Scotts #261 US stamps

#261 - 1894 Unwatermarked $1

$1
Grayish black or black
TYPE I

Subject: Commodore Matthew Perry
Number issued: 26,284
Perforations: 12
Watermark: Unwatermarked
Scott #: 261
Issued: November 15th, 1894
Earliest date of use: December 6th, 1894

Value

Used
$30 - $50
No postmark with gum (MH)
$170 - $350
Full perfect gum, no postmark
no trace of stamp hinge mark (MNH)
$850 - $1,750

Earliest Date of Use

Earliest recorded example, May 18th, 1895

Cancels

Infrequently the $1 stamp was required on heavy parcels or overweight letters to foreign destinations, which meant heavy cancels, as seenabove. Clean or light cancels add a premium to the value.

261 or 261A?

Plate #'s

#261 and 261A were issued with the following plate #'s

76

Inspiration for the Design

The old 90 cents gave way to a new $1, the profile of Perry being transferred to the new value

The two new 1894 values, the 50¢ and the $1 did not have new engravings of presidential heads, they just recycled the 1870 engravings.

The original 1870 design of Perry was based on Walcotts bust, of which I am unable to find an image.
Above is shown a similar marble bust of Perry by Erastus Dow Palmer, a contemporary of Walcott.