US Postage Due Stamps
1879-1897
1879 Special Printings (Sc. #J8-J14)
From: Siegel Auction Galleries
US postage due stamps were authorized by Act of Congress on March 3, 1879, and they became effective on July 1, 1879.
The new stamps were to be affixed by a postal clerk to letter mail, to
indicate the amount to be collected from the addressee, resulting from
the insufficient prepayment of postage by the sender. Before the
creation of postage due stamps, the amount of insufficient postage to be
collected by the carrier was written by hand or hand-stamped on the
front of the envelope.
1879 General Issues (Sc. #J1-J7)
All of the US postage due stamps of 1879 to 1891 were printed by the
American Banknote Co. on unwatermarked, soft porous paper, and they are
all perforated 12. The designs of the seven stamps, as shown above, are identical, except for the central
denomination numerals and names.
The four American Banknote Co. printings are
differentiated by their colors. The shades within each major group can vary considerably. Comparison with reference examples of the actual shades is often necessary.
The catalog attributes, for stamps from the 1879 printing, that are printed in brown shades, are as follows.
- 01 C. (1879 - Sc. #J1) - Brown, Pale Brown, Deep Brown.
- 02 C. (1879 - Sc. #J2) - Brown, Pale Brown.
- 03 C. (1879 - Sc. #J3) - Brown, Pale Brown, Deep Brown, Yellowish Brown.
- 05 C. (1879 - Sc. #J4) - Brown, Pale Brown, Deep Brown.
- 10 C. (1879 - Sc. #J5) - Brown, Pale Brown, Deep Brown.
- 30 C. (1879 - Sc. #J6) - Brown, Pale Brown.
- 50 C. (1879 - Sc. #J7) - Brown, Pale Brown.
The catalog attributes, for stamps from the 1879 special printing, that are printed in deep brown, are as follows.
- 01 C. (1879 - Sc. #J8) - Deep Brown.
- 02 C. (1879 - Sc. #J9) - Deep Brown.
- 03 C. (1879 - Sc. #J10) - Deep Brown.
- 05 C. (1879 - Sc. #J11) - Deep Brown.
- 10 C. (1879 - Sc. #J12) - Deep Brown.
- 30 C. (1879 - Sc. #J13) - Deep Brown.
- 50 C. (1879 - Sc. #J14) - Deep Brown.
The 1879 US postage due stamp special printings should NEVER BE PURCHASED WITHOUT A CERTIFICATE!
The catalog attributes, for stamps from the 1884 printing, that are printed in red brown shades, are as follows.
- 01 C. (1884 - Sc. #J15) - Red Brown, Pale Red Brown, Deep Red Brown.
- 02 C. (1884 - Sc. #J16) - Red Brown, Pale Red Brown, Deep Red Brown.
- 03 C. (1884 - Sc. #J17) - Red Brown, Deep Red Brown.
- 05 C. (1884 - Sc. #J18) - Red Brown, Pale Red Brown, Deep Red Brown.
- 10 C. (1884 - Sc. #J19) - Red Brown, Deep Red Brown.
- 30 C. (1884 - Sc. #J20) - Red Brown, Deep Red Brown.
- 50 C. (1884 - Sc. #J21) - Red Brown.
1891 General Issues (Sc. #J22-J28)
The catalog attributes, for stamps from the 1891 printing, that are printed in claret shades, are as follows.
- 01 C. (1891 - Sc. #J22) - Bright Claret, Light Claret, Dark Claret.
- 02 C. (1891 - Sc. #J23) - Bright Claret, Light Claret, Dark Claret.
- 03 C. (1891 - Sc. #J24) - Bright Claret, Dark Claret.
- 05 C. (1891 - Sc. #J25) - Bright Claret, Light Claret, Dark Claret.
- 10 C. (1891 - Sc. #J26) - Bright Claret, Light Claret.
- 30 C. (1891 - Sc. #J27) - Bright Claret.
- 50 C. (1891 - Sc. #J28) - Bright Claret, Dark Claret.
1894-1895 General Issues (Sc. #J31-J37)
A new, smaller size series of US postage due stamps was introduced in 1894. These US postage due stamps were printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on unwatermarked or watermarked paper, and they are all perforated 12. The designs of the seven stamps, as shown above, are identical, except for the central
denomination numerals and names.
These US postage due stamps are the contemporary companions of the 2nd and 3rd Bureau Issues of definitive postage stamps.
The catalog attributes, for stamps that are unwatermarked and perforated 12, are as follows.
- 01 C. (1894 - Sc. #J29) - Vermilion, Pale Vermilion.
- 02 C. (1894 - Sc. #J30) - Vermilion, Deep Vermilion.
- 01 C. (1894 - Sc. #J31) - Deep Claret, Claret, Lake.
- 02 C. (1894 - Sc. #J32) - Deep Claret, Claret, Lake.
- 03 C. (1895 - Sc. #J33) - Deep Claret, Lake.
- 05 C. (1895 - Sc. #J34) - Deep Claret, Claret.
- 10 C. (1894 - Sc. #J35) - Deep Claret.
- 30 C. (1895 - Sc. #J36) - Deep Claret, Claret, Carmine, Pale Rose.
- 50 C. (1895 - Sc. #J37) - Deep Claret, Pale Rose.
The catalog attributes, for stamps that are watermarked double-lined USPS and perforated 12, are as follows.
- 01 C. (1895 - Sc. #J38) - Deep Claret, Claret, Carmine, Lake.
- 02 C. (1895 - Sc. #J39) - Deep Claret, Claret, Carmine, Lake.
- 03 C. (1895 - Sc. #J40) - Deep Claret, Claret, Rose Red, Carmine.
- 05 C. (1895 - Sc. #J41) - Deep Claret, Claret, Carmine Rose.
- 10 C. (1895 - Sc. #J42) - Deep Claret, Claret, Carmine, Lake.
- 30 C. (1897 - Sc. #J43) - Deep Claret, Claret.
- 50 C. (1896 - Sc. #J44) - Deep Claret, Claret.
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US Postage Due Stamps 1879-1897
