Introduction The 1851 Issue The 1857 Issue The Plates The Plates Summary Table References

The U.S. one cent stamp of 1851 and 1857 is one of the most studied stamps in the field of United States classic stamps. Accordingly, this article is designed to whet the appetite of aspiring collectors and students. It is not presented as a definitive treatise on the stamp. That book has already been written by Mortimer L. Neinken, The United States One Cent Stamp of 1851 to 1861.

Figure 1. The One Cent 1851 Complete Die Design (revised Sonic Imagery Labs and Richard Doporto). The curved lines above "U.S. POSTAGE" at the top of the stamp and below "ONE CENT" at the bottom of the stamp are complete, the scrolls below the lower label are turned under, forming little balls, the bottom plumes and the scrolls at the top are complete.

There are five major types of the 1851 imperforate stamp and six major types of the 1857 perforated stamp. Relief trimming, short transfer, re-cutting, and erasure characterize the types. The differences between the types focus on the presence or absence of the balls formed by the scrolls on the right and left bottom of the stamp, the presence of an intact upper and/or lower line -- broken or whole, whether the upper and lower lines have been re-cut, and the status of the side ornaments.

Figure 1a. The One Cent Complete Die Design Reprint Plate Proof (Scott No. 40)

When you are confronted with an unidentified stamp, try this: Re-cutting is the easiest feature to see, so look first at the top and bottom lines. If they are re-cut, your stamp is a Type IV. If they are not re-cut, look again at the top and bottom lines. Are they complete? If they are, your stamp is either Type I, Ib, or Type II. If they are not complete, are they both broken? If so, the stamp is Type Ia, Ic, III, V, or Va. If only one line is broken the stamp is Type IIIa. If your stamp has two broken lines, look at the side ornaments; are they complete? If so, your stamp is Type III. If they are incomplete, your stamp is Type V or Va. If the top and bottom lines of your stamp are complete, look for balls. If they are not present, your stamp is a Type II. If they are present, take a deep breath, sit down and call your broker. You have a valuable stamp.

Figure 2. Scott 5, Type I imperforate.

A strong double transfer at the upper right is a key feature of the stamp at position 7R1e. These features are well illustrated in Neinken. Being aware of this feature will keep you from being taken by a fake made from a proof of the stamp, which does not show this double transfer. Moreover, the late state, 7R1L, has practically the same double transfer, but is Type IV because it is recut at the bottom. The lack of a double transfer will protect you from the Plate 12 Type I with the perforations trimmed.

Figure 2a. The Type I frame at left and the Type Ib frame at right (taken from Neinken).

There are three subtypes of type I; they are type Ia, type Ib, and type Ic (Scott Nos. 5a for type Ib, 6 for type Ia, and 6b for type Ic). The Type Ib stamps are all from the top row of plate 1 (3R1e through 6R1e and 8R1e and 9R1e). Type Ib stamps all have the top ornaments complete but some of the bottom ornaments are incomplete. The imperforate type Ib stamp is Scott 5A. There are no perforated type Ib stamps as they are all from plate 1Re.

Figure 2b. Scott 5A, Type Ib imperforate.

The Type Ia stamps are from the bottom row of plate 4. Type Ia stamps different from Type I in that the bottom ornaments are complete but the top ornaments have been erased.

Figure 2c. Scott 6, Type Ia imperforate (Photo courtesy of Cherrystone Auctions).

Type Ic stamps are similar to type Ia in that the top ornaments are cut away. The bottom ornaments are complete except the right plume and the right ball are only about half complete. The left plume is complete; the left ball occurs complete in some positions and half complete in some positions. All come from 8 known positions on plate 4.

The type II stamp (Scott No. 7) shows the following characteristics:

Figure 3. Scott 7, Type II imperforate.

All Type II stamps are from plates 1, 2, 3, and the top row of Plate 4.

The Type III stamp (Scott 8) has the following characteristic:

Remember: if the side ornaments are incomplete, you have a Type V or VA stamp (see below)

Figure 4. Scott 8, Type III imperforate from Plate 4.

All Type III stamps come from plate 2 (one position) and plate 4. The stamp on plate 2 is at position 99R2 and is considered the finest example of the Type III stamp because the breaks in the top and bottom lines are so pronounced.

Remember, the larger the breaks, the better the example.

The Type IIIa stamp (Scott 8a) has the curved line at the top or the bottom broken, but not both.

Figure 5. Scott 8a, Type IIIa imperforate from Plate 1e with break at top.

Type IIIa stamps are from plates 1e, 2, 4, 11 and 12. Most of the type IIIa stamps have the break at the top. A break at the bottom is rare.

Type IV (Scott No. 9) stamps have re-cutting of one of the four curved lines at either the top or the bottom. Actually all type IV stamps have the top or bottom line re-cut or both of them re-cut. Stamps that have either the top or bottom inner lines re-cut will always also have an outer line re-cut. There are seven different combinations available, all from plate 1 late. Stamps with double re-cuts (two lines at the top or bottom) are more rare than stamps with only one line re-cut at the top or bottom or both.

Figure 6. Scan of all Type IV's.

Figure 7. Scott No. 18, Type I, Perforated 15

Subtypes of Type I include Type Ia (Scott No. 19) and Type Ic (Scott No. 19b). All Type Ia stamps come from the bottom row of plate four and have the bottom complete, but top incomplete.

Figure 8. Scott No. 19, Type Ia, Perforated 15

Type Ic stamps come from a number of positions on plate four (Neinken lists eleven, p266) and the Type Ic positions depend on plate wear. Combination pairs of Type Ia and Type Ic are possible but are very rare.

Scott No. 20, Type II, comes from plates 1 late, 2, 4, 11, and 12. Plate 1 had only one position producing type II stamps (4R1L) so this one would be the most desirable.

Figure 9. Scott No. 20, Type II, Perforated 15

Scott No. 21 is Type III. These stamps are found from plate 2 and 4 only (an exception is late printings of 46L12). The stamp at position 99R2 remains the most desirable.

Figure 10. Scott No. 21, Type III, Perforated 15 from Plate 4

Unlike the imperforate stamp, the perforated type IIIA has a major catalog number, Scott No. 22. These stamps come from plates 2, 4, 11 and 12.

Figure 11. Scott No. 22, Type IIIA, Perforated 15, from Plate 4 with break at top

As with the imperforate stamp, all Type IV (Scott No. 23) stamps come from plate 1 late. The perforated stamp is scarcer than the imperforate one and a rare fake is Scott 9 with perforations added.

Figure 12. Scott No. 23, Type IV, Perforated 15

Scott 24 is Type V. This stamp occurs with perforations, only. These are from plates 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10. The characteristics of type V are:

"A" Relief - 6L8	"B" Relief - 20L7	"C" Relief - 61R8
"D" Relief - 36L8	"E" Relief - 85R8	"F" Relief - 58R8

From plate 5 there is a subtype, Va, in which the right side ornaments are "more" complete. This stamp does not have a separate catalog number but is scarcer. With the perforations removed and cut closely these trimmed stamps are sometimes passed as an imperforate Type III. Moreover, these stamps with perforations are frequently confused and passed as Type III.

"A" Relief - 9R5	"B" Relief - 19R5	"C" Relief - 29R5
"D" Relief - 34R5	"E" Relief - 45R5	"F" Relief - 56R5

Figure 14. Plate 2 "Big Crack" Block of Twelve

Plate 3 was produced in early 1856. All 200 positions were Type II stamps. Plate 3 stamps are significantly scarcer than plate 2 stamps. All stamps from this plate were imperforate.

Plate 4 was produced in 1857. A new transfer roll using 6 reliefs instead of 3 was used in the plate layout producing the first stamps designed to be perforated. This plate furnished stamps of Type Ia, Ic, II, III and IIIa. Both imperforate and perforated stamps were produced from this plate.

Plates 5, 6, 7, and 8 were produced in late 1857. A new 6 relief transfer roll was made for these plates. These plates produced only perforated Type V stamps. All plate 5 stamps are scarce and desirable; especially the type Va. For more information on the Types V and Va from Plate 5, the reader is pointed to the Neinken and Ashbrook references, where this is discussed in great length.

Plates 6, 7, and 8 were laid down by this new transfer roll of type V stamps. Actually, plate 6 is another enigma. Controversy surrounds the discussion of whether or not any stamps were ever printed from this plate (6), and to date none have ever been identified.

Plate 9 was completed in the summer of 1859 and plate 10 in the spring of 1860. All positions are Type V. These plates produced only perforated stamps.

Late in the fall of 1860, plates 11 and 12 were made. These plates were made from new three relief transfer rolls, a different one for each plate. Plate 11 produced Type II stamps from the twenty top row positions and 180 Type IIIa stamps from the remaining 180 positions.

Stamps from Plate 12 are of Type I, II and IIIa. And recall from above, later printings of 46L12 are Type III. The original entry of the transfer roll produced ninety-nine Type I and 101 Type II stamps but as the plate was used, wear converted several Type II stamps to Type IIIa. All stamps from plates 11 and 12 have a dot between the two frame lines forming the oval around Benjamin Franklinıs head. It is located slightly above the collar level on the left. These plates produced only perforated stamps.

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