Hover your cursor over the image to see a zoom at right.
Use your mouse's scroll wheel to change the zoom level.

Or click here to see the full-size high res image

Scott Number: 63 Collection Reference No. for Communications: 5384

Denomination/Type: 1c Franklin, blue, perf. 12

2023 Scott Catalog Value (for a single stamp): $ 45.00

Estimated Retail Value: $ 325.00 What is this?

Cancel Method: Manuscript

Cancel or Company Type: Unknown

Company: Quincy Mining Co.

City: New York

State: New York

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.

If you have any information or comments about this cancel or stamp, please email me.