Re-Engraved Bank Note Issues (1881-1882)

The traditional pairing of Benjamin Franklin with the 1-cent denomination continued with the 1881-1882 Re-Engraved Bank Note Issue. By re-engraving the printing plate, American Bank Note Company distinguished this issue from earlier printings. The primary differences can be found in the curls and balls in the top left and right of the frame. ABNCo engravers shaded these elements to a point of near invisibility. Some other areas of the frame were also slightly shaded, giving the stamp a darker impression than the previous issues. A new gray blue color printed on soft porous paper also distinguished this stamp from the earlier ultramarine shades. This soft porous paper had been used for the previous American Bank Note Issue.

The single 1-cent stamp could have paid the one-cent card rate that had been current since 1879. Used in combination with other denominations, the 1-cent Franklin also paid higher rates. Approximately 3,372,279,000 stamps of the 1-cent re-engraved issue were printed by American Bank Note Company.

Alexander T. Haimann, National Postal Museum

The 3-cent Washington of the 1881-1882 Issue was released in summer 1881 after American Bank Note had re-engraved the printing plate. The changes that this created were minor but defining. The oval frameline around Washington’s portrait received a narrower, outer line of shading than was present on previous issues. A horizontal dash was added under the frameline below the "T" of "CENTS," and American Bank Note printed the stamp with a blue green ink on soft porous paper, not the green of the 1879 Issue. The paper was identical to that used for the previous ABNCo Issue.

Because it cost three cents to mail a half-ounce first-class letter at the time, the 3-cent Washington typically paid the first-class domestic mail rate. American Bank Note Company printed approximately 1,482,380,900 stamps of this issue.

Alexander T. Haimann, National Postal Museum

The 6-cent rose Lincoln of the American Bank Note Company 1881-1882 Re-Engraved Issue is distinct in color from all earlier printings. The National Bank Note issue was printed in carmine; the Continental Bank Note issue was printed in dull pink; and the ABNCo 1879 issue was printed in pink. Special printings in 1875 and 1880 were printed in dull rose.

As part of the re-engraving, the frame of this stamp was reworked by ABNCo engraver George Seymour, who erased some frame border lines and darkened several other areas on the frame. Seymour would make many substantial contributions to the engraving of the Columbian Issue a decade later.

The 6-cent Lincoln was printed on the same soft porous paper that had been used for the previous ABNCo Issue. The most popular single usage for this stamp was to pay the double-weight, first-class rate for domestic mail, but it was also used in combination with other denominations to fulfill larger weight and foreign destination rates. Approximately 11,360,800 stamps of this issue were printed by American Bank Note Company.

Alexander T. Haimann, National Postal Museum

The 10-cent Jefferson was the highest denomination selected for re-engraving by the American Bank Note Company. Several lines in the stamp's frame were strengthened, and one was removed by ABNCo engraver Edward Bourke. As a result, the re-engraved 10-cent Jefferson had a slightly brighter and deeper color than its predecessors. Like the other stamps of the ABNCo Issue, the 10-cent Jefferson was printed on soft porous paper. Bourke’s previous work included the frame engraving of many National Bank Note 1870 Issue stamps.

The stamp could have paid the ten cent registered mail fee or, more typically, the Universal Postal Union international double-weight rate. Approximately 146,500,000 stamps of this issue were printed by American Bank Note Company.

Alexander T. Haimann, National Postal Museum