Creation of the 5˘ Stamp Essays and Proofs of the 5˘ Stamp Printing of the 5˘ Stamp Usages of the 5˘ Stamp Conclusion Bibliography

The 5˘ Jefferson is one of the most distinctive stamps of the 1851-56 Issue. It is also one of the most challenging stamps to study. The 1˘, 3˘, 10˘ and 12˘ values have been plated and studied by students and collectors. However, due to the scarcity of large multiples and the unusually uniform plate entries, plating of the 5˘ has been hindered. There has been little attention give to the 5˘ among study groups, in contrast with the 1˘ and 3˘ stamps.

The first official mention of a new 5˘ stamp is in the Travers papers. In a letter dated October 19, 1855, the firm of Toppan, Carpenter & Co. wrote to Third Assistant Postmaster General J. Marron (reprinted courtesy of National Postal Museum and published here for the first time):

Dear Sir:

Herewith please receive several impressions (8) of the new 5 Cents Stamp – The plate is now ready for Press and only waiting the decision of the Post Master General as to the color in which he may direct it to be printed – we have made various experiments in colors, and those now sent are among the best that we have produced – You will recollect that we have "used up" all of the best colors on the other stamps – Red, Blue, Green and Black – we are therefore "put to our trumps" to get another variety that will be handsome and give sufficient body to the Stamp – We tried a Yellow, and a straw color, but found that neither of those colors would shew the work at all – the head was almost entirely lost, and the lathe work a confused mass without any clearness and presenting altogether a most unpleasant appearance.

We think the color of Impression of No. 5 will show the work to best advantage, altho this impression (as well as the others,) has been mashed and the work injured by being pressed before the ink was dry.

We would have them reprinted, but we thought that time would be deemed of paramount importance by you.

Be kind enough to return us the impression which is adopted as the color to be used, (at your earliest convenience) and we will immediately proceed to print the stamps.

Very respectfully,
Your Obt Svts
Toppan Carpenter & Co.

A reply was sent a few days later.

October 24^th 1855

Messrs. Topan, Carpenter & Co.

Gentlemen:

Your letter of the 19th transmitting 8 impressions of the new five cent Stamps was duly received and laid before the Postmaster General, who was much pleased with the fine taste displayed in the design and the skill evinced in the execution of the stamp. He adopts your opinion as to the color used for impression No. 5 and requests me to say that you can print 6000 impressions or sheets of 100 each to begin with. I have for lack of skill in designating colors, described that used on No. 5 in a circular, I am about to have printed as a brown, May be it so designed, if not what color is it.

Very Respectfully
Your Obedient Servant,
J. Marron,
3rd Asst. P.M. Gen’l.

This exchange sheds light on the creative process behind the 5˘ Jefferson. It answers several questions, such as when the stamp was designed and printed. However, it raises the question why there is such a significant time lapse between the production approval and the earliest documented use.

Scott Catalogue does not list any essays, and none are known. They list a large die proof (12P1), a die proof on wove (12P2), one large die trial color proof (12TC1, in Black) and eight colors of Trial Color Plate Proofs on wove paper (12TC5). With the issued color constituting a ninth color, there seems to be one listing more than that mentioned in the letter. It is likely that additional colors were printed prior to the October 19, 1855 letter enclosing the eight samples. The Scott Catalogue does not list yellow or straw, and it is possible these early trial colors were destroyed.

Original proofs are slightly different from later printings. An examination of die and plate proofs for Scott No. 12 yields some interesting observations. The large die proof, Scott 12P1 (see Figure 2), shows a portion of the design impinging on the colorless oval around the portrait, at top left. This can also be found on the large die trial color proofs (see Figure 3). It is not found on any plate proofs (see Figure 4), and so this extra portion of the design must have been removed prior to laying down the plate, from either the die or, more likely, the transfer roll.

Earl Oakley describes the four reliefs used during printing of the 5˘ 1856 in The Chronicle No. 45, July 1963 (pp. 14-18). The four reliefs can be distinguished from one another by distinctive marks in the colorless oval at top left. One possible theory is that after the transfer roll was made the extra portion of the design was removed from the reliefs on the transfer roll. This would explain the distinctive reliefs, which were caused by inconsistencies in the burnishing of the four reliefs on the transfer roll.

The space between stamps proved inadequate for the perforating machine, and a second plate was made in early 1860. According to Elliott Perry, the second plate was made from a six-relief transfer roll. Stamps from this second plate can be easily distinguished from the first, as part of the design at top and bottom has been removed to make room for the perforations (see Figure 5).

There are two colors of the 5˘ from plate 2, as follows:

When the issue was demonetized in mid-late 1861, large stocks of the perforated stamps from Plate 2 were on hand in Southern post offices and were not returned for destruction, as was the case with supplies in Northern post offices. Quantities of unused stamps are known, including large multiples, particularly of Scott No. 30A.

The correspondence between Toppan, Carpenter and the Postmaster General’s office is dated October 19, 1855, over five months prior to this usage. Given the urgency conveyed in the above letter, it is strange that there are no usages recorded from November 1855 thru late March 1856.

There are approximately 350 covers recorded with the 5˘ 1856. The chart below shows a breakdown of covers by year of use:

Of the 32 unidentified covers, thirteen need to be examined, as no part of the date is known. Of the remaining 19 covers, six have dates from November thru March and could potentially have been used during this period. It does seem curious, however, that of the 316 dated covers, none can conclusively be shown to originate in this early period.

The imperforate 5˘ stamp was most often used to foreign destinations. A total of 92% of all covers were used to foreign destinations. Of these, over 60% were used to France. Another interesting statistic worth noting is that over half of all covers with the imperforate 5˘ originated in New Orleans. Many of these are on business correspondence, particularly to the wine regions.

The perforated 5˘ stamps enjoyed much more widespread use. Like the imperforates, they are often found on covers to foreign destinations. A relatively common but still desirable usage is as a strip of three paying the 15˘ rate to many countries in Europe (see Figure 7).

.com