The 3¢ stamp featuring George Washington was issued by Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear and Company on July 1, 1851. On that date, postal rates changed and the rate for letters traveling under 3000 miles became 3¢ and for distances over 3000 miles (typically coast to coast) the rate became 6¢ (this went up to 10¢ in 1855).

The pioneering work of Dr. Carroll Chase has probably made the 3¢ 1851 stamp the most studied stamp of all time. The specialization of "plating" originated with this stamp.

Plating involves the examination of a particular stamp and determining from which position on the printing plate it originated. This is done by noticing characteristics which are unique to that particular position. The imperforate stamp was produced on plates with two panes of 100 (200 subjects per plate) designated left and right. There were nine plates used to print the imperforate stamp ("0" through 8) and some of the plates were reworked to create various "states." The various states are early (the original state of the plate), intermediate (a first re-working) and late (the last re-working). If a plate is only re-worked once, it is said to have an early and a late state. Plate position designations are determined by the position (1-100), the pane (left or right), the plate number, and the state (if applicable). For example, the plate position 10R2L means position 10, right pane of plate 2, late state. All of these plates have been reconstructed by Dr. Chase and many students who have followed in his footsteps.

The Black & White Photographic Chase 3¢ 1851-57 Plate Reconstructions are available from the Smithsonian Institution's National Postal Museum Photographic Service for a Fee. Inquiries should be directed to the NPM.

The following is a link to a work in progress: The Chase 3¢ 1851-57 Plate Reconstruction Errors on the Smithsonian Photographs

The imperforate 3¢ stamp has Scott Catalog numbers 10 and 11. Scott #10 exists in various shades of Orange Brown and these stamps were produced between July and October of 1851. Scott #11 exists in a variety of shades from Red to Brown to Claret and were produced from October of 1851 to June of 1857 when new plates were produced to support perforation.

The perforated 3¢ stamp has Scott Catalog numbers 25, 26 and 26a. Early attempts at perforation utilized the imperforate stamps which were not optimally spaced to support perforation. Scott #25 (Type I) resulted from these efforts. Examples of the perforated Type I can be found from plates 2 through 8. Due to these spacing difficulties, new plates were constructed in 1857 from new 6-relief transfer rolls. Plates 10 and 11 were the first plates made specifically with perforation in mind. Stamps produced from these plates had no top frame lines and the side frame lines were individually hand cut on each of the 200 positions. These stamps are designated Type IIa, Scott #26a. Plates 9 and 12 through 28 produced stamps which had continuous side frame lines from the top of the plate to the bottom. These stamps are designated Type II, Scott #26.

The period 1851-1861 was also a very rich period in postal history. The Western part of the United States opened up to settlement during this time period. The TransContinental railroad was begun during this time and the latter part of the decade immediately preceded the outbreak of hostilities which became the Civil War. The difficulty of transiting mail across country led to many steamship routes around and through Central and South America as well as the Pony Express and other overland routes. Many of the postal markings in this period are described and illustrated in Simpson's U.S. Postal Markings 1851-1861, a Society publication. The outbreak of the Civil War led to the declaration that all stamps from the 1851-57 issues were no longer valid for postage (demonitization) to prevent the use of stamps in the hands of Southern postmasters. Covers showing usage of stamps affected by this demonitization are highly sought after by 3¢ specialists and postal historians alike.

Press Release

Original Engraved Steel Die Donated To The National Postal Museum.

The original hand engraved steel die that produced the 1851 three-cent essay designated "11-E2" in the Scott's Specialized Catalogue, has been donated to the National Postal Museum by a group of 13 philatelists, who pooled their resources to buy it. Only nine copies of the rare essay are known to exist.

Read about it at the NPM Press Site

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Helpful Links

The Three Cent Washington Stamp: 1851-61 , by Thomas J. Alexander

.com

Individual Classic's Stamp Facts (1847-69)

3¢ Plating, Cancels, Colors & more , by Dr. Charles J. Di Como

3¢ Postal History & more, by Roy & Greg Weber

3¢ Plates, Plating, Color, & more, by Gary Schrader

Plated 3¢ 1851-57 ~ Enlarged Photos, by Steven Ruecker

Identifying the 3¢ Issue & more, by Caj Brejtfus

Color Study of the 3¢ 1851-57 Issue, by Cal Hahn

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