Stamp

New Colors of 1898
Double-line watermarked USPS Perf 12 200 Subject Plates
The 1¢ stamp was printed on 400 subject plates and the 10¢ stamp on both 200 and 400 subject plates

1¢ Green Franklin

2¢ Red Washington

4¢ Rose Brown Lincoln

5¢ Dark Blue Grant

6¢ Purple Lake Garfield

10¢ Webster - Type I

10¢ Webster - Type II

15¢ Olive Green Clay

In 1898 the colors of many of the regularly issued stamps, the designs of 1894, were changed to conform with the colors assigned by the Universal Postal Union. The one-cent stamp was changed to green in January, the five-cent to blue in March and later that year, the ten-cent to brown and the fifteen-cent to olive green to avoid confusion with the lower denominations. Although the color did not change on the two-cent stamp, it was re-engraved and philatelists make a distinction between the new re-engraved type IV stamps and the earlier type III stamps.

The Trans-Mississippi Issue of 1898 - The Omaha's

1¢ Marquette on the Mississippi

2¢ Farming in the West

4¢ Indian Hunting Buffalo

5¢ Freemont on Rocky Mountains

8¢ Troops Guarding Train

10¢ Hardships of Emigration

50¢ Western Mining Prospector

$1 Western Cattle in Storm

$2 Mississippi River Bridge

The Trans-Mississippi Issue of 1898
As with the Columbian Exposition Commemoratives of 1893 and the commemorative stamps that followed in the next few decades, the Trans-Mississippi commemoratives were issued to promote an exhibition, the "Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition" held in Omaha, Nebraska from July through November 1898. To promote the exhibition, this set of stamps was issued a couple of weeks before the event began. Sometimes this issue is referred to as the "Omaha Issue" or simply the "Omahas".

The original designs called for bi-colored stamps, but the Spanish-American War had kept the Bureau of Engraving and Printing so busy producing the needed Revenue stamps, that it was decided to print the stamps in one color only. In 1998, the Bureau reissued these stamps in their original bi-colored designs.

Coming on the heels of the Columbian Commemoratives with the large number of high value stamps, in what was then considered a very brief interval between issues, there was some reluctance among collectors regarding the purchase of the high-value stamps for their collections. This fact is well manifested in the high prices the dollar stamps command today.

The following postage stamp varieties were first issued by the U.S. in 1898:
Number 279 - 1¢ Franklin - Green - EDU: 1/31/98 - over 5 billion issued
Number 279B - For the two cent stamp, , see: 1897
Number 280 - 4¢ Lincoln - Rose Brown - EDU: 11/13/98 - about 153 million issued
Number 280a - 4¢ Lincoln - Lilac Brown
Number 280b - 4¢ Lincoln - Orange Brown
Number 281 - 5¢ Grant - Dark Blue - EDU: 3/19/98 - about 280 million issued
Number 282 - 6¢ Garfield - Lake, Claret - Issued in Dec. 1898 - EDU: 3/13/99 - about 46 million issued
Number 282a - 6¢ Garfield - Purple Lake
Number 282C - 10¢ Webster - Brown Type I - Issued in Nov. 1898 - EDU: 12/10/98 - about 42 million issued
Number 283 - 10¢ Webster - Orange Brown Type II - EDU: 3/13/99 - about 65 million issued
see also: Type I Vs Type II of the 10¢ stamp
Number 284 - 15¢ Clay - Olive Green - Issued in Nov. 1898 - EDU: 3/22/99 - about 16 million issued

Commemoratives - Trans-Mississippi's of 1898
Number 285 - 1¢ Trans-Mississippi - Marquette on the Mississippi - EDU 6/17/98 (FDC) - 70,993,400 issued
Number 286 - 2¢ Trans-Mississippi - Farming in the West - EDU 6/17/98 (FDC) - 159,720,800 issued
Number 287 - 4¢ Trans-Mississippi - Indian Hunting Buffalo - EDU 6/17/98 (FDC) - 4,924,500 issued
Number 288 - 5¢ Trans-Mississippi - Fremont on Rocky Mountains - EDU 6/17/98 (FDC) - 7,694,180 issued
Number 289 - 8¢ Trans-Mississippi - Troops Guarding Train - EDU 6/17/98 (FDC) - 2,927,200 issued
Number 290 - 10¢ Trans-Mississippi - Hardships of Emigration - EDU 6/17/98 (FDC) - 4,629,760 issued
Number 291 - 50¢ Trans-Mississippi - Western Mining Prospector - EDU 6/17/98 (FDC) - 530,444 issued
Number 292 - $1 Trans-Mississippi - Western Cattle in Storm - EDU 6/17/98 (FDC) - 56,900 issued
Number 293 - $2 Trans-Mississippi - Mississippi River Bridge - EDU 6/24/98 - 56,200 issued
No new varieties of U.S. Special Delivery stamps were issued in 1898
No new varieties of U.S. Postage Due stamps were issued in 1898

see also: Designs of the 1894 Regular Issues