#216 1887 5¢

Basic Information

Color: Indigo
Subject: James Garfield
Paper: Soft porous paper
Printing method: line-engraved intaglio on flat plates
Printer: American Bank Note Co.
Perforations: 12
Scott #: 216
Quantity issued: 59,000,000
Issued: February 18th, 1888

Value

An unused stamp with perfect gum: $160-$325
An unused stamp with gum and a hinge mark: $13-$30
A used stamp: 75¢-$2

A change of color

A small die proof #216P2a
Click image to enlarge

In 1883 new postal rates meant a change of colors to indicate which class of postage the stamp paid and to align with the UPU standard at the time. UPU regulations stipulated a blue color to be used for the standard foreign rate. As the rate was 5¢ and the current stamp was brown (#205) the stamp color was changed to blue. The blue color remained for the 5¢ value until the 1950’s.

Usage

#216 earliest date of use, March 15th, 1888

The 5¢ Garfield stamp was primarily used to meet the newly established 5-cent U.S. postage rate for letters to foreign countries within the Universal Postal Union (UPU). It was a staple of late 19th-century US international postage

Plates

#216 was issued with the following plate #'s

K 537-541

The Inspiration for the Design

James Black’s photograph of James Garfield

The portrait of James A. Garfield featured on the 1888 5¢ US postage stamp was engraved by the American Bank Note Company based on a photograph by James Wallace Black (or sometimes attributed to his studio partnership, Black & Case).

The original photograph was a popular portrait taken during Garfield's time in the US House of Representatives (circa 1870–1880)