Scotts #295 US stamps

#295 - 1901 2¢ Pan American

2¢
Pale scarlet and black, scarlet and black, pale red and black, red and black, deep red and black

Printing Method: FLAT PLATE
Subject: The Empire State Express
Number issued: 209,759,700
Perforations: P12
Watermark: Double Line USPS
Scott #: 295
Issued: May 1st, 1901

Value of #295

Used
20¢ - 75¢
No postmark with gum (MH)
$2.50 - $4
Full perfect gum, no postmark
no trace of stamp hinge mark (MNH)
$5.50 - $16

#295a

295a - Inverted vignette

Value of #295a

Used
$21,000 - $28,000
No postmark with gum (MH)
$20,000 - $25,000
Full perfect gum, no postmark
no trace of stamp hinge mark (MNH)
No sales recorded

First Day Cover

First day cover with the exhibition poster stamps, May 1st, 1901

#295 Plate #'s

#295 was issued with the following plate #'s

Frame plates:
1078-94, 98
1114-19, 22, 26, 29, 65, 67, 69, 76
Vignette plates:
1079-93
1115-18, 24, 27-28, 34-35, 37-38, 66, 71, 73-74, 78, 82, 87, 92-93, 95, 97-98
1208-24, 29-32, 38-41

Half sheet of #295

Two panes of #295. Each pane had 100 stamps, there were two panes to a sheet of 200

The Inspiration for the Design

For the vignette was based on this photograph of the Empire State Express.

The Empire State Express train was one of the United States earliest long distance passenger trains that ran at high speeds. Starting in 1891 it ran between Buffalo NY, the site of the Exposition, and New York City. It was a journey of 461 miles made in as short a time as seven hours, which at the time was impressive. It maintained the land speed record of 112.5mph for an entire decade.

A postcard of the Empire State Express

Off Center Vignettes

This issue was the first bi-color stamps since 1869. The process has not been perfected and the second color, the black of the vignette was sometimes mis-aligned. These stamps command a slight premium, the degree of which depends on how off centre the vignette is.

Offset to the left, called the 'Fast Train' stamp

Offset to the bottom, called the 'Low Train' stamp

Offset to the top, called the 'High Train' stamp

Counterfeits

The vignette of a standard #295 has been inverted to give it the appearance of #295a.

Essays and Proofs

Enlarge

295-E1

Enlarge

295-E4

Enlarge

294-E5

Enlarge

295-E4a

Enlarge

295-P1

The Pan American Exposition

The Pan American Exposition was originally planned for 1898 but due to the outbreak of the Spanish American War it was delayed. The Exposition was going to be located at Niagara falls, however due to the mist from the falls, access only being by boat and the size of the site being too small for the envisioned crowds, it was decided to move the Exposition to nearby Buffalo, NY, Buffalo was much better suited to the event. It was held from May 1 through November 2, 1901.

Construction was started in 1899 over a 350 acre site. The videos below don't show the fact that it was a very colorful exposition, the idea being it was to be a 'Rainbow City' in the Spanish Renaissance style. The whole expo was lit up at night, which was quite a feat as the electric light had only recently been invented. This was recorded by Thomas Edison, the video can be seen below.

The Exposition is probably best known for being the scene of President McKinley's assassination. The site of the Expo was on farmers land who has promised that the land would be returned to him in the state they found it, after the Expo had finished. For this reason all the buildings were demolished and the canals filled in. The Exposition should have been a great success, but bad weather and the assassination put a damper on things and it ended up in debt.

Thomas Edison's 1901 film of the Exposition

Thomas Edison's tour of the canal at the Exposition

President McKinley gives speech at the Pan American Exposition. The next day he was assassinated.

The only building to still remain today from the 1901 Pan-American Exposition is the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, it was originally called the New York State Pavilion