History of the Postage Stamps of the United States of AmericaTiffany, John K. (John Kerr)
History
History of the Postage Stamps of the United States of America
Tiffany, John K. (John Kerr)
Postage stamps -- United States
The difficulty of arriving at accurate measurement, is increased when
the specimens examined have been used, but apparently the larger of the
above grilles was gradually cut down row by row to the smaller, as
specimens of the 1, 2 and 3 cents, the most used values, are found
undoubtedly grilled.
10½ by 12½ mm., or 13 by 17 rows.
10 " 12 " " 13 " 15 "
9 " 11½ " " 12 " 15 "
9 " 11 " " 11 " 14 "
8½ " 10 " " 11 " 13 "
These all now bear a deep yellow or brown gum. The colors are very
uniform.
As stated by the passage quoted above, there are 100 stamps, or ten rows
of ten stamps in the so called sheet, or properly half sheet, there
being 200 on the plate. The imprint was either "Engraved and printed by
the," in one line, "National Bank Note Co., New York," in a second line
in colorless capitals, on a solid ground, with pearled edges and outer
fine colored line, or the second line above without pearls on colored
ground, bordered by a double colored line. The author cannot state
whether all the values bore both imprints, having only seen the 1, 2 and
3 cents with the first, and the 30 and 90 with the second, the latter
without the grille. These imprints are placed 2 mm. from the stamps,
above and below the 5th and 6th rows on each half sheet, the plate
number being between the 8th and 9th rows. The line on which the sheets
are divided is indicated by three lines forming a sort of arrow head, at
the top and bottom of the sheet. The center rows of stamps are 2½ mm.
apart, and there are no perforations between them. The vertical rows of
perforation are 22½ mm. apart horizontally. The horizontal rows 27½ mm.
apart vertically, but the upper and lower rows are sometimes 28½ and
sometimes 29½ mm. apart. If a sheet is selected, where the vertical rows
are so far from the center line as to cut into the stamps, and the
horizontal rows too high or too low, and a stamp from the top or bottom
of the row next to the center cut line is selected, and the perforations
carefully cut off, specimens can be made that have a much larger margin
than the ordinary perforated stamps, and might easily pass as
unperforated. This may not account for all the unperforated specimens,
some of which may be the result of accident, but all the values of this
series and the following may be so made unperforated, and have been so
catalogued.
The number of these stamps issued with grille, is estimated as follows:
1 cent, 95,127,100.
2 cents, 208,375,550.
3 " 962,467,790.
6 " 21,600,900.
7 " 2,070,800.
10 cents 8,509,280.
12 " 2,857,975.
15 " 4,299,220.
24 " 637,450.
30 " 711,430.
90 " 165,180.
ISSUE WITHOUT GRILLE (1873?)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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