For those of you looking to collect a stamp and postal history of the U.S. "classic" period, take a close look at the 1˘ Franklin of the 1861 Series (Scott No. 63 for the regular issue). It's a beautiful stamp and not too difficult to learn about. Most of what you need to know is found in one book: The United States 1˘ Franklin 1861-1867, by Don L. Evans (Linn's Stamp News, 1997).

Of the seven stamps in the 1861 Series (joined in 1863 by the 2˘ and in 1866 by the 15˘) the 1˘ was one of the workhorses. About 150 million were printed and it was used, either by itself or in combination with other denominations, for nearly every postal rate and fee of the times. For example, it appears on all types of domestic letters, circulars, newspapers, and mail to foreign countries, as well as 1-penny coins (encased postage), fractional currency, and in lieu of revenue stamps.

In addition to postal history, the blue 1˘ Franklin has other beautiful colors to collect in its essays, proofs, and trial colors. It figures significantly in the experimental or "patent" printings that the Post Office Department (POD) was considering to prevent the illegal reuse of stamps. These trials culminated with the printing in 1867 of the "grilled" stamps (No. 86 & 92 for the 1˘).

For fancy cancel collectors, the 1˘ Franklin offers hundreds of wonderful examples in black, blue, and red, as well as other rarer colors. And for the Civil War buff, the 1˘ is deeply entwined in the postal history of this tragic period, and is found on soldiers' letters and colorful "patriotic" envelopes.

The onset of the Civil War was the reason for the 1861 Issue. The Federal government was afraid that the Confederacy (or "disloyal states" as referred to by the POD) would use existing supplies of 1851 and 1857 stamps to fund their war effort. Therefore, it was decided in early 1861 to make illegal for postal use (demonetize) all supplies of these stamps, wherever they were, North and South, and to issue a set of newly designed stamps to be used in the Union states.

Implementing the 1861 Issue is a fascinating study of what government bureaucracy can do when pressed, and much of the credit for success goes to the skills and leadership of Postmaster General Montgomery Blair. Beginning in late March 1861, the POD announced bids for the new stamp design and printing contract, reviewed the essay submissions and cost proposals, awarded the contract to the National Bank Note Company of New York (NBN), ordered several changes to the design, oversaw the printing schedule and production process, notified the public and local postmasters of the new rules and procedures, organized the return of the old stamps, and beginning in August 1861 issued the new stamps for the public's use. The entire project was pretty much completed by the end of January 1862.

The earliest documented use of the off cover 1˘ Franklin is August 19, 1861; on cover is August 21. Records show that NBN used 5 plates (Nos. 9, 10, 22, 25, & 27) in printing the 1˘. Plate No. 9, used in early printings, is the source of the "dot-in-U" plate variety listed in Scott.

The mixing of ink in mid 19th century printing shops was not an exact science. This, combined with NBN's three-shifts-seven-day hurried printing schedule, resulted in shades of blue for the 1˘ ranging from pale ("dry printing") to quite dark blue. Scott lists ultramarine as No. 63a and dark blue as No. 63b. (CAUTION: Do not purchase a 1˘ 1861 stamp labeled as "ultramarine" without a certificate from an established expertizing agency. It is a quite specific color and is very scarce. Also, the 1˘, dark blue is NOT indigo. Indigo was not used for the issued stamp, only for certain plate proofs and the so-called "First Design" or Premiere Gravure stamp which is an essay. Indigo has a recognizable blackish tone. Dark blue is just blue. Although it is not essential to have a certificate for dark blue (63b), it is advisable for a stamp on an expensive cover or for an unused, well centered stamp.)

By the early 1860's, the POD was growing increasingly concerned by lost revenue due to the illegal reuse of adhesive postage stamps. Inks of the period used for canceling stamps was not difficult to clean off of stamps that had been soaked off of envelopes. The POD, therefore, encouraged the submission of ideas for stamp designs that would prevent their reuse. This resulted in several experimental printings that were patented by their inventors, and today remains as a fascinating area for the 1˘ Franklin collector.

For example, William C. Wycoff patented the idea of coating stamp paper with zinc oxide before printing. This resulted in a "fugitive ink" after printing that would dissolve if the stamp was exposed to water, thus destroying the stamp image. Interesting idea, but not too practical in its implementation because even the moisture of perspiration on a postal clerk's or customer's fingers would smear the ink and ruin the stamp for use. Nonetheless, a number of printings in various colors, both perforated and imperforate were made, and many of these "trial color" stamps remain today.

Another patented idea that was eventually rejected by the POD was the coupon stamp. George W. Bowlsby designed a two-part affair with the gummed stamp on the bottom and a non-gummed coupon on the top. The idea was that the customer would affix the stamp to the envelope with the coupon attached and the postal clerk would "cancel" the stamp by tearing off and discarding the coupon. You can see the labor-intensive impracticality of this idea, as did the POD brass, but it left 1˘ Franklin collectors with perhaps the most interesting, varied and beautiful of the patent printings.

There are several other patent printings for the collector to explore that did not make it to production, but the idea that finally did make it to the post office window was the grilled stamps of 1867-69.

Charles F. Steel, who had a lot of prior experience in stamp production, designed a process whereby sheets of stamps would be passed through a mechanical device that would make a small waffle shaped impression in the middle of each stamp. This little "grill" would actually break the stamp paper's fibers just enough so that when canceled, the grill would create a blotter like effect and absorb the ink, thus making it near impossible to soak out later. And, it worked!

Grilled stamps are found in all denominations of the 1861 Issue stamps. In the 1˘ Franklin they are the: E grill (No. 86), F grill (No. 92), and Z grill (No. 85A). The letters relate to the different horizontal and vertical dimensions of the grill impression. The stamps were printed in blue. The Z grill has the honor of being one of the world's rarest and most expensive stamps. Only two are known and one of these is permanently off the market in the New York City Public Library's stamp collection. The other sold at auction in 1998 for $935,000 (plus 10 percent buyer's fee), a world record price for a single U.S. stamp!

For various purposes, the POD sometimes issued "special printings" of previously issued stamps, including the 1˘ Franklin. This is an area primarily of interest to the specialist collector and includes "specimen" and control number overprints, overprinted large die proofs, and stamps or proofs for special events.

The POD in 1875 ordered the re-printing of, among other stamps, the 1861 Issue. This "reissue" coincided with the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, and included the 1˘ blue Franklin (No. 102), which is distinguishable from the original stamp by its whiter paper and larger margins. The reissued stamps where printed in limited quantities and for a limited time. They were usually sold to the public in sets in small printed envelopes.

Several other special printings of the 1˘ Franklin for special events, such as the 1881 International Cotton Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia, yield wonderful examples of the printerıs craft in beautiful trial colors and proofs.

Postal history is the study of postal rates and fees and how the mail moved from place to place. This is where collecting the 1˘ Franklin really gets interesting. You will find the 1˘ on just about every type of mail used during the 1860s, either by itself or in combination with other stamps. There is no shortage of fine examples available to the collector.

While an explanation of all the rates and fees of the period is beyond the scope of this overview, some of the more common usages of the 1˘ Franklin were for:

Hopefully, this brief overview of the 1˘ Franklin will whet the appetite of some experienced or would be stamp collector to explore this beautiful stamp and its many usages during one of the United States' more interesting, if tragic, periods. Happy collecting!

.com