"Occasionally there is a stamp which is itself attractive in design, but has little of interest to tell about. This is why my clipping file for this stamp contains not a single item." So begins the April 10, 1965 column in Stamps by Hugh and David Baker . However, this is far from the case.

By 1861, the early kinks in long-distance international mail were working themselves out. Treaties had been negotiated with Great Britain, France, and Germany streamlining the carriage and accounting for mails transiting multiple jurisdictions. International trade was bourgeoning. European colonialism was near or at its peak. The Far East was seeing more and more contact and trade with the West. Mail steamers were regularly plying most of the major seas, connecting with rail and other forms of transportation.

Domestically, at the same time as the country was (temporarily) being wrenched apart, settlers were moving West, taming much of the area from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean and filling the areas first explored by Louis and Clark some 50 years earlier. Mail communications between the east and west coasts, both business and personal, was increasing. Express companies supplemented and complemented the services provided by the Government. Mail agents and outposts were established in other countries to facilitate the handling of mails to and through the United States.

With this as a backdrop, the United States Government issued the 12 cent denomination of the issue of 1861. This, in itself, was an interesting decision. At the time of its issuance, and until January 1, 1868 when the basic 1/2 ounce rate between the United States and Great Britain was halved from 24 cents to 12 cents, there was no 12 cent single rate domestically or internationally.

The 12 cent stamp does, in fact, have much going for it as an object of study:

The requirement to demonetize and replace existing stamps at the beginning of the Civil War, as well as the coming expiration of the contract with Toppan Carpenter, the printers of the currently used issue of 1857, was the impetus for the awarding of a new contract for stamp production during 1861. All early postage stamp production, starting with the first government issue of 1847, was contracted out to private firms. This private production of stamps would continue until the first issue printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in 1894.

Postmaster Montgomery Blair advertised for bidders for the new postage stamp contract and, in early June 1861, the contract was awarded to the National Bank Note Company. As part of the contracting process, the firm was required to furnish "sheets, perfectly gummed and perforated." Although the plates for these samples were produced in mid June 1861 and the samples submitted not long afterward, these samples are now known as the "August" designs, as it was believed by early scholars that these samples were the ones issued in August, 1861.

Figure 2. "August" Essay

There are no postally used examples of the 12 cent "August" design and therefore these "stamps" have now be reclassified as essays - preliminary designs for issued postage stamps. Between its submission in June/July and the issuance of the stamps in late August, the die for the stamp was reworked, adding ornaments in the four corners of the design, and small scrolls at the midpoints of the left and right sides of the design.

There are currently only 16 examples of the perforated August essay (see illustration), the lowest number known of any of the denominations. Unlike many of the other stamps of this issue, the differences between the submitted essays and the issued stamps are readily apparent. It is quite possible that the gummed and perforated essays of the other denominations were circulated as samples of the soon-to-be-released stamps, as they closely resemble the approved designs. Circulating the 12 cent August design as an example of the coming issue would do nothing but cause confusion upon its eventual appearance due to the significant design differences. Hence, the 12 cent August design was not released at the time, leading to very limited circulation and a very low number of remaining examples.

Once approved, the 12 cent issue entered production, being printed from plates of 200 subjects with left and right panes of 100 stamps each (10 rows of 10 stamps). The National Bank Note Company placed three different plate imprints on the outside margins of the plate.

1. Two copies of a horizontal imprint at the top at the center of each pane
2. Two copies of a vertical imprint centered in the left and right sheet margins
3. Two copies of a 2-line imprint with plate number at the bottom in the center of each pane

Margin copies of the stamp showing any part of the imprints are rare, with few copies known. Each of the plates for the 1861 issue received plate numbers starting at plate number "1" and moving up through the numbers. All of the 12 cent stamps were printed from a plate numbered "16."

Figure 3. Four-digit Overprint "4567"

Copies of the 12 cent 1861 are known with "Specimen" overprints, and with a 4-digit number overprint (see Figure 3). With regard to the 4-digit overprint, the 12 cent stamp received the numbers "4567." The overprint numbers varied by stamp, shifting one digit as the denominations changed. For example, the 90 cent received number "1234;" the 30 cent "2345;" and so on, down to the 1 cent, which received number "9012." As both the 2 cent Black Jack, ("8901") and the 15 cent Lincoln (which was outside of the pattern with an overprint of "235") were overprinted, it is likely that these overprints were applied after 1866, when the 15 cent stamp was issued, and before 1868, which saw the introduction of the grilled stamps. While the purpose of these overprints has not yet been determined, it is believed that one sheet of stamps of each denomination was so overprinted.

Multiples of the 12 cent issue are known. The largest known unused block of the stamp is a block of 9 with the "Z" grill and the largest known used block is a reconstructed revenue-usage block of 82 of the ungrilled stamp. The stamp can be found with black, red, blue, and other colored cancellations, and with foreign mail, and other "fancy" cancellations. However, its dark color and limited usage makes it less than ideal as a vehicle to study cancellations.

Brookman estimated that 7,314,000 copies of the ungrilled 12 cent denomination (Scott Catalog number 69) were issued between August 1861 and early 1868.

While the general topic of the embossed grills is beyond the scope of this article, it can be stated that the stamps of the 1861 issue were the first to be so grilled. The embossing of postage stamps with a waffle-like grill allowed better penetration of cancellation ink to make washing and reuse of stamps more difficult. During the early trials, various shapes and sizes of grills were tried. Too big, and the stamp itself became too fragile. Too small, and the grill may not be effective. In early 1868, stamps with grills became the standard for production.

At the time of its issue, the basic domestic postage rate was 3 cents per 1/2 ounce for mail sent under 3000 miles and 10 cents per 1/2 ounce for mail over 3000 miles. As such, the 12 cent stamp saw limited usage domestically, being an option for mail under 3000 miles but weighing more than 1 1/2 ounces (about the equivalent of 9 sheets of copier paper). Transcontinental domestic usages are virtually unknown, as 10 cent stamps were usually available and there was no small multiple of the 10 cent rate that intersected with a multiple of the 12 cent stamp. Commercial and legal correspondence did periodically reach the threshold as can be seen in the following examples:

The 12 cent stamp was predominantly used to pay all or part of the international postage rates of the time. Rates to various countries were set through individual treaties and varied by date, carrier, and destination. For example, during the period from 1861 to 1869, a 1/2 ounce letter from the United States to Italy could cost 11, 14, 15, 19, 21, 24, 27, 28, 30, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, or 47 cents, depending upon the specific destination within the Italian States, the date during this period it was sent and through which foreign carrier it was routed.

International mail would be routed through one of the Exchange offices where rates were checked. A basic division of the paid postage between the US and the Foreign mail carriers performed, often with debits and credits noted on the covers; mail bags made up for the various transatlantic steamers and the mail and accompanying accounting documents dispatched to the docks in that or a nearby city. Most mail to other than North America would be sent on either a British or American contract steamer and would then be transferred to a foreign mail system for further delivery. Key carriers of the mail during this time included the British, French, and German mail systems.

Mail to Great Britain is probably the most popular usage of the 12 cent stamp. From 1861 - 1867, the postage rate to Great Britain was 24 cents per 1/2 ounce. On January 1, 1868, this was reduced to 12 cents per 1/2 ounce and on January 1, 1870, it was reduced again to 6 cents per 1/2 ounce. This 12 cent rate was, in fact, the only 12 cent single rate in effect during the main period of use of this stamp. An example of the stamp being used to pay this rate is shown:

The postal first treaty with France was signed in 1857, facilitating delivery of mails to France and beyond. The basic postal rate was set at 15 cents per 1/4 ounce (actually, the U.S. used 1/4 ounce as the basic unit of measurement, and the French used 7 grams. This occasionally caused confusion, as a letter of exactly 1/4 ounce would qualify for a single U.S. rate, but require a double French rate (1/4 ounce = 7.09 grams):

Mail would be sealed in bags at the exchange office, be sent either through England or directly to Harve, and then enter the French mails. As such, covers to France often will show a red (denoting credit) 12 cent marking, implying carriage on a non-US contract steamer, or a red 3, denoting carriage on a US contract steamer, with the US retaining both the domestic and transatlantic parts of the rates. Black exchange markings denote the opposite, that the amount is due from the other country.

During the period in question, much of the mail to and through Continental Europe passed through one or more of the German States. Until the German Confederation in 1871, Germany was composed of a number of semi-autonomous states covered by a number of postal rules and conventions. During the early period of this issue, mail was often carried under conventions signed with Bremen, Hamburg, and Prussia. In 1867, a convention was signed with the North German Union and as of January 1868, postal rates to the various German states were greatly simplified.

In addition to British, French, and German mails, during the period from 1861 to 1869, mail treaties were signed with both Belgium and Italy for the direct carriage of mails between the US and those regions served by these postal systems. Mail to Belgium was set at a 15 cent treaty rate as of January, 1868 and treaty mail to Italy was likewise set at 15 cents as of April, 1868. Though not as plentiful, mail carried under these conventions with the 12 cent 1861 issue can be found. These only represent the most major of the postal conventions for the carriage of mails across the oceans. In addition, there were individual treaties signed with Canada, Mexico, and other countries in this hemisphere. As postal rates were between the U.S. and these locations was less than 12 cents, usage's to these locations under these conventions are hard to find.

U.S. postage stamps were sometimes available abroad to facilitate the payment of postage for covers destined or transiting the United States. Covers with the 12 cent stamp are most frequently seen from British Columbia and Hawaii. With Hawaiian mails, the 12 cent stamp showed payment of the 2 cent ship fee and the 10 cent transcontinental rate. Mails from British Columbia would have all fees paid in Vancouver with U.S. postage applied to indicate payment from San Francisco to the final destination.

While mails during the 1860s were much smoother than in previous years, the West was, for the most part, still a sparsely populated and untamed region. Express companies filled the gaps between post offices and their established communications lines were often used to transport letters and packages both intra-territorially, and to the mails in the East.

Postal regulations required that all letters be enclosed in a postal envelope embossed with the required U.S. postal rate to insure that the Government did not lose revenue due to express company carriage. Though it was not explicitly permitted, postage stamps were sometimes used to supplement the embossed postage to make up higher rates. As such, the 12 cent stamp is sometimes found on letters carried by express carriers, though these usages are quite scarce.

The stamps of the 1861-1868 issue present a fertile ground for study. While a collector may accumulate examples of stamps and covers, a philatelist uses these same objects as the springboard for study. As I hope that I have been able to show, this stamp with "little interest to tell about" can trigger mental explorations of trade, transit, geopolitics, as well as the classic philatelic subjects or stamp printing, postal rates, carriage routes, and markings.