IR' (internal revenue) designated on the stamps.
Scott #279 used illegally as a revenue, along with 9 R154 and 20 R164 on an Idaho bond.
Improper use of postage as revenue on a bill of lading.
Vertical pair used illegally as revenues on a bank check.
Vertical pair of 1-cent green Ben Franklins (Scott #279) used illegally as revenues.
Illegal use of postage stamp as revenue.
Illegal use of postage as revenue.
2-cent Washington used illegally as a revenue stamp on a National Shoe & Leather Bank check, caught, and a 2-cent battleship documentary subsequently affixed to legitimately pay the tax.
A horizontal strip of 5 2-cent Washington postage stamps illegally paying 10 cents tax on an 1898 divorce decree.
Account of 'Howard C. Beck', public accountant. Horizontal pair used improperly as revenues to pay 2-cent check tax.
Account of 'H. F. Place, Mt. Upton, NY'. Two singles used improperly as reevenues to pay 2-cent check tax, caught before processing and an R155 then applied to legitimately pay the tax.
Two 1-cent Trans-Mississippi commemoratives used illegally as revenue stamps on an 1899 check, signed by (then) Major H. H. Bandholtz, of future Philippines 'O.B.' overprint fame.
Illegal usage of postage stamp as a revenue on document.
2-cent Trans-Mississippi used illegally as revenue on a check drawn on The Dime Savings Bank.
Matched pair of improper/illegal usages of the 2-cent Trans-Missipi as revenues on two checks.
2-cent Trans-Mississippi used illegally as revenue on a check.
Pair and two singles of the 2-cent Trans-Mississippi used illegally as revenues on a fragment of a promissory note.
A pair of dividend checks from the 'Augusta, Hallowell & Gardiner Railroad Co.' in Augusta, Maine. One illegal usage went through undetected, and the other one was caught and a revenue stamp properly affixed the following day. Great usage contrast. Oh, and to add icing to the cake, both documents are used on the first day of tax, July 1, 1898. Based upon the check numbering, there should be more out there.
2-cent Trans-Mississippi commemorative plate number single used illegally as revenue stamp on an 1899 check, signed by (then) Major H. H. Bandholtz, of future Philippines 'O.B.' overprint fame.
2-cent Trans-Mississippi used illegally as a revenue stamp on an August 1898 promissory note.
2-cent Trans-Mississippi used illegally as a revenue stamp on a July 1898 check, caught, a 2-cent battleship documentary subsequently affixed and both stamps tied by a boxed bank handstamp.
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.'
10-cent Trans-Mississippi, Scott #290, improperly used as revenue on a marriage certificate. The 2-cent Trans-Mississippis are findable used as revenues without too much difficulty, whereas the other denominations are extremely scarce. Same document as the one shown on this page, also an illegal usage from the same county, dated 8 days later. Each document contributes to the validity of the other.
There was only a 61-day window between the date the Pan American series was issued and when the check tax expired, making this a very rare illegal usage.
Five 1-cent Washington-Franklin stamps used illegally as revenue stamps, along with two R207, on a page from an American Express receipt book. Very scarce and unusual usage.
Illegal usage of a 1-cent Washington-Franklin as revenue, this one lovely due to its aesthetics. The user meticulously inscribed 'Used as USIR for lack of Rev. Stamp' on the stamp in red before initialling and dating in black.
Two singles of #514, 15-cent Ben Franklin, along with a pair and single of #517, 50-cent Ben Franklin, used illegally paying $1.80 tax on a $9,000 promissory note. Quite scarce.
16 Washington-Franklins used improperly as revenue stamps paying 18 cents tax on a 1920 promissory note. 20th century improper uses are far more scarce than their 19th century counterparts, and you never see this many used on a single document.
Great illegal use of Pilgrim Tercentenary commemoratives as revenue stamps.
20th century illegal/improper usages are much less common than their 19th century counterparts. This is an improper use of a 10-cent James Monroe issue of 1923 on a voting proxy/power of attorney document.
Very scarce 20th century high-denomination illegal usage. The same stock from the famed Knox Phagan scandal.
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.
1869 Receipt statement with 2-cent post horse and rider used improperly as a revenue stamp, with a socked-on-the-nose handstamp cancel.
Business college stamp simulating a 2-cent battleship revenue stamp, on a training check from 1900. Catalog number and value is from Jim Drummond's College and School Stamps Catalogue.
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.
Hawaii revenue stamp (Scott #R3) used on 1895 deed for a parcel of land.
Small-format document, the equivalent of a modern day exit visa.
2-cent Department of Interior Official stamp used illegally as a revenue stamp on a promissory note. This is the first example of an official stamp used as revenue that I am aware of.
Strip of 3 and pair of R1b on a claim against an estate.
Sight draft signed by 'Sam W. Hill'. Samuel 'Sam' Hill was a member of the State House of Representatives, surveyor, associated with Douglas Houghton in surveying the Upper Peninsula and he managed the interests of many mining companies. Hill achieved legendary status for his colorful use of profanity which coined the expression 'What in Sam Hill?'
Document completely in French. Paper is a translucent onionskin.
Promissory note from Samuel N. Pike, builder of opera houses, made out to himself. Document has a vignette of an opera house. The tax appears to have been underpaid by 3 cents.
Underpaid tax (should have been 2 cents) on a receipt for a set of marble gravestones.
Two horribly misperfed 1-cent Express revenues on an agency receipt.
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.
Rare illegal use of R2c on document, along with an R50a, R42c, and two R5c, totalling 50 cents in payment.
Used in conjunction with an R19c on a promissory note. Nominally illegal usage, as Playing Cards revenue stamps were not supposed to be used on documents. While the stamps not rare per se, the Playing Cards and Proprietary types are considerably more difficult to find on document than other 1st issue revenue types.
1-cent and 2-cent Playing Cards used improperly as documentaries, along with two 10-cent Inland Exchanges paying the tax on an 1863 promissory note. It appears that someone later recognized that only 23 cents tax was affixed, underpaying the tax, and subsequently a 2-cent Bank Check was added to pay the full tax due. This is the first excample I have seen of the 1-cent and 2-cent Playing Cards together on document.
Partial margin imprint capture with a gorgeous stencil cancel.
Two R3c singles on bank check, a nominally illegal usage (the different first types were permitted to be used interchangably, with the exception of the 'proprietary' and 'playing cards' types).
Nominally illegal use of a pair of R3c on a recipt, the bottom stamp showing a strong guide line at bottom.
Horizontal pair of 1-cent Proprietary revenue stamps used improperly for documentary purposes on a New York Central Railroad voucher.
Horizontal pair of 1-cent Proprietary, used improperly as documentary revenue stamps. Thomas Kensett & Co. was an oyster and fruit canning company.
Horizontal pair of 1-cent proprietary revenue stamps used improperly as documentaries on a holographic check.
1-cent and 2-cent proprietary revenues used improperly as documentaries on a promissory note.
1-cent proprietary used improperly as a documentary, along with two 2-cent Bank Check revenues, paying 5 cents tax on an affidavit for estate expenses.
1-cent proprietary used improperly as a documentary on an order for payment.
Horizontal pair of 1-cent proprietary revenues used improperly as documentaries on an estate receipt for grave stones.
Horizontal strip of four 1-cent Proprietary stamps, used illegally as documentaries, short paying the tax (should have been 5 cents) on an 1869 payment order.
Illegal use of 1-cent Proprietary revenue as a documentary on an 1863 sight draft from the Quincy Mining Co.
Two 1c Proprietary stamps on an 1869 bank check. Nominally illegal in two different aspects: First, proprietary stamps were not permitted to be used as documentaries, and secondly, the stamps are overlapping, with the bottom stamp almost completely obscured, which was also not permitted.
Horizontal pair of 1-cent Proprietary revenues used illegally as documentaries on an 1867 bank check.
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.
Pair along with a strip of three, along with various and sundry other revenues paying a 50-cent tax on a warranty deed.
1864 time draft on onion-skin paper, amount $100, stamped with 1-cent Telegraph (R4c) tied by bold 'QUINCY MINE PORTAGE LAKE' datestamp. Endorsed by signature, turning this into a bearer note used as provisional currency.
Scarce legitimate 1-cent rate on document.
Major double transfer (T5). Very scarce on document.
Ship chandlers (merchant in ship equipment and supplies).
R5a privately rouletted, on document piece. Unlisted in Scott. Rouletting is visible on all 4 sides of the stamp, with multiple vertical rows.
33 singles and 3 pairs on ganged payroll receipt ledger pages.
Manufacturer of stationary and portable steam engines and boilers.
Early matching usage (EMU).
Wonderful one-of-a-kind piece! Not only is it a major double transfer (T5), but it is also an R5b that is imperforate vertically rather than horizontally (as with all part perforates, the imperf vertically are far more scarce than imperf horizontally). As of 2025, it is one of only 3 reported examples of the T5 major double transfer on an imperf-vertical R5b. It is on a piece of a Wells Fargo document, with a California state revenue.
Very unusual. Check is dated September of 1862, which would have preceded the tax requirement, yet has a revenue stamp dated Dec. 26, 1863 affixed. The circular handstamp is T.P.H. & Co. which matches the company on the check, but why would a revenue stamp have been added over a year after the fact when tax on the transaction was not required?
2003 Philatelic Foundation certificate. Major double transfer (T5). Very scarce on document.
Early usage.
A set of 4 consecutively number checks from February 13, 1864, with lovely train vignettes. Cancel is Tolman N-21A.
Sequence of 4 consecutively numbered checks with patriotic vignette. Cancel is Tolman N-21A-1.
Unlisted double transfer with doubling in the letters of CENTS and CHECK, on an 1864 receipt.
Bill of lading. 'manufacturers of coach varnishes and lubricating oils, fine oils for locomotives and engines, always on hand.'
Two superb strikes of ornate boxed cancel on a bank draft receipt.
Very scarce oval handstamp with side ornaments, from the Savage Mining Co. Order to pay, Mckenzie Bros, to S. T. Curtis, Superintendent of Savage Mining Co., for 'balance due on back freight.'
EMU (early matched usage).
Not only is this an extremely interesting trade, 'Manufacturers of Patent & Enamelled Leather', but it is one of the earliest stamped documents I have ever seen, dated October 6, 1862.
Very early EMU.
An extremely early usage (the first day of the tax was October 1, 1862). Cut cancel goes through the stamp, but the actual stamp itself is incidental to the document.
Oil cloth manufacturer. Nice rimless circular handstamp cancel.
Interesting coffin engraving on a receipt for a coffin and funeral expenses.
Trimmed to appear as an R6b. Close examination appears that the stamp was trimmed while still on the document. See this closeup image for a high-resolution image of just the stamp.
Stamp appears to have been precanceled. Came from a small lot of 6 of these receipts, all with 1864-dated untied cancels, and all receipts being dated 1865.
Very thin translucent onion-skin type of parchment.
Minor double transfer in text of bottom scroll.
Manufacturer of malleable iton castings. Interesting advertisement on back.
Manufacturers of Patent & Enamelled Leather.
Extremely rare second day usage.
Ornate draft drawn on the company treasurer in Troy, New York. Unusual in that it is a draft on a company other than a bank.
Early usage.
Very early usage.
Extremely early usage.
Very early usage.
Very early usage.
Great vignette.
Early matched usage run of 4 consecutively numbered checks from November 1862.
Sequence of 4 consecutively-numbered checks, each with sharply struck steel die handstamp cancels and train vignettes.
Attractive dividend check from the Hartford & Long Island Steamboat Co.
Nice EMU.
Just a wonderful document! It is a receipt for ship transport via Merchants Navigation and Transportation Co. steamer 'Commonwealth' from Silas Pierce & Co. to the Boston & Providence Railroad. There is a crisp railroad receiving datestamp (unlisted in Tolman) at top right center, and then an absolutely superb 'E.J. Smith' script handstamp cancel tying the stamp to the document. The steamer 'Commonwealth' was destroyed in a fire in December of 1865.
Blue shield cancel on bank draft.
Nice margin imprint capture.
Dealers in cotton and tobacco. Early matching usage.
Very thin, translucent paper, almost like an onionskin.
Adams Express Co. receipt. This 'second period' of taxation for express company receipts was only active from August 1, 1864 to April 1, 1865.
Silverware and flatware manufacturer.
Attractive double-outlined oval handstamp cancel. Wholesale grocers.
Prolific Oregon businessman Cornelius C. Beekman opened the Beekman Express Co. in 1856, opened the Beekman Bank in 1857, and in 1863 became the Jacksonville agent of the Wells Fargo Express Co., a position he held for 40 years.
Army and Naval Stores, machinists and railroad supplies. Receipt for payment for a wood lathe.
Attractive bill of lading with a paddle-wheel steamer vignette, featuring handstamp cancels with the steamship's name and the captain's name.
Billhead with attractive vignette.
Complete bottom sheet margin imprint capture in a strip of 5, on a payroll ledger.
Early matching usage.
Interesting 'NO PROTEST' note pinned to the draft. Manufacturer of paints, oils, varnishes, etc.
Importers & Wholesale Dealers in English & American Hardware. Great patriotic vignette.
Lovely 2-color printed bill of lading from 'The Neptune Line of Screw Steamers, direct between Boston and New York via Long Island Sound. Steamship vignette at upper left. This appears to have been the first leg of a journey with Hong Kong as the ultimate destination.
Gorgeous two-color billhead with an American Indian vignette. 'Manufacturers and Dealers in Cut, Chewing, Smoking and Plug Tobacco'.
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.
Ex-Cunliffe.
Slightly munged stamp (and document), a bill of lading confirming receipt of one case of hoop skirts from Eagleton Manufacturing Co. Virtually all known documents with R6e originate from the Eagleton Manufacturing Co.
Diagonal bisect attached to a pair of R6c paying a 5-cent tax. Ex-Mahler.
Bisected top half along with a pair of R6c paying the 5-cent tax on a promissory note.
Printed cancel on an admission ticket to the 59th Semi-Annual Conference of The Ben Franklin Associates, to be held on July 4, 1863. One of two reported examples. Ex-Tolman.
Very attractive early matching usage (EMU) on a certificate of deposit.
Nice 2-cent Certificate used on check with a nice 'B of S' manuscript cancel.
Very early EMU (early matching usage) on a certificate of deposit. There are only a handful of 1862-dated usages of R8c reported.
Early matching usage (EMU) on a certificate of deposit.
Early matching usage (EMU) paying express tax, which was resceinded effective March 31, 1863.
Very large top and bottom margins. R9b are actually quite scarce on document.
Attractive framed ship vignette.
Early matching usage (EMU) of a misperfed 2-cent Express blue revenue, on an Express company receipt.
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.
A beautiful 'Army and Soldiers Package Express' receipt with vignette at left.
This is one of only stamped examples I have seen. Express receipts were only taxed during two short windows: Oct. 1, 1862 through Mar. 3, 1863, at which point the express stamp tax was rescinded, and then starting again Aug. 1, 1864 when a receipt tax was enacted, through Apr. 1, 1865 when the tax on receipts for delivery by an express company was rescinded.
It is also the only example I have ever seen pictures of that has the blue overprint at center. It reads 'It is further agreed, that said Harnden Express shall not, in any event, be liable for any loss, damage or detention caused by Civil or Military authority, or by rebellion, insurrection or riot.' Presumably the company was taking excessive losses due to the Civil War, so they added this overprint.
Commission merchants.
E.C. Knight was an importer and sugar refiner.
Mortgage with two $2 Conveyance paying the tax, but what is more interesting is the use of a quadrisected 2-cent Express (R10c) as sigillums (seals for the signature). Very unusual usage, the first example I have seen of a revenue stamp used in this manner.
Improper use of 2-cent Playing Cards revenue stamp on a tax collector's receipt.
Nominally illegal use, as playing cards types were not supposed to be used on documents.
2-cent orange Playing Cards used illegally as a documentary on 1864 bank check.
Orange 2-cent Playing Cards used illegally as documentary on an 1864 bank check.
2-cent orange Playing Cards used improperly as a documentary on an 1864 bank check.
Nominally illegal use of proprietary type as a documentary. Very scarce and exceptional centering.
Nominally illegal use of proprietary stamp as documentary. Absolutely huge vertical margins.
2-cent Proprietary part perforate, very scarce on document.
2-cent Proprietary used improperly as a documentary revenue stamp.
2-cent proprietary revenue stamp used improperly as a documentary on an 1864 receipt. Stamp also exhibits a plate crack at top right.
2-cent Proprietary used improperly as a documentary on an 1864 estate receipt.
2-cent proprietary used improperly as a documentary on a receipt for an estate disbursement.
2-cent proprietary used improperly as a documentary, along with a 3-cent Foreign Exchange, paying 5 cents tax on a notarized affadavit.
2-cent proprietary with partial margin imprint capture at bottom, used illegally as documentary on an 1867 probate court receipt.
2c Proprietary used illegally as a documentary on an 1865 dividend receipt.
Just a stunningly beautiful oversized packaging label with a horse vignette, with a 2-cent Proprietary revenue affixed, canceled with initials matching the business name.
Impossibly scarce document. Vertical strip of three 2-cent Proprietary (R13c) improperly paying 6 cents tax (the correct rate) on a San Francisco 1864 promissory note. The strip features two of the three plate positions associated with the T13a major double transfer: the middle stamp is plate position 133 showing doubling of elements only at the bottom of the stamp, and the bottom stamp is plate position 147, the full T13a showing doubling at top and bottom. Ex-Bleckwenn.
To my knowledge there are no known intact multiples of all 3 plate positions. I also have an example of the full T13a along with the plate position below it (position 161) showing doubling of just the top elements, which you can see here.
Very scarce and unusual document, a Certificate of the Oath of Mail Contractors, Carriers, &c, Required by Law', with two R13c used improperly as documentaries.
2-cent Proprietary used illegally/improperly as a documentary on a holographic (hand written) bank check.
Unusual fiscal and postal usage on same document. On the back of a folded letter with a #114 for postage.
Very strong double transfer unlisted in Scott (not a T15 or T15a, nor is it one of the minor DTs). Most noticeable in TWO, the T in CENTS, and the U in U.S.
Date slug in handstamp set incorrectly, was advanced from 1869 to 1879 instead of 1870.
Nice little steamship vignette. Note the signature handstamp at bottom right.
Delavan House was an upscale hotel in Albany.
Scarce wire transfer receipt from Montana Territory.
Unusual item in that it appears that the stamp was affixed to blank paper and then the letter was written over top of it.
Dealer in boots, shoes, hats, caps, etc.
Importers and wholesale dealers of Straits, Bank, Shore, Neatsfoot, and Sod Oils, Pure Newfoundland and Labrador Cod Oils.
Receipt for several barrels of biscuits and ginger snaps purchased by Sterling Iron & Railway Co. from John T. Wilson, Ship Bread and Cracker Baker.
Wholesale grocers.
Although this may appear at first blush to be bisects or quadrisects, there was no 1.5 cent rate. This is more likely illegal usage by someone cutting out uncanceled portions of otherwise canceled stamps and combning them to pay the tax, essentially reusing the revenue stamps.
Dealers in foreign fruits.
Very attractive billhead showing a purchase by the New London Northern Railroad Co.
Scarce railroad.
Wonderful crisply struck embossed cancel on a domestic bill of lading from E. Murdock & Co., manufacturers of wooden ware, with a ship vignette at upper left.
Nice margin imprint capture.
Receipt for locomotive engine cylinders.
R15 strip of 3 along with a French revenue stamp on a piece of a sight draft. Documents/pieces with both U.S. and foreign revenues are quite scarce, especially from the Civil War era. P.E. Brulatour was a wine importer.
Colorful and detailed bill of lading from Union Transportation and Insurance Co's Fast Freight Line.
Crisply struck cancel from the Quincy Mining Co. on a sight draft.
Cracker baker.
Tea merchant.
Millers and Dealers in Flour and Grain.
Dealer in beef, pork, mutton, lamb, veal. Attractive billhead with nice vignette.
Cancelled scrip for five dollars, payable to 'Sam W. Hill Agt'. Samuel 'Sam' Hill was a member of the State House of Representatives, surveyor, associated with Douglas Houghton in surveying the Upper Peninsula and he managed the interests of many mining companies. Hill achieved legendary status for his colorful use of profanity which coined the expression 'What in Sam Hill?'
Cancelled scrip for ten dollars, payable to 'Sam W. Hill Agt'. Samuel 'Sam' Hill was a member of the State House of Representatives, surveyor, associated with Douglas Houghton in surveying the Upper Peninsula and he managed the interests of many mining companies. Hill achieved legendary status for his colorful use of profanity which coined the expression 'What in Sam Hill?'
Masonic dues receipt.
Scarce freight paid handstamp also used to cancel the stamp. Small steamship vignette at upper left.
Cotton and cotton waste dealers. On a receipt to the Boston & Providence Railroad.
Interesting 'PAID' handstamp with the date contained within.
Interesting item. Stamp is tied by a check protector line embossing the document. Only problem? That style of embossed check protector wasn't made until the 1890s. Presumably when testing new equipment, they pulled old documents to use as test fodder.
Minor double transfer at bottom of S, I, and N in bottom scroll.
'Dealers in Lumber, Lath & Shingles, manufacturers of sash, doors & blinds.'
Wholesale liquor dealers. Stamp shows extreme sulphurization.
Suger refiners.
Sugar refiners.
Billhead with R15 showing extreme sulphurization, presumably from having been stored in close proximity to sulphur coal.
Double transfer.
'Dealers in House-Fusnishing Goods, Furnaces, Ranges, Stoves and Heaters. Manufacturers of Tin, Sheet-Iron and Copper Ware.' Attractive rendering of a stove in red on the reverse.
'Manufacturers of White Lead, Litharge, Red Lead, Castor and Linseed Oils.'
Tolman N-11NN. Allen Butler, General Western Passenger Agent.
Tolman N-11C.
Tolman H-8D.
Undetermined 2-cent orange (I've classified it as R15x as that is what is most likely, given the date of use) on a holographic check with a great blue oval cancel.
Receipt for advertising in 'The Evening Post' from the Boston, Newport & New York Steam Boat Co.
Variant of the T15 major double transfer, on a receipt from A.M. Davenport & Co., 'upholsterers and dealers in all kinds of furniture, mirrors, drapery, curtains, window shades, mattresses and feathers.'
Two different receipts from the Oregon Stage (Coach) Company.
Double transfer at top.
Unlisted double transfer. Very similar to the T15 double transfer, however the shift of the O in TWO and U in U.S. are at different angles. Additionally, this DT shows more doubling across the bottom and in the numerals at left.
Purchased from a seller in Germany, this is an R15c on an attractive foreign exchange with two vignettes from the European Exchange Office of C. F. Adae, a Cincinnati, Ohio banking house. Not only is there a German revenue stamp also affixed to the reverse (combination usages of both U.S. and non-U.S. revenue stamps on the same document from this era are quite scarce), but the R15c is tied not only by a C.F. Adae circular handstamp cancel, but also a blue oval of Reverchon & Co., a German banking house in Trier. Fantastic document!
1870 Bank of New Orleans sight draft (foreign exchange) sent overseas, where French revenue stamp was affixed to the reverse. Combination usages of U.S. and non-U.S. revenue stamps from this era are very scarce.
Gorgeous aesthetics, both the document and the cancel.
Receipt for medical services provided by Dr. Charles A. Budd, who was on the faculty of the New York Medical College (New York University).
'Dealers in all kinds of fancy and staple dry goods, carpetings, oil cloths, rugs, &c.'
Strong doubling all down the left side and some across the bottom as well.
R15c on sight draft, along with two R44c each on protest notes dated 3 days apart, after demand for payment on the aforementioned draft was refused.
Two R15c on a 'Wood Roll' (fuel purchase) from the Cleveland & Toledo Railroad.
Three R15c singles, along with R36c and R37c on monthly payroll.
Bill of lading with an attractive vignette at top.
Freight receipt from New York Central Railroad.
This may very well be the largest ornate handstamp cancel I have ever seen, on a billhead from Jacob Ritter, 'importer of bolting cloths'. The branding in the cancel text matches the branding at upper left on the billhead, although interestingly the spelling is different. Gorgeous!
A paid bill from 'The Great Republic Weekly' to 'The National Lincoln Monument Association' for printing of circulars, etc. with Lincoln vignette at top and bold embossed seal at bottom.
2-cent USIR on check along with a Nevada state revenue stamp.
Stove manufacturer.
'Acids, Dye Stuffs, &c.'
Publishers.
2-cent USIR along with a rouletted Nevada state revenue on an 1868 draft.
Insurance agent.
Receipt for tuition and board for a cadet at Western Military Institute.
Document printed and written entirely in German. The company had offices in both the U.S. and Germany.
Very delicate, translucent paper.
College membership certificate.
Manufacturers of The Ohio Mower & Reaper, Pitt's Separator, Carey Horse Power, & Castings of All Kinds.
Meticulous manuscript cancel that looks like a printed cancel at first glance, on an 1868 receipt for grading and graveling a city street.
1868 receipt from the New York Central Railroad Co. to the Continental Screw Co.
Ornate large circular handstamp cancel on an 1867 receipt.
Wonderful stylized signature handstamp cancel on an 1865 payment receipt for freight charges for 138 bales of cotton.
Wonderful typeset printed cancel on an 1867 bank check.
Attractive billhead from Kennedy & Mallon, 'Choice Family Groceries, Wines & Liquors' in Virginia, Nevada, featuring both a 2c USIR documentary as well as a Nevada state tax stamps. Most Nevada state tax revenues are found on checks or high-dollar industrial transactions, e.g., mortgages. You don't see many of the mundane day-to-day documents (receipts, invoices, legal documents) that are so often seen with federal revenues affixed.
Ornate boxed handstamp cancel on an 1865 receipt for 4 stoves and metal castings.
Unusual check from an audit of the state school fund income account.
Very attractive bi-color draft.
Doubling showing in lettering at bottom.
Just a lovely vignette at left.
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.
'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'
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.
R15c with socked-on-the-nose handstamp cancel, on a lovely bicolor ornately-engraved 1868 interest certificate.
Oversized document of foreign exchange printed entirely in French, dated March 1869, with U.S. revenue stamp tied via handstamp cancel on obverse, and French revenue stamp on reverse. Scarce dual-country stamped document.
Lovely 1866 two-color check with background vignette of various animals. McNeely & Co. was a tannery and manufacturer of various animal skins, parchment, vellum, etc.
Unusual large-format handstamp cancel on 1869 bank check.
Three copies of R15d (slk paper) and an R34c on a promissory note, overpaying the tax by 1 cent. This is one of the earliest uses of silk paper I have encountered.
T15 major double transfer on a check with a very attractive vignette.
T15a major double transfer.
Unlisted major double transfer.
T15 major double transfer on 2-cent USIR silk paper (unlisted in Scott) on an 1871 sight draft. Prices shown are for the T15 double transfer on normal paper, off document.
Diagonal bisect attached to a vertical right margin pair of R15c, paying 5 cents tax on a contract.
Two document fragments, each with a bisected 2-cent USIR, being two halves of the same stamp. Here is an image of the two halves superimposed, showing that they are both halves of the same stamp.
Two R16c on second of exchange sight draft to Frankfurt, in Guilders.
A complete playing card wrapper from the Samuel Hart & Co. playing card company for their 'Linen Eagle' playing cards. It features 2-cent and 3-cent Playing Cards stamps with printed script December 1863 'SH&Co.' cancels. Presumably the selling price of the deck of cards increased at a later date, thus necessitating the addtiion of the 3 5-cent Playing Card stamps using a later single-line block style handstamp cancel.
3-cent and 2-cent Playing Cards revenue stamps used improperly as documentaries, paying 5 cents tax on a sworn affidavit.
3-cent proprietary used improperly as a documentary revenue on an 1865 receipt for estate payment ordered by probate court.
3-cent proprietary revenue used improperly as a documentary on an estate receipt for disbursement of proceeds of the estate.
Block of 5, vertical pair, and 3 singles of R18c used illegally as documentaries, along with a block of 10 of R15c, paying 50 cents tax on an 1871 indenture.
3-cent Proprietary used illegally as a documentary revenue on a purchase receipt.
2007 Philatelic Foundation certificate. Variety: sewing machine perfs. Most examples are extremely faulty.
Early matching usage (EMU) of 3-cent Telegraph imperforate on a May 1863 telegram. Stamp is superb.
Two horribly misperfed R19c along with an R42c on a sight draft.
3c Telegraph on a billhead, overpaying the 2c tax.
Tattered and torn, but incredibly scarce. An 1863 first bill of exchange, Havana Cuba, drawn on a party in New York, in the amount of $1,400. Taxed 14 cents (short-lived Inland Exchange 1863 rate of 2c per $200), with Cuba 1 escudo Giro ('Draft') tax paid in 1868 to ensure legality in a long-running legal action (specifics courtesy of Mike Mahler).
Aesthetically beautiful early membership certificate from the Masonic Relief Association. The red and green inks make for a wonderful presentation, and the embossed cancel is just absolutely hammered.
Stock certificate from the American Express Co. featuring signatures of Henry Wells and William Fargo.
First mortgage bond from the Cape Breton Coal Mining Co., located on Cape Breton Island, part of Nova Scotia, Canada.
Shield cancel on a document printed on tissue-like parchment. Very thin and transparent.
Monthly railroad pass, taxed as an agreement (see language above stamp). There are some very beautiful railroad passes with RNs imprinted upon them, but they are incredibly expensive. The ones like this from the Civil War era are actually less common, but they bring less on the market.
The document itself is a bit worse for wear, printed on a translucent tissue paper, but the shield handstamp cancel is lovely.
1868 certificate of citizenship, where someone drew the name 'John T. Brownson' in multiple colored inks, simulating a 3D typography effect... a lot of effort for a legal document. Also note the dual-date formatting, indicating not only the calendar year, but also 'the year of our Independence the ninety second' since 1776.
Very attractive $7.50 Certificate of Indebtedness with an ornately engraved reverse, from The South Carolina Railroad Co.
Guarantee of Indemnity certificate featuring a wonderful vignette. Very unusual company/industry.
Very attractive interest certificate.
Clerk of the Supreme Court of the State of New York.
Prothonotary of the District Court of Philadelphia.
Prothonotary of the District Court of Philadelphia. Note that the manuscript date on the document is 1865, but the date in the handstmap cancel is 1864, implying that the stamps were precanceled.
Guarantee of indemnity certificate. Very unusual company/industry.
Dog license: 1865 Commonwealth of Massachusetts certificate granting permission to keep a dog, Douglas County, for Trot, age seven, breed 'Cur,' fee $2, stamped with 5¢ Certificate. Great large vignette.
Discharged soliders declaration and final oath.
Bill of lading.
An 1866 dog license from Brookline, Mass., with a dog's head vignette. Very uncommon document type. Reading the text of the statutes, it's clear that while while there were penalties for harming a licensed dog, society of the time had no love for unlicensed animals, which were to be killed on sight. The SPCA would not approve...
Wholesale booksellers.
Purchase order for a mower with warranty statement and attractive vignette.
Stunningly beautiful 3-color agent's certificate from The National Ink Company, printed in red, blue, and metallic gold, with a patriotic eagle vignette.
Sales agent contract.
Tattered, but it exists. Pawn tickets from the Civil War tax period are exceedingly rare, with less than 20 examples known.
Brewer. Promissory note datelined Vicksburg, Mississippi, 1869, with bold 1870 handstamp.
Interesting document fragment containing a block of 6 plus 3 singles of R25a, a pair of R75c and an R15c single. An enterprising clerk partially prescored (precut actually) the R25a for easy separation at time of use. All of the R25a are valued as singles, rather than multiples (which would be considerably more valuable).
Early matching usage (EMU) paying express tax, which was resceinded effective March 31, 1863.
Wonderful shield cancel on a document printed on tissue-like parchment. Amazingly thin and transparent.
Printed on parchment.
A ratty and tattered, yet still attached second and third bills of foreign exchange, with R25c and California revenue affixed.
Pawnbroker's ticket for a watch, with the stamp canceled by a stylized Star of David handstamp cancel. 'S.G.N.' stands for Samuel G. Nathans, presumably a relative or predecessor. Pawn tickets from the Civil War are exceptionally rare, with only a handful known.
Pawn tickets from the Civil War era are incredibly rare, with currently only 14 reported examples. No one saved them, as they were only needed until pawned items were retrieved. Of the 14 known examples, this is the only example not from New York City or Philadelphia. The other 13 examples have loan periods ranging from 4 months to 1 year, whereas the loan period for this pawn was an incredibly short 1-day loan for $300, which was a huge sum at that time.
Interesting and unusual $50 war bond issued by the treasurer of Ripley County, Indiana with 5-cent Express tied by embossed cancel. Issued less than a month before the end of the Civil War.
Very attractive $15 Certificate of Indebtedness with an ornately engraved reverse, from The South Carolina Railroad Co.
Very attractive $35 Certificate of Indebtedness with an ornately engraved reverse, from The South Carolina Railroad Co.
Very attractive $17.50 Certificate of Indebtedness with an ornately engraved reverse, from The South Carolina Railroad Co.
Very attractive $75 Certificate of Indebtedness with an ornately engraved reverse, from The South Carolina Railroad Co.
Very attractive $87.50 Certificate of Indebtedness with an ornately engraved reverse, from The South Carolina Railroad Co.
The document is munged but the stamp is superb!
Two strips of 3 of R27b, plus several singles and a strip of 3 of R23c on a promissory note.
1864 agreement for sale of John H. Manny's Patent Adjustable Combined Reaping and Mowing Machine, Two Horse Machine.
R27b horizontal pair, along with 4 singles of R33c, paying the 50-cent tax on an 1863 warranty deed.
Articles of agreement.
Importer. This document provides attribution for the superb handstamp cancel shown on this page.
Notarized statement from wife of soldier seeking additional support from the 'Aid to Volunteers.'
Clerk of the city and county of New York.
Plate block of 4 used on a tattered document.
Strong double transfer of bottom scroll.
Prothonotary of the Court of Common Pleas.
Clerk, Court of Quarter Sessions.
Sight draft signed by 'Sam W. Hill'. Samuel 'Sam' Hill was a member of the State House of Representatives, surveyor, associated with Douglas Houghton in surveying the Upper Peninsula and he managed the interests of many mining companies. Hill achieved legendary status for his colorful use of profanity which coined the expression 'What in Sam Hill?'
Sight draft signed by 'Sam W. Hill'. Samuel 'Sam' Hill was a member of the State House of Representatives, surveyor, associated with Douglas Houghton in surveying the Upper Peninsula and he managed the interests of many mining companies. Hill achieved legendary status for his colorful use of profanity which coined the expression 'What in Sam Hill?'
One of the more dramatic positions of the double transfer at bottom, on a promissory note.
Dramatic double transfer at bottom on an 1864 certificate of deposit.
Major double transfer at bottom and left on an 1864 promissory note.
Eight R27c singles used on an 1867 promissory note, at least 5 of which exhibit legitimate 'freak' perfs. Unlike the fabricated freak perfs you frequently see with the perforations at bizarre angles, these exhibit the extra perfs in a manner consistent with having fed the sheet of stamps through the perforator a second time: the extra perfs parallel to the initial perfs.
October 1865 guardianship bond with 20 copies of R27c, including a block of 12 and strip of 5. The strip of 5 contains multiple examples with double transfers at bottom.
Just a beautiful document! An 1871 certificate of classification for the schooner W.H. Green, from American Lloyd's Insurance Co. In addition to the large green underprint of the company logo, it has the corresponding green embossed seal, an attractive maritime vignette at top center, and a boldly struck example of a 'JOHN DEVEREUX SURVEYOR FOR AMMERICAN LLOYDS' handstamp cancel typing R27c to the document. Very rare.
Nominally illegal use of 5-cent Playing Cards on bill of lading from Tabers & Co., manufacturers of mowers and reapers, for transport of a mower and accessories on the Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne & Chicago Railway.
5-cent Playing Cards used improperly as a documentary revenue on an 1865 receipt for estate payment ordered by probate court.
5-cent Playing Cards used illegally as a documentary on an 1865 promissory note.
5-cent Playing Cards used illegally/improperly as a documentary, along with two 2-cent revenues, paying 9 cents tax on an 1867 land contract: 5 cents on April 24 per agreement, 2 cents on April 24 paying the receipt tax for the payment made at the time the contract was executed, and 2 cents on June 1 paying the receipt tax for the first scheduled payment.
Unusual combination of stamps paying the 25 cent tax on this oil company stock certificate: a 20-cent Foreign Exchange, the scarcer of the two 20-cent denominations, not frequently seen on document, and a 5-cent Playing Cards, which was not supposed to be used for documentary purposes, so this constitutes an improper usage.
Horizontal block of 6 plus a single R29c and a single R60c on a promissary note. Blocks of R29c are fairly scarce and nominally illegally usage to use a proprietary stamp as a documentary. The 50-cent Original Process is paying a the tax on a confession of judgement, a very scarce secondary transaction.
5-cent Proprietary used improperly as a documentary on an 1869 deposit receipt.
5-cent Proprietary used improperly as a documentary revenue on an 1867 deposit receipt.
5-cent Proprietary used improperly as a documentary revenue on an 1867 deposit receipt.
Block of six 5-cent Proprietaries plus 2 singles, used illegally as documentaries, on a portion of a note.
5-cetn proprietary illegally used as a documentary on en election certification document.
5-cent Proprietary silk paper on an 1872 affidavit. Silk papers are fairly scarce on document, as you typically can only see the blue threads from the reverse of the stamp, meaning it needs to be lifted from the document. In this case, however, there are at least three blue silk threads visible on the face of the stamp. A wonderful example of a scarce silk paper.
Unusual mixed usage of R30c, R41c, and R56c. The six-cent types are very scarce on document.
R30c with an R53c and R69c on a sight draft.
R30c and R37c on a sight draft.
Solo usage overpaying tax by 1 cent. Not as scarce as a 6-center paying a 6-cent tax rate, which are rarer than hen's teeth, but any solo usage of the 6-cent is not common at all.
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.
Unsevered second and third of foreign exchange for 2,000 francs, each with 6c and 2c revenue stamps paying tax on the transaction.
R32a, R27b, and four R23c on promissory note.
10-cent Bill of Lading imperforate on a March 1863 (EMU) bill of lading for coal to be carried on the bark Benefactor to Hong Kong. Bills of Lading to overseas destinations are quite scarce, and EMUs even more so. The document is on a thin and very delicate tissue paper. No wonder very few survived.
10-cent Bill of Lading imperforate on a March 1863 (EMU) bill of lading for supplies to be carried on the bark Benefactor to Hong Kong. Bills of Lading to overseas destinations are quite scarce, and EMUs even more so. The document is on a thin and very delicate tissue paper. No wonder very few survived. Note the large-format embossed seal at center.
Excellent example of the 'West Coast late date imperfs', 5 singles of R32a on a piece of a court document used in the state of Oregon. Normally, a usage date of November 1865 would be late enough to raise alarm bells as to whether the stamps were contrived (trimmed).
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.
Returned proxy for election of directors, stamped with a 10-cent Bill of Lading, cancelled by a customized metallic device with a sharp 'E.D.W., December 12, 1866' in square frame belonging to proxy Edwin D. Worcester. Rare and unlisted in Tolman. The cancel's imprint left the presence of 'bite' or distortion on back of the document indicating the use of a relief typeface which 'impression-ties' the revenue stamp to the document. Virtually all other railroad cancellers were rubber stamped.
R32c Strip of 3, along with a single and an R6c, paying 42 cents tax on a monthly payroll.
R32e plus two R32c making up the proper 25-cent rate. Catalog value has not been updated in many years.
Even though the identifying portion of the stamp is missing, I have labeled it as R32 because the other extant bisects showing the bottom half of the stamp from the same company are all R32. The current catalog value is misleading, as it has not been updated in decades.
A virtually impossible (certainly improbable) and fantastic combination of document attributes: dual-nation stamped document + revenue bisect. Top half of unidentified bisected 10c revenue stamp tied across the cut by Apr. 12, 1870 datestamp on foreign bill of exchange, drawn in Liverpool, Nova Scotia for $25.00 in gold and payable in Boston Mass., 2c Nova Scotia Bill Stamp paying the proper Canadian tax, entered the United States via the banking house of Palmer & Johnson in Bangor Me. Five cents was the proper tax for this document. Ex-Bleckwenn.
Fairly uncommon still on document (mortgage deed).
10-cent Certificate imperf and 20-cent Inland Exchange imperf on an 1863 promissory note paying the correct tax rate of 30 cents.
Combination revenue and postal use on same document. Unlisted in Tolman.
Wonderfully ornate document.
Very attractive $175 Certificate of Indebtedness with an ornately engraved reverse, from The South Carolina Railroad Co.
Mapes' Super-Phosphate of Lime Co. Very uncommon to find revenues still affixed to pieces of original product packaging.
R33c and two R15c singles paying 14 cents tax on a monthly payroll.
Insurance policy showing combination fiscal/postal usages on same document.
Ornately engraved 1869 certificate of profits. Cancel is Tolman C-52c.
Very scarce, only the second example of the 10-cent Contract part perforate reported still on document.
A wonderful document! The embossed seal is an especially nice graphic. Accompanying advertising cover that originally contained the insurance policy. Tolman P-47.
Four singles of the 10c Foreign Exchange on an 1865 Indiana indenture.
Draft from Conley, Hall & Co.
Very early usage. Stock scrip certificate is dated November 20, 1862, but it appears that tax wasn't paid until January 1, 1863. I'm not sure why it was only taxed at the 10-cent rate, as certificates from incorporated companies should have been taxed at 25 cents.
10-cent Inland Exchange part perforate on a June 1863 bill of lading for pottery to be carried on the ship Surprise to Hong Kong. Bills of Lading to overseas destinations are quite scarce. The document is on a thin and very delicate tissue paper. No wonder very few survived. Note the large-format embossed seal at right.
Two 10-cent Inland Exchange part perforate revenue stamps on 1864 articles of agreement. This is a case where imperforate vertically pert perfs are MUCH more scarce than imperforate horizontally, and are not reflected in the catalog values. This is only the second bona fide example of R36b imperf vertically that I have seen in almost 20 years.
Interesting Quaker-esque vignette at top.
Ornately printed bicolor insurance renewal certificate.
Vertical strip of 5 paying 50 cents tax on a court summons. Double rows of perforations. These are the types of error perfs one would legitimately expect to see, rather than the manufactured diagonal 'freak' perfs one frequently sees.
Certificate or profits with allegorical figure at left and great stylized globe in clouds at center.
Insurance policy and wonderfully ornate renewal certificate.
2011 Philatelic Foundation certificate.
Very unusual! 4 'bisects' on one indenture document. Three partial R36c, two being halves of the same stamp, as well as a bisected R37b which is not listed in Scott. Together, along with the R52c, they comprise the correct 50-cent tax on the $500 transaction. I classify this as a 'fake' as they are not bisects in the truest sense of the word, more likely someone either (1) using up pieces on hand or more likely (2) trying to cheat the government by re-using uncanceled portions of previously used revenue stamps. Still an unusual and interesting item.
Bisect with bold handstamp cancel, on a fragment of a tax lien document. Here is a photocopy of a complete document showing the other half of the same stamp.
Unlisted in Scott. Two R37b singles and a bisected single paying 25 cents tax on a portion of an 1864 stock certificate.
Ornate 2-color insurance policy from the Market Fire Insurance Co., featuring a bold red oval handstamp from the insurance agent. Document also features an ornately engraved revenus stamp placeholder in red that explains the rates to be affixed (see composite image below).
No real way to know which 10c revenue this is a bisect of, as only the top half was used. Document is a marriage license. Catalog value has not been updated in many years.
Diagonally bisected 10-cent Power of Attorney, plus a 25-cent Insurance, paying the correct 30-cent tax on an 1870 promissory note. The document itself is pretty beat up, but this is only the second reported example of R37e.
Illegal use of 10-cent Proprietary as a documentary revenue on an 1867 promissory note.
$300 bearer bond, Bucks County Bounty Fund, payable July 1865, Doylestown, Penn., stamped with 15-cent Foreign Exchange.
Early matching usage (EMU) paying 30 cents tax on a promissory note.
R40c along with an R15c and R18c used illegally as postage, as well as a 2c Andrew Jackson on cover back, presumably to France (based on the smaller handstamp cancel right of center). Ex-Metzger.
15c Inland Exchange, 5c Inland Exchange, and a 2nd issue 25c paying 45 cents tax on an 1872 promissory note. The stamps and usage are unremarkable, but what drew my eye was the spot for the stamp at upper right which contains the tax rates to be used: 'Bank Check 2 cents. Sight Draft 2 cents. Note or Time Draft 5 cents for every Hundred Dollars or fractional part thereof.' Very unusual!
1991 Philatelic Foundation certificate. Very scarce part perf double impression. Only reported example on document. Ex-Curtis.
Very nice example of multiple transactions on the same document spanning the implementation of the Civil War tax. The original sale of the Little Miami Railroad stock on July 15, 1862 was nontaxable, but the transfer of the stock shown on the back of the stock certificate was taxed. The document also exhibits a combination of both imperforate and perforated revenue stamps as well as a very crisply struck handstamp cancel.
R42a with R36c on a promissory note.
Combination use in conjunction with illegal usages of Scott #65 and #73. While combination usages are not particularly rare, this is the first one I have seen with a part perforate revenue.
Wonderful 3-color stock certificate from the Triunfo Gold and Silver Mining Co. in San Francisco, CA.
Three R42b part perfs and two R42a imperfs on a document fragment.
$1 Foreign Exchange plus 3 20-cent Inland Exchange paying $1.60 tax on an 1868 promissory note.
Insurance premium receipt.
Extremely early usage.
R43b and R27c on a patent assignment letter for 'L.S. Reynold's Universal Portable Friction Bolt.'
Stock certificate #12 from the Newton Mining Co.
Great SON handstamp on a stock certificate from the Terre Haute & Richmond Railroad.
Stock certificate from the Salem Rail Road.
Stock certificate from the Milwaukee and Prairie Du Chien Railway Co.
Stock certificate from the Quincy Mining Company of Michigan, featuring an R44b with nice multiple-line handstamp cancel.
Cancel is Tolman O-4. Ornate insurance policy with postage stamp and cancel affixed, indicating that it was sent through the mail.
It makes no sense that a January 1862 transaction would have been taxed. It is obviously not an errant date mistake, as the year is written in 4 different places.
Very scarce stock certificate.
Stock certificate from the Louisville Bridge Co.
Stock certificate from the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railway Co.
Stock certificate from the Dunkirk, Warren & Pittsburgh Railway Co.
Stock certificate from the Columbus & Indianapolis Central Railway Co.
Stock certificate from the Boston, Clinton & Fitchburg Railroad Co.
Stock certificate from the Chester Mining Co.
Stock certificate from the Green Mountain Coal Co.
Stock certificate from The Mammoth Vein Coal and Iron Co.
Stock certificate from the Eliza Mill and Mining Company in San Francisco.
Stock certificate from the Swedesboro Rail Road Co.
Stock certificate for the Rutland Marble Co. with two R44c affixed.
Very scarce printed cancel.
This is a very unusual certificate, an underwriter's policy renewal certificate. As a bonus, it has a great ornate insurance agent handstamp cancel. Ex-Morrissey.
Very unusual mining stock certificate from a company supposedly located in the 'Montania Territory'. The only records I can find of said territory is an 1864 New York Times announcement: 'The Committee [on Territories] are also perfecting a bill for the erection of the Territory of Montania, composed of a portion of Idaho and Utah Territories.' Very interesting item.
25-cent Certificate with genuine freak perforations (doubled) on a bold 1871 insurance policy renewal receipt printed in orange, an unusual ink choice for the period.
Interesting stock certificate, taxed when issued in 1871 and subsequently in 1899 when redeemed/transferred.
Fragile stock certificate printed on thin translucent paper like tissue paper.
Lovely 1866 stock certificate with a steamship vignette and a bold company seal also depicting a steamship.
Nothing special about the document or the stamp, but that handwriting/printing style is very unusual.
Beautiful bicolor stock certificate with paddlewheel steamer vignette and hammered embossed seal featuring a locomotive. This is the first document I've obtained from the Washington Territory.
Note brokers.
Stock certificate from The American Submarine Co.
Stock certificate from the Boston and Providence Railroad Corp.
Stock certificate from the Hackettstown National Bank.
One of the most beautiful stock certificates ever produced (in my opinion).
Very unusual and scarce stock certificate that is entirely handwritten.
Insurance policy sent through the mail, so both postal and revenue usages on same document. Tolman F-13.
Very attractive ship vignette.
Stock certificate from the Delaware Railroad Co.
Stock certificate from the Preston Coal and Improvement Co.
Very delicate stock certificate printed on thin translucent paper.
1866 Stock certificate.
R47a and R48c used on a Quincy Mining Co. stock certificate.
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.
Stock certificate.
Stock certificate from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Co.
Stock certificate from the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Co.
Stock certificate from the Consumer's Mutual Coal Co.
Stock certificate from the Washington Silver Mining Co.
This blue handstamp cancel is found fairly often, but this is the first document I have found that attributes the cancel.
A very scarce document type, an 1864 port warden's certificate from San Francisco. Secondary certification transaction on the reverse with an R27b part perf.
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.
Top margin single used on an 1863 power of attorney for shares in the Lancaster and Ephrata Turnpike.
Not one but TWO R50b part perfs plus an R78c used on an Indiana land sale document. The vast majority of R50b seen on the market are trimmed fakes and you virtually never see one on document.
Very scarce part perf to find still on original document. Part of next stamp showing at bottom.
Insurance policy showing combination fiscal/postal usages on same document. Montpelier, Vermont fancy cancel (S-E GE-R 31).
Stock certificate from the Boston, Newport and New York Steamboat Co.
Lovely early matched usage (EMU) of R51a and R63a on a sight draft.
R52a and R41a on document fragment.
R52c and R36c on a sight draft payable to Lanman & Kemp, a perfumer notable for issuing its own proprietary stamps. Great watermark on the document.
Solo use of 30c Inland Exchange correctly paying the tax on an 1869 payment note.
2018 Philatelic Foundation certificate. I have classified this as a fake, because the margins are virtually nonexistent, and it was purchased as being NOT a legitimate R53a. However, the stamp is barely tied to the document at the very top, so I do not believe it to be a philatelic creation. Rather, for whatever reason, the party originally affixing the stamp trimmed it close. There is no way to know if this stamp is an R53a, R53b, or R53c. Still, an interesting item. Subsequently received a declined opinion from the Philatelic Foundation, as expected.
Transaction originally recorded on October 18, 1862, but tax not paid until December 22, 1862.
Fake bisect and overprint created by a dealer in the 1930s. Note that the stamp was overprinted twice, once before being affixed, perpendicular to the overprint on the document.
Nice partial imprint capture.
Unusual large-format document for the sale of cemetary plots.
Three ultramarine singles on an 1869 chattel mortgage.
Extremely late legitimate use of a part perf on an 1867 Oregon quit claim deed. The overwhelming majority of genuine 1st issue imperfs and part perfs used after 1864 come from the west coast: California, Washington, and Oregon.
Block of 6 and pair of R56c, along with an R69c, paying $5 tax on a warranty deed. The block of 6 is tied for the largest reported multiple.
A pair of bisects, each being the top and bottom halves of the same stamp, paying the 25-cent tax rate, on a pair of school district trustee's bonds. 50-cent bisects are far more scarce than either $1 or $2 bisects. This pair comprises the only legitimate bisects of 1st issue 50-cent stamps I have been able to find evidence of. See my bisect census page for more information.
Court summons. Absolutely superb centering!
Double transfer at top, used on a trustee's bond. Considerably more scarce than the Scott value would imply.
Custom House Broker entry of merchandise for the Port of Philadelphia, with an attractive cameo at top left.
Four R59a singles on a January 1863 Indiana mortgage, an early matching usage (EMU).
Also has a French revenue stamp applied on the reverse. Combination uses of U.S. and foreign revenues on the same document during the Civil War era are exceptionally scarce.
Vertical pair with diagonal plate scratch crossing both stamps. Not the major long plate scratch that Scott lists, but a second scratch at a different angle.
R59c, R44c, R24c, and two R15c paying 84-cents tax on a monthly payroll.
Guardian's bond.
Multiple handstamp cancels, on piece. Shipping and commission merchants.
R64a is a lovely shade of dark brown. Interesting use in conjunction with a (presumably unintentional) bisected R36c.
R41b, R52c, R53b, and R64a on an 1864 promissory note. Scarce combination of imperf, part perf, and perforated 1st issue revenues all on the same document.
This promissory note, dated October 8, 1862, is an incredibly early usage, and is arguably the earliest known use of R64a... but there's a problem. The 60-cent Inland Exchange wasn't delivered until December of 1862, so it could not possibly have been affixed at the time this note was written.
At some point between when the note was written and the time of payoff (or at the time of payoff) in May of 1863, the lack of tax was noted, and the stamp affixed and backdated.
The tax rates had changed between the time the note was written and the time it was paid off. 60 cents was the correct rate in October of 1862, but the rate for the amount in this transaction had increased to 70 cents by May of 1863.
It's still a nice EMU.
Two vertical strips of 5 on large indenture.
$1 Conveyance with right frameline doubled, on a mortgage deed.
Left frame line double, on a witness statement.
R69c and R36c on portion of a bond. You can just make out portions of gold foil 'GOLD' at upper right. Company seal is also included on the document.
R69c with foldover freak perfs (presumably legitimate) and an R59c on a warranty deed.
1980 Philatelic Foundation certificate.
1980 Philatelic Foundation certificate.
Very scarce horizonal pair on document, on Letters of Administration for an estate.
J.R. Ingersoll, J. Miller Craig and Charles Willing, Trustees of the Trust created by the Estate of William Bingham.
Very scarce solo use of R77c on a promissory note paying the tax of 5 cents per $100 or fraction. Fewer than 10 examples of the $1.30 Foreign Exchange recorded on document.
Horizontal pair of R78a along with a single R54c paying tax on an August 1863 promissory note.
R78c and R82c used on a quit claim deed. This clerk had a habit of overlapping the necessary stamps to fit in a specific space, as evidenced by the same practice on this document.
R78c and R85c used on a quit claim deed. This clerk had a habit of overlapping the necessary stamps to fit in a specific space, as evidenced by the same practice on this document.
R78c and R33c paying $1.60 tax on promissory note. Signed by Thomas Jefferson Coolidge, great-grandson of President Thomas Jefferson.
Wonderful and scarce usage of an R79a bottom sheet margin single on a promissory note taxed as an inland exchange, dated the day of Lincoln's assassination. I have only been able to find records of three other examples of R79a still on documents. Ex-Curtis.
Well-struck cancel on a construction deed.
Early matching usage (EMU) of a $2 Conveyance imperf, on a February 1863 indenture.
Originally written up in the February 1979 American Revenuer:
Illustrated here must be what would be called the only known example of a First Issue $2.50 Conveyance stamp (or is it an Entry of Goods stamp?). The stamp is on a document belonging to ARA member George Alevizos. It is a warranty deed dated September 15, 1871 for a parcel of land in Abington, Massachusetts. The purchase price was $2,500 and required tax stamps totaling $2.50 be attached. However, as can be seen from the illustrations, there was not enough room to attach the two stamps that were to be used to make the $2.50 rate. Curved cuts were made above the 'TWO DOLLARS' and below 'CONVEYANCE' on a copy of R81. A copy of R55 was trimmed close and woven through the $2 stamp. Both stamps are there in their entirety. This $2.50 provisional was then attached to the document and canceled. The cancellation consisting of the initials H.H.P. above and Sep. 15, 1871 between two parallel lines ties both stamps together and to the document as shown in the enlarged illustration. This definitely has to be one of the more interesting first issue items 'on cover.'
November 1863 bill of sale of one-third interest in Steam Boat Columbia, Silas Betts and Robert Robinson of West Troy, N.Y., to Samuel Baker of New York City, nominal amount $1 but stamped with $2 Conveyance & $1 Power of Attorney, indicating a value of $5,001–$6,000. Rare example of 1863 rates.
Scarce full strike of large format cancel on a promissory note.
$2 Conveyance, $1 Entry of Goods, and 50-cent Original Process, paying $3.50 tax on a mortgage. The $2 conveyance is a misperforated top sheet margin single missing the top row of perforations, as well as several plate scratches in the margin.
Tied to document by last digit of date. Catalog value has not been updated in many years.
Sight draft in the amount of 2,600 pounds to Lord & Company in Melbourne, Australia.
2011 Philatelic Foundation certificate. Top half of an R82c used as $1 on document, the bottom half of which was used a day later, on this document.
This image shows the two halves of the stamp superimposed upon one another, showing they are the same stamp.
2011 Philatelic Foundation certificate. Bottom half of an R82c used as $1 on document, the bottom half of which was used the day before, on this document.
This image shows the two halves of the stamp superimposed upon one another, showing they are the same stamp.
H.L. Aldrich was a cotton mill owner. Wonderful use of R83a on document, along with an R42c and R5c. The manuscript cancel is very bold and crisp. Part of the adjoining stamp is visible at lower right... and that next stamp is on this sibling document. The two stamps prove one another genuine. See composite image.
H.L. Aldrich was a cotton mill owner. R83a usedon document, along with an R42c and R5c. The manuscript cancel is very bold and crisp. The design is cut in at lower left, but the adjoining stamp with the missing portion is on this sibling document. The two stamps prove one another genuine. See composite image.
Two singles on a vellum deed. The right stamp has a double transfer at bottom. Click here for a high-resolution image of just the double transfer area.
$3 Manifest imperforate plus $5 Mortgage perforated and a pair of $1 Conveyance perforated, paying $10 tax on an 1864 Ohio warranty deed.
Combination use with an R95c on a Chicago, Illinois indenture. The R87c is fairly scarce on document.
Used on a deed. Examples of R87c still on document are quite scarce.
R87c is quite scarce on document.
R87c is not a scarce stamp, but examples still on document are. There are fewer than 25 reported examples of R87c on document.
Very scarce solo use on a lease. Fewer than 25 reported examples of R87c on document.
Two $3.50 Inland Exchange singles paying $7 tax on a warranty deed. R87c is very scarce on document, even more so as either a multiple or multiple singles.
R87c is very scarce on document.
R87c and R96c paying $13.50 tax on an 1868 Ohio quit claim deed.
R87c and R68c paying $4.50 tax on an 1869 first of exchange for 'nine thousand dollars in gold' originating in Havana, Cuba.
February 1863 conveyance (deed), Franklin County, Ind., in the amount $6,400, stamped with matching $5 Conveyance imperforate pair. On the reverse, a justice's jurat stamped with matching 10¢ Certificate, this a scarcer usage as this tax was rescinded March 3, 1863, nice 'double EMU.'
Two R96c, an R91c, R84c, and R82c on an 1866 mortgage. Nice variety of stamps on a single document.
A lovely positioned pair of $96c, one on either side of a state seal, on letters testamentary. Unfortunately only the top portion of the document remains.
2007 Weiss certificate. Nicely-centered R97e with an R89c on a warranty deed, very scarce on document.
Lovely example on an 1865 mortgage document.
R100c, R98c and two R81d silk papers on 1870 Massachusetts mortgage.
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.
Ex-Morrissey. Document is made out of very thin parchment/onionskin. 1876 is a VERY late usage date for a 2nd issue revenue.
Ex-Morrissey. Very unusual crude oversized 'PAID' handstamp cancel.
Ex-Morrissey. Unusual single-line 'CHARGED' cancel.
Ornate large-format oval handstamp cancel. Manufacturers of charcoal pig iron.
2011 Philatelic Foundation certificate. The Scott Catalog listing example.
1991 Philatelic Foundation certificate. Dry goods merchant. Until May 2018, the only reported example of R107b. A second example has now been discovered from the same company, containing the other half of this stamp. An image of the two bisect halves superimposed and aligned can be seen here.
Dry goods merchant. A new discovery as of May 2018, only the second reported example of R107b. The other known example is from the same company, containing the other half of this stamp. Ex-Hiram Deats. Given to a family acquaintance shortly before his death in 1963, this item has been off the market for well over half a century. An image of the two bisect halves superimposed and aligned can be seen here.
Beautiful combination of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd issue revenues all on the same document! Must have been backdated, because the 2nd- and 3rd-issue stamps weren't released until 1871.
Incredibly more scarce than the Scott catalogue value implies. Currently the only reported example of the 10-cent bisect. Ex-Joyce.
Gorgeous Phillips & Jordan Iron Co. stock certificate, featuring an R112 with socked-on-the nose cancel at right along with a hammered matching embossed seal at left. What really takes this certificate to 11 is the manufacturing vignette at center. It may not be apparent in the scan, but it is printed in reflective metallic bronze, extremely unusual.
Promissory note from Addy, Hull & Co., manufacturer of pig iron, and attached protest for nonpayment. The protest document has an R112 with soubled perforations, which are genuine, as opposed to diagonal 'freak' perfs which are dealer concoctions.
2014 Philatelic Foundation certificate. Imperforate used on part of a stock certificate. Very rare. Ex-Morrissey.
It's a shame it isn't the entire document. These are very rare on piece or on document. Tied via a lovely embossed cancel with a sailing ship in the center.
Sewing machine perfs are exceptionally rare on document. This stamp appears to have been re-used. The September 30 cancel is tied to the document and matches the date of the document, but there is an earlier handstamp cancel on the stamp NOT tied to the document. I've seen many other examples of this stock certificate, and many of them seem to have this doubly-canceled anomaly.
Second issue 30c and 20c paying 50 cents tax on an 1872 chattel deed.
Double transfer at top, not frequently seen on document.
1872 3rd bill of exchange, New York to London, from Louis Iken (cotton broker), showing a complete strike of a large format device that Iken used to modify his business checks upon the break-up of his partnership (the bar obliterated the previous business name). Ex-Morrissey.
Second issue inverted center on an 1871 mortgage deed. Very scarce on document, with less than 10 examples reported.
Foreign entry, design of $1. The only reported example still on document. Ex-Morrissey.
$2 second issue plate number single on a guardian's deed, along with $1 and 50-cent stamps.
Ex-Morrissey.
Ex-Morrissey. Unusual boxed red 'First Dividend' handstamp.
Ex-Morrissey.
Plate number single with a nice well-struck oval cancel.
Cancelled by numeral '21' representing bank number 21 in the New York clearing house system. Signed by U.S. senator Abijah Gilbert (Florida).
Sight draft from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada to Boston, Mass., with both Canadian and U.S. revenue stamps. Documents from the 1st-3rd issue era with both U.S. and non-U.S. revenue stamps affixed are quite scarce.
Check made out to Marel (Marcel?) Kuntz, and the stamp canceled with the brewery's beer cancel. Very unusual!
Attractive check with ornate oval 'L.M. French, Carriage Maker' handstamp.
Two-color holographic (hand-written) check.
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.
2009 Philatelic Foundation certificate. Very scarce on document.
1982 Philatelic Foundation certificate. It states that the stamp is genuine, but they decline opinion as to whether the stamp originated on the document. Presumably this is because the stamp is uncanceled and there are no tying smudges.
Very nice example of this 3rd issue invert with a lovely cancel. Very scarce on document or piece.
1871 promissory note datelined Iowa Centre, with 1st issue 5c Agreement and 2nd issue 25c paying the initial 30 cent tax, with a secondary transaction on the reverse (proceeds of promissory note signed over to a third party) with a 3rd issue 5c paying 5 cents tax on that transaction. An interesting combination of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd issue revenue stamps on the same document.
Blue 'PAID' cancel combined with a waffle killer cancel.
Ex-Morrissey. Very ornate check, from Wm. E. Buser, furtniture dealer, drawn on the First National Bank of Chillicothe, Ohio, canceled by the Western German Bank in Cincinnati.
Corner margin copy of R151.
Two great cancels on a check fragment. The first, a blue oval handstamp cancel from the American Bible Union and a great strike of a purple Mechanics & Traders National Bank circular cancel.
Manufacturer of men's boots and shoes.
3rd Issue 2c USIR with portrait shifted dramatically to lower right, on an 1872 check from the Shenandoah Iron Works.
Inverted center; extremely scarce on document.
While the 3rd issue inverts are not uncommon, examples still on document are quite scarce.
Furniture dealer. The earliest usage I've ever seen of an R152a... too bad it cannot be the date written, as the stamp was not issued until October 5, 1875. Most likely with the change of the new year, the check writer forgot to write the correct last digit, as wel all do for the first few weeks of a new year. Probably written January 6, 1876.
Very attractive check with plow vignette and stylized lettering.
Ornately engraved draft on fragile onionskin paper.
Nice margin imprint single used on bank check.
A pair of checks showing wonderful magenta oval cancels, one of the two checks apparently issued after the business moved to Golden, Illinois.
Twisted double transfer at top right, resulting in a doubling of the top frameline expanding towards the corner.
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.
Roulettes are very scarce on document.
Very attractive illegal usage of revenue stamps as postage, but in all likelihood a philatelic creation, as there is also 2 cents of valid postage in addition to the revenue stamps. There is a small possibility that it was a double-weight cover, thus requiring 4 cents postage, but that is very unlikely, given the aesthetic presentation of the two revenue stamps flanking the postage stamp. Still, an attractive cover.
Oculist and Aurist (eye and ear doctor).
Second day of tax usage.
September 1898 bill of lading for 47,350 bushels of barley shipped via the steamer D.C. Whitney from Chicago to Buffalo, New York.
Bill of lading.
Tattered 2-sided receipt book page from the United States Express Co. with each side showing 5 examples of R154, each with a bold large-format 'USX' multi-line handstamp cancel. Additional handstamp at upper right reading 'From Iowa Domestic Medicine Co. Iowa City, Iowa'.
Gorgeous illegal/improper usage of revenue as postage on an photographer all-over advertising cover, 2nd day of tax, July 2, 1898. Identical date and time as this cover; presumably a mass marketing mailing drop.
Second day usage.
Second day usage.
R155 on 1898 foreign exchange document along with a pair of French revenue stamps. Combination usages of U.S. and foreign revenne stamps on the same document are quite scarce.
Spanish American War patriotic stationery used for a banking transaction.
Second day of tax usage.
2-cent with blue I.R. overprint used illegally as postage on a Spanish American War patriotic cover, with 2-cent Trans-Mississippi subsequently affixed to legitimately pay the postage.
The earliest typewritten check I have seen. During this period, checks were almost exclusively handwritten.
Second-day-of-tax usage.
Ornate multi-line handstamp cancel.
First day of tax usage, July 1, 1898.
Very interesting bank check, dated July 2, 1898, but the stamp (tied) is dated July 1, 1898, the first day of the tax. So was this a clerical error, a postdated check, or something else?
First day of tax usage.
U.S. revenue documents with both U.S. and non-U.S. revenue stamps affixed, paying multiple taxes throughout a chain of transactions are quite scarce. This example was taxed in England and then doubly taxed in the U.S. There is an extensive 2-page writeup of the document here and here.
First day of tax usage, July 1, 1898.
First day of tax usage, July 1, 1898.
First day of tax usage, July 1, 1898.
Very attractive first day of tax usage on an insurance policy. The correct tax for the transaction was 28.5 cents, so this overpaid the tax by a half cent, thus corroborrating the shortage of half-cent battleship documentaries at the beginning of the tax period. Large-format first-day documents are quite scarce.
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.
1898 Colorado promissary note with two 10-cent battleship documentaries and two provisional overprint revenues, the latter with overprints shifted dramatically to the north.
Lovely sight draft with vignette.
Unusual document that cannot actually exist. Check dated June 6, 1898, with stamp canceled same date. The only problem is that the tax didn't go into effect until July 1, so there would have been no reason to tax this check, nor would there have been revenue stamps available on June 6. The most likely story is that the check writer forgot that the month had changed and wrote June instead of July. The check was actually written on July 6, 1898, which places it within the tax period and aligns with the processing handstamp on the reverse. Still, a fun and interesting item.
Illegal use of revenue as postage on a Spanish-American War patriotic cover.
2018 Philatelic Foundation certificate. Rare provisional overprint recently listed in Scott, similar to Scott R156-158, but smaller format, on a marriage certificate from Huron County, Michigan. This is the second such document reported.
July 1898 change-of-beneficiary addendum to an insurance policy, with 21.5 cents paid in tax. The half-cent battleship printed in orange was only used for a very short period of time at the beginning of the Spanish American War tax period, replaced by the same denomination printed in gray (Scott #R162). There are fewer than 10 reported examples still on document. This document was typed on a delicate tissue-like parchment; it's amazing it survived at all.
R154, R162, and R167 on an 1898 plate glass insurance policy, paying 6.5 cents tax.
1/2-cent gray battleship revenue, along with a 1-cent battleship, paying 1.5 cents tax on an insurance policy from 'The Insurance Company of the State of Illinois'. Fractional cent rates are fairly uncommon.
Three 5-cent battleship documentaries along with 1-cent and half-cent battleships, paying 16.5 cents tax on a 1901 insurance policy.
Very interesting item. This is the first solo usage of a half-cent documentary battleship revenue stamp that I have seen. It appears to be a promotional 1-month accident insurance policy. Very innovative marketing idea!
Half-cent battleship, along with 4-cent, 10-cent, 25-cent, and 50-cent battleship documentaries, paying 89 & 1/2 cents tax on a 1901 contractors' employers liability policy issued by The Travelers Insurance Co in the amount of $188.84. Tax should have been 94 & 1/2 cents, so the missing stamp was presumably a 5-cent battleship.
1/2-cent battleship, along with 1-cent and 5-cent battleship documentaries, paying 6 & 1/2 cents tax on an Aetna Insurance Co. policy.
1/2-cent, 2-cent, 10-cent, and 25-cent battleship documentaries paying the correct 37 & 1/2 cents tax on an insurance policy.
1/2-cent, 2-cent, and 3-cent documentaries paying 10 & 1/2 cents tax on a fire insurance policy from the Hartford County Mutual Fire Insurance Co.
Very scarce solo use of 1/2-cent battleship documentary on a 1900 insurance policy renewal receipt from The Standard Life and Accident Insurance Co. of Detroit, Michigan.
Very scarce solo use of half-cent battleship documentary on an 1899 2-day traveler's accidental death and injury policy from The Travelers Insurance Company. The full name of the railroad in the cancel is Lake Superior & Mississipi and Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad.
Wonderful unusual illegal usage of 1-cent documentary battleship revenue stamp on a leather postcard.
Bill of lading. Agents for the Clyde Steamship Co.
Misperfed R163 on a consignment document of 'glazed cambrics'. Nice oval steamship cancel as well as a partially boxed 'O.D.S.S. Co.' receiving handstamp below.
Bill of lading.
Ornate script handstamp cancel.
Great multi-line handstamp squarely placed on battleship revenue on a bill of lading. Interesting signature handstamp on document as well.
Attractive 1898 bill of lading for 25,000 bushels of northern spring wheat sent from Duluth, Minnesota to Buffalo, New York on the steamer Merida.
1898 bill of lading for 4,419 tons of iron ore to be carried from Duluth, Minnesota to Cleveland, Ohio for the Adams Mining Co., about the steamship Menida (?).
November 1898 bill of lading for transport of 25,000 bushels of oats from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Buffalo New York, aboard the steamer Mecosta.
Coffee manufacturers.
Beautiful large oval handstamp cancel on a bill of lading from the Potter Wall Paper Mills.
Attempted illegal use of 2-cent battleship documentary revenue stamp as postage. Caught and then postage affixed.
Interesting usage the day BEFORE the tax went into effect. Retroactively dated or did someone jump the gun?
Nice ornate handstamp cancel. H.B. Smith was a boiler manufacturer. Note the image of a boiler at the center of the check in brown (enlarged below).
Lovely improper/illegal use of a 2-cent battleship documentary revenue stamp as postage on an advertising cover with a great strike of an 1899 National Export Exposition cancel.
Fraternal beneficiary society founded by women in 1895. Note the references to 'Supreme Receiver' on front and 'Supreme Board of Managers' on back.
First day of tax usage.
Well-struck embossed seal.
Wine growers.
Combination usages of U.S. and foreign revenue stamps on the same document are very scarce.
2-cent battleship documentary along with a Mexican revenue stamp on a document fragment.
Baltic Mining Co. manuscript cancel combined with a large ornate bank PAID cancel.
Interesting western font in the cancel. Rowse & Hopkins, Financial Agency for Eastern Capitalists draft to the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co. and payable at J.P. Morgan & Co. St. Louis, Missouri.
Wonderful fancy flag cancel.
Unusual pointed oval cancel.
Unusual 'coupon note'.
Manufacturer of wooden ware.
Groceries & provisions, crockery & glassware.
Shippers of millfeed.
Not sure of the cancel attribution, perhaps Farmers & Mechanics Bank?
Great buffalo vignette.
Mileage check for October 1898 from the Office of the American Tank Line, charged to the account of the Michigan Central Railroad.
Mileage check for October 1898 from Union Refrigerator Transit Co. drawn on the account of the Michigan Central Railroad.
Double tax paid on a draft.
Grain dealers.
Texas promissory note for the installation of lightning rods.
Horizontal pair of 2-cent battleship documentary revenue stamps, along with 3 mexico revenue stamps, on an 1898 sight draft.
1899 stock certificate for 1 share of the Little Miami Railroad Co. Nice embossed seal depicting a train.
Nice large-format oval bank handstamp cancel.
Very unusual 'deed of stock brand', the first I have seen, transferring the rights to a cattle brand, showing the actual brand symbol.
2-cent battleship with multiline handstamp cancel on 1899 draft, with slogan 'Producers of Great Western Champagne' at top, and engraving of a wine bottle on the reverse, very unusual.
This is an 1899 check drawn on the Rhode Island Hospital Trust Co., with a printed slip attached by the revenue stamp (the slip itself has no adhesive), which reads 'TWO CENTS added to this check for Revenue Stamp required by United States law.' You can see the pencil notation for 'Stamp 02' above the check amount.
De Rothschild Freres foreign bill of exchange payable in Paris, France, with imprinted French revenue at right.
Illegal usage of 2-cent battleship documentary revenue stamp as postage.
The Supreme Ruling of the Fraternal Mystic Circle. Some sort of masonic organization?
Coffee manufacturers.
Real estate mortgage bond coupon.
Apothecary.
U.S. and Mexican revenue stamps both on a document from the Consolidated Kansas City Smelting and Refining Co. Combination usages with non-U.S. revenue stamps are quite scarce.
Lovely green elk vignette and nice boxed handstamp cancel.
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.
Irregular block of 19 of the 3-cent battleship revenue stamp with hyphen-hole perforations on a 1901 promissory note. Per the Curtis Census, this is far and away the largest reported multiple of R165p, with the second largest multiple being a block of 6.
Bill of foreign exchange originating in England, with imprinted British revenue stamp, with vertical pair of 4-cent Battleship revenues upon redemption in the United States. Documents with both U.S. and non-U.S. revenue stamps are quite scarce.
Transatlantic money wire taxed as an outgoing bill of exchange (4 cents per $100). As the money went by 'wire' there was no tangible bill of exchange to tax, so the tax was applied to the receipt for the money wire. Very rare.
4- and 5-cent battleship revenues on a real estate mortgage bond, with 2-cent battleship revenues on each of the bond coupons, but all canceled on the date of origination rather than when the bond coupons were redeemed.
1-cent, 2-cent, 5-cent and 10-cent (x2) battleship documentary revenue stamps on an 1899 sight draft, along with 4 Mexico revenue stamps.
Very ornately engraved stock certificate.
5-cent, 1-cent, and 25-cent battleship documentaries paying the tax on a stock transfer of shares in the Mexican Telephone Company.
Pair of R168, along with a single R163, on document fragment. On the reverse is a single British 5-shilling Foreign Bill revenue stamp. Combination usages of U.S. and foreign revenues on the same document are fairly scarce.
10-cent Battleship revenue along with provisional overprint R155 on a promissory note.
Block of 4 of the 10-cent battleship documentary plus a 2-cent battleship featuring a fancy bold multiline handstamp cancel, paying the tax on an 1899 promissory note.
Certified copy agents license certificate issued to A.D. Mohn as an agent for the Fire Association of Philadelphia, authorizing him to sell fire insurance in the state of Ohio.
Stockholder voting proxy statement.
Cemetary deed from the Pond Creek Cemetary Association, in the Oklahoma Territory prior to it beomcing a state.
Broker's call-buying privilege card.
Scarce combination usage of both U.S. and British revenues on a document piece.
Single plus a horizontal pair of R168.
Vertical pair, along with a vertical pair of R164, along with a R168, R169, and R163.
Stock certificate #1 from the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B & O Railroad of Monopoly fame), for 400,000 shares of preferred stock ($40 million at the time, equivalent to $1.5 BILLION in 2024), resulting from the railroad's bankruptcy/reorganization, issued to the voting trustees of the railroad. 400 copies of Scott #R178 on the back and attached sheets paid the $20,000 tax (2 stamps have fallen by the wayside over time; only 398 remain). Part of an incredible historical transaction find, which I have chronicled in full on this page.
Stock certificate #4 from B & O Railroad Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B & O Railroad of Monopoly fame), for 200,000 shares of preferred stock ($20 million at the time, equivalent to $750 million in 2024), resulting from the railroad's bankruptcy/reorganization, issued to the voting trustees of the railroad. 9 copies of Scott #R181 (plus 1 additional stamp, serial #600 which has fallen off) paid the $10,000 tax. This is only the third known document with the $1000 Madison affixed. The other two documents only have 1 stamp each, and both are cut canceled. All 9 examples on this document are uncut. A one-of-a-kind document! Part of an incredible historical transaction find, which I have chronicled in full on this page.
Stock certificate featuring a detailed mining vignette at bottom center, stamp canceled by Toland Brothers. & Co.
Uncut example on broker's memo. The open and especially closed numeral overprints are not seen as frequently on document as one would expect.
Top margin pair with part of an arrow marking, nice position piece, with cut and handstamped cancels, on 1901 broker's memo.
R191, along with two R164 singles, R167, R168, and R169 on document fragment, along with two British Foreign Bill revenue stamps, one-pound and one-pound and ten shillings. Mixed usages of U.S. and non-U.S. revenue stamps on the same document are fairly scarce.
1/2-cent and 5-cent documentaries paying 5 & 1/2 cents tax on a policy from the Phoenix Insurance Co.
$1, 10-cent, 5-cent, and 1/2-cent documentaries paying the correct $1.15 & 1/2 cents tax on an insurance policy from the National Fire Insurance Co. of Hartford, CT.
$1, 50-cent, 10-cent, 4-cent, and 1/2-cent documentaries paying $1.64 & 1/2 cents tax on a policy to for the Lacombe Lumber Co., by the Fire Insurance Co. of Hartford, Connecticut.
1/2-cent, 1-cent, 5-cent, and 10-cent documentaries paying the correct 17 & 1/2 cents tax on a fire insurance policy from The Connecticut Fire Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut.
1/2-cent, 1-cent, 10-cent, and 25-cent documentaries overpaying 37 & 1/2 cents tax (should have been 32 & 1/2 cents) on a policy from the Westchester Fire Insurance Company of New York.
1915 bill of lading, Steamer Lena May, New Albany, Indiana, for connection to P.C.C.& St.L. Railway (Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis), stamped with 1914 1-cent, printed in dark blue.
Very scarce stamped baggage ticket, taxed as an agreement. This tax was only in effect from December 1, 1914 through the end of 1915. Like other passes and tickets (unlike financial or legal documents) virtually none were saved.
Shareholder proxy executed by the United Shoe Machinery Company for shares in the Krippendorf Kalkulator Company (great name!).
Very unusual document, a photostat of a 1902 homestead deed from the Muskogee (Creek) Nation, Indian Territory, filed with the department of Interior on August 22, 1916, with a handstamp cancel from the 'Five Civilized Tribes'.
U.S #R202 or R213 along with Italian revenue stamps, on a 1915 protest of unpaid draft.
Either an R195 and three R199 or an R206 and three R210, or some combination thereof, paying 12.5 cents tax on an insurance continuation certificate. When I saw it, it occurred to me that I had not seen a fractional documentary rate on a document before. No idea as to its scarcity.
R206, R210, and R212 (or R195, R199, and R201 or some combination thereof) paying 14.5 cents tax. 20th century fractional rates are quite scarce.
R206 and R210 on a fire insurance policy, paying 4.5 cents tax.
Illegal use of revenue as postage on cover, but amazingly on a paquebot cover, from the S.S. Arabic, canceled in Cherbourg-Octeville, Manche, in Normandy, France.
'Certificate of copyright registration card' with an oval embossed seal from the Library of Congress Copyright Office.
Illegal usage of revenue as postage.
While I have several examples of revenues used illegally as postage on covers, this is the first example I've found where the revenues were used illegally as postage due stamps.
Improper/illegal usage of 2-cent documentary as postage on cover.
Block of 10 plus 2 singles on a promissory note.
2-cent documentary paying the parcel post tax on a cloth parcel tag from the Frankford Arsenal in Philadelphia.
Two examples of the R229 double impression on a 1923 promissory note. These are the first examples of any of the 20th century double impressions that I've seen still on document.
R231 with magenta oval handstamp cancel, along with a Japanese bill stamp with wonderful signature handstamp cancel, on a bill of foreign exchange. Documents with both U.S. and foreign revenue stamps on them are very scarce.
Incredibly scarce document with manuscript Future Delivery provisional overprints. Three 40-cent, eight 1-cent, and twelve 2-cent documentaries, all manuscript overprinted F.D. The official overprinted Future Delivery stamps were not yet available. This confirmation memo was for 100 barrels of cotton seed oil to be delivered in January 1918.
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.
Cut cancel on document fragment with a bank straightline cancel. Not frequently found on document or piece.
Mangled, tattered, and torn, but still unusual and interesting. A parcel fragment franked with three complete strips of R250, a strip of three R249, two complete strips of R246, a single of R246a, and several smaller denominations, totalling $13,792.65 in tax paid. Stamps are both handstamped and cut canceled. Catalog value referenced above is for cut cancels.
Uncut examples of R571, R577, R595, and R607 on a 1953 warranty deed.
Uncut solo usage of 1953 $1.65 documentary on a 1957 warranty deed.
Solo use of 1953 $2.75 denomination, not frequently seen on documents, along with two Pennsylvania state real estate transfer tax stamps.
R680 along with R678 and R664 canceled apparently with White-Out. Very unusual.
Uncut examples of R660, R664, R673, R706, and R707 on a 1957 warranty deed.
Uncut examples of R666, R675, R677 and R726 on a 1959 deed.
RB1a used illegally on document along with two R135 (including one with margin imprint capture) and an R24c, paying the correct 10-cent tax on a $175 promissory note.
Horizontal pair of 1st issue 1-cent Washington proprietary stamps used improperly paying the 2-cent tax on a check from the First National Bank of Sandusky.
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.
Nominally illegal use of a proprietary stamp as a documentary.
Set of 4 checks in different colors, all with illegal usages of proprietary stamps used as documentaries. What are the odds that the purple check would be signed by someone with the last name of Purple?
Improper use of 2-cent proprietary revenue stamp as a documentary.
Great (illegal?) use of a 1st Issue proprietary on check. Nice mining vignette as well.
Nominally illegal use of a proprietary as a documentary on a check.
2018 Philatelic Foundation certificate. Vertical bisect on a complete label for a trial size of 'Fish's Saratoga Asperient' prepared by George H. Fish & SOns, Saratoga Springs, New York. The regular size would have been taxed at 4 cents, hence the 2-cent tax on the trial size. Scott lists but does not price RB4d. This is the first example I have ever seen. I am aware of one other example, found by a New York collector approximately 40 years ago.
Right vertical half used improperly on fragment of a bank check. Scott listing example. 1988 Philatelic Foundation certificate.
Vertical pair of 1-cent proprietary revenue stamps used improperly as documentaries, caught and a correct revenue subsequently affixed to pay the tax.
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.
Doubly scarce: an illegal use of a proprietary stamp as postage on a foreign exchange document, along with German revenue stamps affixed to the reverse. Combination usages of U.S. and non-U.S. revenue stamps on the same document from this era are exceptionally rare.
Nominally illegal use of a proprietary stamp as a documentary on a check.
1/8-cent proprietary battleship revenue stamp still on its original sachet powder envelope. The envelope has a pebbled texture and is embossed in metallic silver.
A colorfully printed envelope of perfume powder with RB21 affixed, with 'S.P.H. 1899' (Standard Perfume House) straight line cancel.
1/4-cent proprietary battleship revenue stamp still on its original sachet envelope.
Horizontal pair of quarter-cent proprietary battleships, used improperly to make the half-cent component of a 2.5-cent rate on a fire insurance policy. Despite Hartford being a fairly large company, they must have run out of the half-cent documentary battleships.
Likely philatelic, but very attractive and unusual regardless. J.D. Van Volkenburgh of Hamilton, Missouri owned a 'post office book store' that sold 'Books, Stationery, Cigars and Tobacco, Newspapers, and Periodicals.' He was an early member of the American Philatelic Society. This lot consists of 7 checks, starting with a nice 2-cent battleship documentary with margin marking. The remaining 7 checks are all comprised of a wide variety of PROPRIETARY battleship revenue stamps, affixed illegally. Because most of the proprietary battleship revenues were denominated in fractions of a cent, this allowed for all sorts of fun colorful combinations of 1/8, 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, 1, 1-1/4, 1-7/8, and 2-cent proprietary battleships, totaling 2 cents on each check. One of them was caught, and a 2-cent documentary battleship affixed over the proprietary stamps.
Three proprietary battleship revenue stamps (Scott # RB20, RB21, and RB23) used improperly as documentaries, along with Scott #R154, 1-cent Franklin provisional overprint, paying the 2 cents tax on an August 1898 check from Eugene, Oregon. A very coloful combination of stamps, with the 3 proprietary battleship revenues adding up to the missing 1 cent in total.
5/8-cent battleship Proprietary revenue stamp still affixed to the back of an ornately printed envelope of 'Oakley's Florabel Sachet'.
1-cent battleship proprietary revenue stamp used illegally as postage.
1-cent proprietary battleship revenue stamp used illegally as a documentary, along with an R155 2-cent provisional overprint, paying 3 cents tax on an attractive 1898 insurance policy premium receipt.
An interesting group of 3 checks from the same company, all with illegal uses of proprietaries as documentaries, one with multi-line handstamp cancel, one with manuscript cancel, and one with mixed handstamp and manuscript cancel.
2-cent Proprietary battleship used improperaly as a documentary on a bank check, caught by the receiving bank when deposited and a precanceled 2-cent Documentary battleship affixed over the original. See matching bank cancel on the reverse.
2-cent proprietary battleship revenue used improperly on a July 1898 check. 2009 APEX certificate.
Not only a first day of tax usage, which are highly sought after, but also an illegal/improper usage, with RB27 2-cent proprietary battleship used instead of a documentary. A double whammy!
Line block of 4 used illegally as documentary stamps on an 1899 marriage license. Same document as the one shown on this page, also an illegal usage from the same county, dated 8 days earlier. Each document contributes to the validity of the other. Additionally, this is the same pastor and location as this improper proprietary usage I subsequently acquired.
Two vertical pairs of 2-1/2 cent Battleship propietaries, used improperly as documentaries, paying 10 cents tax on a Michigan marriage certificate. Same pastor as this similar improper usage.
Vertical strip of 4 of RB45 (or RB33, no way to be certain), used improperly as documentaries, on a bill of lading.
Infinitely more scarce than the nominal used catalogue value would imply, examples of Scott # RD1 on document are virtually impossible to find. Very rare.
Infinitely more scarce than the nominal used catalogue value would imply, examples of Scott # RD1 on document are virtually impossible to find. Very rare.
Not a postage stamp used illegally as a documentary, but rather a playing card stamp used as a documentary. All examples on record are from this printing company.
2-cent Playing Cards used improperly on an 1899 bank check. All known examples are from this company.
Interesting miscut line pair still on card packaging.
Silver Tax Form 2 indicating no profit on the transaction, and thus no tax due, yet 1 cent was required to be paid and a 1-cent silver tax stamp was affixed, in order to process the form. Unusual.
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.
Single RJ9 along with RJ4, RJ3, and a horizontal strip of RJ1, paying $6.19 tax on a 1935 memorandum of sale for 610 pounds of tobacco. Very scarce on document.
Horizontal pair of RJ9, along with two pairs of RJ7, a vertical pair of RJ3, and a block 6, strip of 3, and single of RJ2, paying $14.30 tax on a 1935 memorandum of sale of 715 pounds of tobacco. Very scarce on document.
Vertical pair, along with an additional single RJ10, an RJ9, RJ7, RJ6, two RJ4, and an RJ1 block of four on a memorandum for the sale of 1444 pounds of tobacco. Very scarce on document.
Vertical pair, along with an additional single RJ9, RJ8, RJ5, a horizontal pair of RJ3, and a single RJ1, paying $27.36 on a 1934 memorandum for the sale of 676 pounds of tobacco. Very scarce on document.
U.S. $2 Consular Service Fee and Polish revenue stamps used on the same document (affadavit?).
Nice bold boxed cancel and embossed seal.
Invoice for shipment of tapioca flour.
Very scarce full 'tapeworm' (most found are only the left column with the bank names and revenue imprints) in excellent condition for the type.
1868 draft, with the drawee being the National Bank of Redemption in Boston, Mass.
Generic sight draft shown in Castenholz as an 'Inland Exchange' but with a large 'Louisville KY' printed at top center. Used in Paris, TN.
Wonderful multicolor design with several vignettes on the account of the West Philadelphia Passenger Railway Company.
Imprint positioned at right. There was supposed to be a 'GERMANIA BANK' paste-up strip over Manufacturers National Bank, but on most examples the strip has come off.
Beautiful patriotic vignette and bicolored printing.
Considerably more scarce than the G type that is most frequently seen on these drafts.
Beautiful orange and green bank draft depicting a bank's counter with weighing scale.
Printed on translucent parchment/onion skin. Draft drawn on account of the Connecticut River Banking Co.
Printed in black, red, green, and brown, with reflective gold ink used for the frame and banner borders. Account of the Travelers Insurance Co.
Lovely ornate violet and orange design.
Lovely violet and green design on the account of the Lochiel Iron Co.
Account of Pupke, Reid & Co. Brown/tan underprinting with GLOBE MILLS logo at center.
Account of The Soldiers Business, Messenger and Dispatch Co. Ornate sidebar and underprinting.
Beautiful purple and green sight draft with two ship vignettes.
Account of Porter & Higby.
Account of Joseph C. Stewart.
Unusual greenish-brown color caused by environmental exposure and/or unstable violet ink.
Interesting 'per pro' handstamp above signature, meaning 'by delegtation to' or 'on behalf of'.
Check from the very company that printed the tax stamps on these checks (American Phototype Co.), payable to the IRS for $1,000 for 'I.R. stamps.'
Receipt from James, Kent, Santee & Co. 'Importers and Wholesale Dealers in Dry Goods.'
Wholesale dealer in boots and shoes.
Imprint is in bronze metallic ink.
Imprint is in bronze metallic ink.
Manuscript changed from 'American Exchange National Bank'.
Two attractive vignettes.
Beautiful railroad piece printed in orange.
Lovely contrasting red and green design.
Printed on thin parchment. Attractive vignette of female laborer at left and bull's head at bottom center.
Lovely brown and lilac design.
Generic receipt.
1872 draft, with the drawee bank being the Merchants Bank of Canada in Montreal, payable in gold coins.
Account of the Pleasant Valley Wine Co. The medallions at top center are printed in gold foil.
Draft from Chas. F. Ruggles, dealer in pine lands, logs, & lumber.
Vignette of miner and his dog on a draft payable in gold.
Account of the Atlantic Mutual Fire and Marine Insurance Company. Very ornate check protector.
Lovely contrasting violet and green color combination.
Account of E. J. Collins. Design printed entirely in metallic gold ink, including the seal of the city of Newton at left.
Account of Coates Brothers. Very attractive antique 'embossed' underprinting design in green.
G-type facsimile at center.
Type G facsimile imprint.
Facsimile imprint of the state seal of Pennsylvania on a check from C. G. Barndt & Son, dealers in 'Grain, Flour, Mill Feed, Coal, Hay, Lime, &c.'
Beautiful facsimile at center.
Lovely blue and yellow draft payable by Alexander Stephens, previously Vice President of the Confederacy, with trademark facsimile imprint. Very interesting terms printed on the draft: 'The Dickson Fertilizer Company will pay 15c per pound for Cotton (basis of New York Middling,) delivered at the Warehouse of the Acceptor in AUGUSTA, to cover amount of Draft, leaving it optional with the Planter at its maturity to pay Cash, or sell us the Cotton.'
Ornate two-color sight draft with the drawee being the Upper Lehigh Coal Co.
Four different engraved vignettes.
Payment voucher from the Pennsylvania and New York Canal and Rail Road Company, to the Lehigh Valley Rail Road Company, via the Girard National Bank.
The word GOLD is printed in gold metallic ink.
Account of the American Gas Machine Manufacturing Co.
Account of Partridge & Smith, Commission Merchants.
Account of Samisch & Goldmann, Steam Printers and Wood Engravers.
Account of Gay & Quinby, Grain Commission Merchants. Vibrant pink and green color.
Draft, drawee is Marine & Fire Ins. Co., Springfield, Illinois.
Account of the Hecla Consolidated Mining Company. Indian vignette at left.
Drawee combination manuscript and printed red; serial number printed in blue.
Printed on dark blue paper.
Account of the McCormick Harvesting Machine Co.
Changed via violet handstamp from original GERMAN 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.
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.
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.
Account of C. W. Henderson. Beautiful design printed entirely in metallic gold ink, including large vignette of a dog at left.
Account of Rubelman & Co., hardware dealer. Attractive green underprinting.
Beautiful draft with a stark black & yellow design.
Account of the Bridgeport Gas Light Company. Entire check, other than the revenue imprint and the blue serial number, is printed in metallic gold ink.
Printed in metallic bronze ink.
Very stark monochrome appearance, as if the entire document was printed in black, but the revenue imprint is actually a very dark brown, much darker than usually seen.
On the account of the 'Office of the Lehigh Zinc Company'.
Attractive two-color check with vignettes on the account of the 'Office of the Barclay Coal Company'.
Beautiful two-color check from the account of the West Philadelphia Passenger Railway Company.
Account of the Western Land Association of Minnesota. Maritime vignette at upper left. Beautiful green underprinting of the city harbor map of Duluth, Minnesota. Very scarce.
Account of H. F. Bigler & Co., hardware dealer. Printed in blue and metallic gold; paper features large format watermark of the merchant across the memo/signature area.
Ornate oversized check with brown and grey printing.
Account of The Sharps Rifle Co, with beautiful background vignette of crossed rifles.
Attractive and ornate $1,000 bond from The Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railway.
Railroad scrip taxed as drafts.
Extremely rare document, with only 2-3 examples known. Pawn tickets, like baggage tickets, railway passes, steamship passes, etc., where extremely ephemeral. Once the immediate task at hand was completed, there was no reason to retain the document any longer, so virtually none were saved... unlike financial transactional documents (e.g., checks, deeds, stock certificates) or legal documents, where medium- to long-term filing and storage was required, so more survived.
Stock certificate from the Panama Rail Road Co.
Unissued stock certificate from The Chicago & South Western Railway Co.
Stock certificate from the Panama Rail Road Co.
Unissued stock certificate.
Preferred stock certificate.
Capital stock certificate.
Stock certificate.
Stock certificate.
Stock certificate, signed by William Mahone as president, former Confederate general.
Stock certificate.
Stock certificate.
Stock certificate.
Railroad bond.
Large insurance policy.
Bond certificate.
Dry goods merchant. Entry of merchandise ledger.
Large life insurance policy. Most examples have repaired tears, like this one does.
Three revenue imprints on this large railroad bond from The Flint and Pere Marquette Railway Co. RN-W2 and an imprint of RN-P5 on the front, and an additional imprint of RN-P5 on the back.
$1,000 mortgage bond from The Cincinnati, Lafayette and Chicago Railroad.
Postal Telegraph Cable Co. form.
Revenue imprint shifted to upper right.
Unusual item, with a 2-cent battleship documentary also affixed, either paying a secondary transaction or the clerk did not see the RN imprint. The reverse is blank.
Wonderful mining scene vignette.
Revenue imprint at left so as to not overlap Type G facsimile imprint at center.
Vignette of the battleship Iowa.
Ornately engraved check from the Buckley & Douglas Lumber Co., 'Manufacturers of Lumber, Lath, Shingles & Salt,' Cityscape at left shows layout of factory grounds.
Account of Cephas M. Lewis, Commission Merchant. Train vignette. Printed in metallic gold/bronze ink.
Majestic vignette and great font usage.
Very intricate blue security underprinting.
Account of John I. Chambers, Wholesale and Reatil Dealer in all Kinds of Lumber.
Beautiful hammered embossed cancel on a fairly scarce check with the revenue imprint printed on the reverse.
Double impression of RN imprint. With letter of authenticity from Eric Jackson.
Account of the Gould & Curry Silver Mining Company.
Unused specimen. Note the 'INVALID FOR ACTUAL USE' printed in orange below the revenue imprint, as well as the 'Corlies, Macy & Co.' imprint in blue.
Unused specimen. Note the 'INVALID FOR ACTUAL USE' printed in orange below the revenue imprint, as well as the 'Corlies, Macy & Co.' imprint in green.
Unused specimen. Note the 'INVALID FOR ACTUAL USE' printed in orange below the revenue imprint, as well as the 'Corlies, Macy & Co.' imprint in green.
Unused specimen. Note the 'INVALID FOR ACTUAL USE' printed in orange below the revenue imprint, as well as the 'Corlies, Macy & Co.' imprint in red.
Previously unreported receipt. Wholesale booksellers & stationers. Interesting partial green overprint at lower left, as well as a dateline beneath the receipt. It appears this may have been part of a larger document.
Draft with bold vignette, printed on pink paper.
Very unusual. F.P. Newton match stamp used illegally as postage, along with 3 Andrew Jackson postage issues, on piece. It's a shame it is only a piece rather than the entire cover.
Scott # RO157a, proprietary match stamp from D. M. Richardson, used illegally/improperly as a documentary on an 1867 handwritten receipt. Very scarce. Ex-Morrissey.
5-cent Andrew Dougherty proprietary playing card stamp used improperly as a documentary on an 1869 one-day promissory note, tied by manuscript cancel in the same hand that wrote the note. The manuscript cancel is 'TK AP 6 1869', the unusual month abbreviation matching that used at upper right. 5 cents was the correct tax rate for this transaction. Very rare use.
First day of issue cancel on license.
$1 trailer permit stamp used on a license for the Grand Canyon National Park. Fairly scarce.
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