• Home
  • Stamp Identifier
  • Buy Catalog
  • Quick Navigate
  • Great Britain
  • About
  • The Swedish Tiger

#279 -1898 Green 1ยข

Image
previous

See below for details

next

Basic Info

1¢
Deep green, green, yellow green, dark yellow green

Printing Method: Engraved
Subject: Benjamin Franklin
Number issued:
5,216,159,932
Perforations: P12
Watermark:
Double Line USPS
Scott #:
279
Issued:
January 17th, 1898

Value

Used
20¢ - 40¢
No postmark with gum (MH)
$3 - $5
Full perfect gum, no postmark
no trace of stamp hinge mark (MNH)

$7.50 - $9

A full Pane

Image

A full pane of 100 of #279, there were four panes to a sheet of 400

Plate #'s

Image

The complete plate numbers for #279 are unknown

A change of color

Image

As a postal clerk in a foreign country it was difficult to ascertain the value of the foreign countries stamp. In order to assist the Universal Postal Union (UPU) requested all its member countries to standardise the colors of each value. So a local standard letter rate would be red, a standard overseas rate blue, etc etc. To confirm with the correct color for the 1¢ it was changed from blue to green.

A "Putty faced Franklin"

Image

Previous versions of Franklins portrait (shown left) on the 1¢ stamp had Franklin face portray an alert friendly expression. This was the principle reason that this design (shown right) was disliked by the general public. The NY Times said that Franklin's face had 'entirely altered his expression and making him resemble a putty-faced personification of senility'.

#279a

Image

279a
Vertical watermark, only four examples known. Three off cover and one on cover (shown below)

Image
Enlarge
Image

Image supplied by courtesy of Richard Babcock

Essays and Proofs

Image
Enlarge

Roosevelt proof on India mounted on card, 289-P2a

Image

289-P2a

The 1898 Bureau Series

Click your selected stamp

Image
279
Image
279B
Image
280
Image
281
Image
282
Image
282C
Image
283
Image
284
Previous Issue
Next Issue
Image