#101 1868 90¢ F grill

Basic Information

Color: Blue
Subject: George Washington
Printing method: line-engraved intaglio on flat plates
Printer: The National Bank Note Company
Perforations: 12
Watermark: none
Type of Grill: F
Scott #: 101
Plate: 18
Quantity issued: 30,000
Issued: August 13th, 1868

Value

An unused stamp with perfect gum: -
An unused stamp with gum and a hinge mark: $5,500-$9,000
A used stamp: $1,800-$3,000

F Grill Detail

Over 95% of grills are either E or F grills. The A, B, C, and D grills had proved to be unsatisfactory, mostly due to their presence on the stamp making the stamp difficult to separate. The Z grill did not have that problem but for whatever reason it was printed in very limited quantities. The F grill was the last of the grills. Grilling was expensive and it was increasingly seen that there was no need for it. Grilling did have a benefit; it helped the National Banknote Company win the contract

Points: 11-12 x 15-17 points
Size: 9 x 13mm

Usage

#101 on a cover to Peru paying triple the 34¢ rate

There are only two known covers with #101 attached to them. It would have has to be a very valuable or heavy letter to qualify for this rate.

The inspiration for the design

George Washington

George Trumbull, 1792

Detail from painting

The inspiration for the design of the 1860 90c US stamp was a portrait of George Washington painted by John Trumbull in 1792.

The general is shown on the evening before the pivotal Battle of Trenton in late 1776. He looks upward, conceiving his strategy against the vastly superior approaching enemy. The significance of the moment is expressed in the drama of the threatening sky and by the excitable horse, held in check by a soldier groom