#63 - 1861 1¢
See below for details
Basic Info
1¢
Blue, Ultramarine and Dark Blue
Printing Method: Engraved
Printier: The National Bank Note Company
Subject: Benjamin Franklin
Number issued: 138,000,000
Perforations: 12
Watermark: Unwatermarked
Scott #: 63
Earliest date of use: August 17th, 1861
#63 Value
Used
$5 - $15
No postmark with gum (MH)
$50 - $80
Full perfect gum, no postmark
no trace of stamp hinge mark (MNH)
$95 - $230
#63a
64a
Ultramarine
#63a Value
Used
$950- $3,000
No postmark with gum (MH)
$2,500 - $3,250
Full perfect gum, no postmark
no trace of stamp hinge mark (MNH)
$4,250 - $5,000
It should be noted that many purported examples of mint 63a are for sale or have been sold on eBay, it is extremely rare that they are indeed the genuine ultramarine shade. This shade can only be judged to be genuine if accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. Used copies without certificate are usually someones interpretation of ultramarine, when they are the blue shade.
#63b
64b
Dark Blue
#63b Value
Used
$1,800 - $3,750
No postmark with gum (MH)
$150 (2007)
Full perfect gum, no postmark
no trace of stamp hinge mark (MNH)
$1,000 (2006)
It should be noted that many purported examples of 63b are for sale or have been sold on eBay, it is extremely rare that they are indeed the genuine dark blue shade. This shade can only be judged to be genuine if accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.
#63c
63c
Laid Paper
#63d
63d
Vertical pair, imperf horizontally
#63e
63e
Printed on both sides
Specimens
Type B SPECIMEN overprint
Earliest Known Date of Use
Earliest known date of use: August 21st, 1861
Plate Numbers
#63 was issued with the following plate #'s
Number and engravers imprint
9-10, 22, 25, 27
Stamp usage
The 1¢ stamp paid for the following:
1) The drop letter rate for local delivery in large eastern cities if the letter had been hand-delivered to the post office building
2) Prepayment for the delivery of any printed circular or newspaper weighing less than three ounces
3) It prepaid the fee for carrier service that delivered mail originating in another town to a local addressee or delivered mail originating at a local address to the post office for deposit in the mails (example shown above)
4) The rate for books weighing less than four pounds
5) The rate for some third-class mail
Due to the Confederacy we need to change the design!
By an Act of Congress passed in 1845, and continuing thru the life of the 1847 issue, 5c was the single letter rate for all distances not over three hundred miles.
Union authorities assumed that a large number of the 1856 1¢ issue remained unaccounted for in the hands of Confederate Postmasters. To prevent fraudulent use of these stamps, Congress authorized the design and production of the 1861 1¢ to replace the old stamp design as soon as possible.
The department scheduled distribution of the new stamps and envelopes for the 1st, August, but, from unavoidable delays, distribution did not take place until August 17th.
You have seven days notice to do so!
A notice went out to Postmasters declaring that they could exchange the old design for the new design, but they only had seven days to do so. After that point, all the old designs would be demonetized and therefore of no value. This notice was an abject failure, and the period of grace was twice extended, all the way up to November.
Some of the border states of the confederacy kept the stocks of the new design. Although invalid in the Southern States, they were happy to sell at 50¢ on the $ to postmasters in Union Kentucky.
The Postmaster General declared that no from the North would be delivered to the South by the US Postal Service. This was also a failure. It prompted two companies in Kentucky to start a roaring business delivering mail across the border. These companies then smuggled guns, slaves, and all sorts of contraband during the course of the civil war. Two examples of this private mail service are shown below.
Adams Express, delivering US mail, across the border to the Confederacy
Whitesides, delivering US mail and contraband, across the border to the Confederacy
Double Impression
A rare double impression, particularly obvious in the bottom left letter U
Plate Proof
Plate proof on India
#63P3
The design inspiration
The vignette was based on Giuseppe Ceracchi's 1791 bust of Benjamin Franklin
The Design Instigator
A notice went out to Postmasters declaring that they could exchange the Montgomery Blair was the Postmaster General at the time. He was an ardent and loyal Lincoln supporter. He was enthusiastic in his drive to deprive the South of both a mail service and Federal Stamps. His haste only led to delays in the transition and the birth of various schemes by entrepreneurs to profit from the change. He was fortunate in that new designs had already been prepared before his tenure, and thus he was able to implement his plans a little more quickly than possible.
Advertising Covers
#63 was to grace the most expensive advertising cover ever sold at auction. For the princely sum of $35,000 you could acquire one of the finest examples of chromolithography produced at the time.
Notable Sales
2c Black on buff wrapper, uprated with 18611c Blue and 3c Rose (#63, #65), tied by several strikes of blue "Indianapolis Ind Apr 24" datestamp and matching grid, addressed to Herleshausen, Germany, endorsed "per Bremen", blue three-line "America Über Bremen Franco" handstamp, an extraordinary use paying for a newspaper weighing over 4oz but less than 8c
Sold January 2023 for $2,300
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