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Government Reprint Issue of 1875, Scott #40 Introduction. |
| The only Full Plate of Type I.
When the government printing offices decided to make these reprints, a new plate was made and the original design from the 1851 issue finally made it's debut. Printing occurred mid 1875 for the Centennial Exposition of 1876 The original stamps 1¢ Franklin Issues of 1851-57 were made by Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Company of Philadelphia. The reprint issue of 1875 discussed here was manufactured by the Continental Banknote Company. |
| Not Valid for Postage.
At the start of the civil war, the original issues of 1851 -1861 had been demonetized and hence they are called reprint reissues. They were printed on very white, crisp hard paper without gum. The perforations gauge 12 instead of the normal 15. Not Really Stamps. Dr. Carroll Chase remarked" .... It is my conviction that such items which were never issued to the public" are in no degree "U.S. Postage Stamps," regardless of there color, paper, or other features. Such items are proofs pure and simple and have not legitimate place in our catalogs with stamps that were regularly issued at there face value by the Post Office Department. |
| Not Many Left.
Research indicates that 10,000 stamps were printed. The stamps that were not sold were destroyed. Records further indicate that on July 16th, 1884, only 3846 stamps had been sold. The Scott Specialized Catalog also states that this issue exist imperforate and that only one imperforate pair is recorded. Plate Proofs. Plate proofs of the 1¢ design exist in various forms, the most common of which are plate proofs on cardboard. Plate proofs on India paper are somewhat less common and are known in various sized blocks. A full sheet of India paper proofs as shown in the archive is extremely rare. I am told by several sources that only 3 are known of which this is one. |
| This Archive.
The images in this plating archive is of a full sheet from the 1875 plate printed on India paper and hinged to a light piece of cardboard in several places. This sheet of 100 stamps has no plate number or imprint on either side. The stamp images are spaced much further apart that the original issues of 1851-1861 to facilitate perforations not cutting into the design. |
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