U.S. revenue stamps on bank checks, 1861 to 1898

doug2222usa · **Posted:** Mon Aug 03, 2009 16:23:13 pm

Last week I promised to post some examples of the many
"taxed" checks from the large lot I bought.

The U.S. Civil War (1861-1865) generated many kinds of new
taxes to help pay for the war. One method was a tax on bank
checks. But the Feds also taxed playing cards and photographs,
deeds and mortgages, promissory notes, insurance policies,
etc., etc., as an example of their broad reach.

The tax on checks was 2 cents, but it was so profitable that
guess what? It was extended numerous times until roughly
1900, around the end of the Spanish-American War. There
were two ways to pay; you could stick a stamp on the check,
or you could have printers produce checks with a revenue
stamp already positioned in the center; these are, in
general, called revenue stamped paper.

Below are 3 examples of revenue stamped paper and 6
checks with various stamps, including one postage stamp
overprinted "I.R." for "Internal Revenue." Some RSP are
exceedingly rare and valuable; altogether there were about
25 designs and several hundred varieties.

None of the items shown here would retail for more than
US $10, although two bidders wanting the same check, as
from their home-town, might bid it up to $30-$40 or so. :wink:

The very last check bears a precancelled revenue stamp,
with the same intent as precancelling postage stamps --
to prevent theft. The device probably included a mechanical
dater. Collecting them is extreeeeemely complicated.

Questions are welcome. Somewhere I have some Civil War
era photographs with revenue stamps; will post several
when I find them.

doug2222usa · **Posted:** Mon Aug 03, 2009 16:51:32 pm

I find I have already posted an entire stock sheet of U.S.
playing card tax stamps, March 30, 2009.

Of course I cannot remember that long ago, that's almost
before the Flood. :lol:

viewtopic.php?f=23&t=11361

birder · **Posted:** Wed Feb 01, 2012 14:48:14 pm

Stumbled on this thread by accident. It is lovely.

I have some similar material but do not know about the stamps.Shall post some images and ask some questions.

Thanks and regards.

birder · **Posted:** Wed Feb 01, 2012 14:53:03 pm

First Question-- What is the significance of 1861 and 1898 in the title to this thread? The stamps were used even after 1898 and presumably before 1861 too.

Illustration:

Thanks and regards.

birder · **Posted:** Wed Feb 01, 2012 14:55:56 pm

What a nice stamp...I love it...

birder · **Posted:** Wed Feb 01, 2012 15:00:19 pm

Preprinted stamp. The check is also perforated with "32" encosed within stars. Do the stars signify anything? "32" probably represents the amount. I wonder what kind of punch perforator the cashier would use for this kind of result.

Thanks and regards.

birder · **Posted:** Wed Feb 01, 2012 15:06:10 pm

When was this stamp issued? Whose face is depicted on it? Is the paper "blue" or "bluish"....(this part of the question stems from paper used for Victoria stamps of the same period).

I am sorry for the shoddy scanning.

Thanks and regards

birder · **Posted:** Wed Feb 01, 2012 15:13:01 pm

"Used" or "unused" that is the question.
This fine stamp in all its glory. A couple of lines of information (a revenue collector's take) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and regards.

birder · **Posted:** Wed Feb 01, 2012 15:18:24 pm

The perforated preprinted check (revenue stamped papers). Were they supplied by the Government treasury to the printers or to the banks...or did the printers print them alongwith the checks?

Also, the year has not been written by the drawer. There appears to be no set space for mentioning the year. I find it most unusual. Any comments..?

There are some red nitings on bottom right. A cheque drawn on June 18 could not have been extended on June 7...Curioser and Curioser.

Thanks and regards.

birder · **Posted:** Wed Feb 01, 2012 15:33:45 pm

Doug,

I have many more such items and many questions (including stupid ones).

Shall wait for your replies before posting more.

Thanks and regards.

ericscoolstuff · **Posted:** Thu Feb 02, 2012 11:17:18 am

birder wrote:

When was this stamp issued? Whose face is depicted on it? Is the paper "blue" or "bluish"....(this part of the question stems from paper used for Victoria stamps of the same period).

I am sorry for the shoddy scanning.

Thanks and regards

Birder,
Just last week I recieved one of these in an old collection, had to visit the library to find out what it was. Discovered it is a 2 cent tax revenue, 1875-1878, depicted as "Lady Liberty", don't recall the Scott # and it cataloged for $.20. This info is based on memory, but should get you down the right path. My example has a shade darker blue for the paper and rather thick compared to 1900's items, will scan it and post it here for you to see later.

Eric

revcollector · **Posted:** Mon Feb 13, 2012 09:25:48 am

birder wrote:

When was this stamp issued? Whose face is depicted on it? Is the paper "blue" or "bluish"....(this part of the question stems from paper used for Victoria stamps of the same period).

I am sorry for the shoddy scanning.

Thanks and regards

These stamps were issued in 1875, and come on two types of paper, both blue. One is double line watermarked USIR, and the other is silk paper, unwatermarked. Both were issued by the millions and are very common. This stamp also comes rouletted, which is less common.

revcollector · **Posted:** Mon Feb 13, 2012 09:42:08 am

birder wrote:

First Question-- What is the significance of 1861 and 1898 in the title to this thread? The stamps were used even after 1898 and presumably before 1861 too.

Illustration:

Thanks and regards.

All Federal US revenues before 1862 were embossed, except for a few newspaper taxes(pre-Revolutionary War) typographed on each newspaper, and taxes on stills (1814-1817), which were typeset printed directly on the documents before use. The check tax first helped pay for the Civil War, and was in force from 1862-1883, when it was repealed. When the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898, the tax on checks was reintroduced, and lasted until 1901. There were many other taxes requiring revenue stamps from 1862 on, but these are the only check taxes requiring stamps. There was a 2 cent check tax during the depression, but it did not require a revenue stamp to pay the tax; it was taken directly from the account of the check writer by the bank.

revcollector · **Posted:** Mon Feb 13, 2012 09:44:22 am

birder wrote:

Doug,

I have many more such items and many questions (including stupid ones).

Shall wait for your replies before posting more.

Thanks and regards.

There are no stupid questions, only potentially stupid answers.

revcollector · **Posted:** Mon Feb 13, 2012 09:46:41 am

birder wrote:

"Used" or "unused" that is the question.
This fine stamp in all its glory. A couple of lines of information (a revenue collector's take) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and regards.

Used. Sometimes they forgot to cancel the stamps. All U.S. documentary revenue stamps must have gum to be considered mint. The same with playing cards stamps.

revcollector · **Posted:** Mon Feb 13, 2012 10:06:43 am

birder wrote:

The perforated preprinted check (revenue stamped papers). Were they supplied by the Government treasury to the printers or to the banks...or did the printers print them alongwith the checks?

Also, the year has not been written by the drawer. There appears to be no set space for mentioning the year. I find it most unusual. Any comments..?

There are some red nitings on bottom right. A cheque drawn on June 18 could not have been extended on June 7...Curioser and Curioser.

Thanks and regards.

I believe the word was "entered on June 7th". It was not deposited until the 18th. The check was made out to "self", and might well have been endorsed to someone else sometime after the 7th, which was not unusual in those days. Or it might have been used as collateral for something. It might even have gone to more then one, it would be interesting to see the back of the check to see the endorsements.
These checks were printed by a large number of printers; there are many different types of printed stamps on checks. This is a very common type used from 1898-1901 printed by letterpress. Exactly how they were printed is one of many questions still being asked about these stamps, however the government did not print the stamps, private companies did.

birder · **Posted:** Fri Feb 17, 2012 02:13:49 am

Many thanks Revcollector.

You have answered virtually all my queries till now.

Thanks and regards.

douglas5102 · **Posted:** Sat Mar 17, 2012 08:37:20 am

There is a catalogue set titled "field guide to revenue stamped paper" published by Castenholz and sons publishers 1055 Hartzell Street Pacific Palisades, California 90272. Not sure if still in business.

There are 7 volumes below are the ISBN numbers for the volumes I have
These cover the US and Canada
ISBN: 1-879767-01-5 Part 7 stocks, bonds, rr tickets
ISBN: 0-879767-00-7 part 6 new york state
ISBN: 0-9603498-8-X part 5 the eastern states
ISBN: 0-9603498-7-1 part 4 the eastern central states
ISBN: 0-9603498-6-3 part 3 the central states
ISBN: 0-9603498-5-5 part 2 the southern states

They were published 1989-1990 and have clear black and white pictures that show the stamped check. My scanner doesn't work so I can't upload a picture of the pages but if you go to Amazon or any book seller and enter the ISBN you should be able get copies if it is still in print. I hope this helps

revcollector · **Posted:** Sun Mar 18, 2012 13:32:47 pm

douglas5102 wrote:

There is a catalogue set titled "field guide to revenue stamped paper" published by Castenholz and sons publishers 1055 Hartzell Street Pacific Palisades, California 90272. Not sure if still in business.

There are 7 volumes below are the ISBN numbers for the volumes I have
These cover the US and Canada
ISBN: 1-879767-01-5 Part 7 stocks, bonds, rr tickets
ISBN: 0-879767-00-7 part 6 new york state
ISBN: 0-9603498-8-X part 5 the eastern states
ISBN: 0-9603498-7-1 part 4 the eastern central states
ISBN: 0-9603498-6-3 part 3 the central states
ISBN: 0-9603498-5-5 part 2 the southern states

They were published 1989-1990 and have clear black and white pictures that show the stamped check. My scanner doesn't work so I can't upload a picture of the pages but if you go to Amazon or any book seller and enter the ISBN you should be able get copies if it is still in print. I hope this helps

Thanks, I have had these for some years.

ericscoolstuff · **Posted:** Tue Jan 15, 2013 12:05:32 pm

Hi,
Here's one for you, similar to ones shown above with a 2c US Internal Revenue printed stamp on the check. I got a laugh out of this one because the account holder, Geo C. White paid a lawyer $2500 US in 1883. :shock:

I am not quite sure of the name it is make out to, Chap A Baudouine is my best guess.

This check is drawn from Chatham National Bank in New York. It is canceled four different ways-

1. Circle ink stamp with "28"
2. Small hole punctured
3. Pressure tear, resulted in the shape of an "X"
4. Three cuts shaped like an "L"

What value can I put on 5 of these? Are they worth showing off in a stock book?

Enjoy,
Eric

GlenStephens · **Posted:** Tue Jan 15, 2013 12:35:29 pm

ericscoolstuff wrote:

I am not quite sure of the name it is make out to, Chap A Baudouine is my best guess.

Pretty sure it will be CHAS .. or Charles ... common abbreviation back then!

birder · **Posted:** Tue Jan 15, 2013 12:57:08 pm

Charles Baudouine (June 1, 1808-January 13, 1895[1]) was an American cabinetmaker and interior decorator, and was the patriarch of a major family in New York society in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Wiki for more details.

revcollector · **Posted:** Tue Jan 15, 2013 14:05:50 pm

This is Scott number RN-G1; this particular example was used about 6 months before the tax on checks ended. The actual cancel was the writing of the check. The number 28 was the teller number at the bank. I believe the x cut was to prevent the check from being cashed twice or reused in any way; the vast majority of checks have some form of similar cutting. The punch hole was probably a spindle hole for keeping the checks until the end of the day. Although this type is a common one, it still cats $4 used, and checks are always fun because they tell a story and sometimes information about the user can be found, as has happened here.

birder · **Posted:** Tue Jan 15, 2013 14:12:23 pm

I have researched the stories behind many such checks. Some of these can be found at

http://oldamericanchecks.wordpress.com/

ericscoolstuff · **Posted:** Tue Jan 15, 2013 14:23:13 pm

All,
very good info, thank you. I should've figured the name to be Charles :oops:

Off to dig some more...

Eric


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U.S. revenue stamps on bank checks, 1861 to 1898

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