Along with the regular issues, the Special Delivery stamps were created as card proofs at the same time. The color for Scott E3 was decreed by the USPOD as a measure to prevent confusion with the one cent Columbian stamp and was issued as part of the Columbian Exposition series of stamps.48 It is sometimes referred to as the sixteenth stamp of the series.
Scott Number | Denomination | Color | Year |
---|---|---|---|
E1P4 | Ten cents | Blue | 1885 |
E2P4 | Ten cents | Blue | 1888 |
E3P4 | Ten cents | Orange | 1893 |
As was the case with the Special Delivery stamps, card proofs for the Postage Due issues were prepared as part of the card proof sets and prepared at the same time as the regular postage issues.
Postage due stamps were required by USPOD order beginning in 1879 to ensure the accountability of monies collected when postage was not prepaid and thus collected when delivered. Prior to the mandatory use of postage due stamps, “…there was nothing, beyond the honesty of the postmaster, to insure its delivery to the government.”49
There are three series, distinguished by color. This first series was printed in brown. Printing is determined by thickness of card. Anyone wishing more information on this is referred to Greg Vaupotic’s article “Thickness of the Cardboard Proofs by Printing” which appeared in the January 2003 issue of the United States Stamp Society journal.
The following is provided for the 1879 issue:
Scott Number | Denomination | Color |
---|---|---|
J1P4 | One cent | Brown |
J2P4 | Two cents | Brown |
J3P4 | Three cents | Brown |
J4P4 | Five cents | Brown |
J5P4 | Ten cents | Brown |
J6P4 | Thirty cents | Brown |
J7P4 | Fifty cents | Brown |
The second issue of Postage Due stamps is distinguished from the other two series by its color. This is a red brown color and of the same design as the other two issues of card proofs.
The following information is germane to this issue:
Scott Number | Denomination | Color |
---|---|---|
J15P4 | One cent | Red Brown |
J16P4 | Two cents | Red Brown |
J17P4 | Three cents | Red Brown |
J18P4 | Five cents | Red Brown |
J19P4 | Ten cents | Red Brown |
J20P4 | Thirty cents | Red Brown |
J21P4 | Fifty cents | Red Brown |
This final series of Postage Due stamps is of the same design as the previous two issues and distinguished from them by the color, bright claret. As with the other two series, printing is determined by thickness of the card stock used.
The following information is provided for this series:
Scott Number | Denomination | Color |
---|---|---|
J22P4 | One cent | Bright Claret |
J23P4 | Two cents | Bright Claret |
J24P4 | Three cents | Bright Claret |
J25P4 | Five cents | Bright Claret |
J26P4 | Ten cents | Bright Claret |
J27P4 | Thirty cents | Bright Claret |
J28P4 | Fifty cents | Bright Claret |
48 Luff, p. 198.
49 Luff, 245.