#128 1875 12¢ Re-issue

Basic Information

Color: Green
Subject: The SS Adriatic
Paper: Hard wove paper
Printing method: line-engraved intaglio on flat plates
Printer: The National Bank Note Company
Perforations: 12
Scott #: 128
Quantity issued: 10,000, sold 1,584
Earliest known use: -

Value

An unused stamp with perfect gum: -
An unused stamp with gum and a hinge mark: $2,500-$3,000
A used stamp: $12,000

Covers

#128 earliest known documented use, March 20, 1880

#128, although primarily sold as a souvenir stamp it was still valid for postage. There are only three known covers.

About the Reprints

The 1876 Centennial International Exhibition
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The 1875 Reprints

In 1876 the United States celebrated 100 years of nationhood. A huge International Exhibition in Philadelphia, parades and events around the country were held as part of the celebrations. For it's part the Post Office re-issued all the stamps that had been issued up to 1875. They did not sell well and most of the production had to be destroyed. With the exception of the 1847 stamps they were valid for postage so used examples can be found.

These have been called the “special printings" of 1875. All the original plates were used bar US #1 and #2. The 1847 plates had to be reproduced as the originals were lost to history.

All the printings were on harder whiter paper than the originals and most had a shade difference from the originals.

The Inspiration for the Design

Adriatic in Collins Line colors, c.1860
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Vignette essay
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Source photograph
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The SS Adriatic

The vignette features the Adriatic, a Collins Line steamship that was considered one of the fastest and most luxurious transatlantic vessels of its time, often described as the "Concorde of her day”. She made only one roundtrip for the Collins Line before that firm failed, partly because of Adriatic's high cost.

The Adriatic was a massive side-wheel steamer intended to outclass British competitors, although by the time the stamp was issued in 1869, the ship had already been sold to British owners. She was launched in 1856 and at the time she was the largest ship in the world. The new English owners configured her to carry hundreds of Irish immigrants to America. Even then the ship failed to pay for itself and it ended its day as a floating coal depot in the Niger River. She was finally abandoned in 1885.

The original pictorial stamp of 1869 (#117) was engraved by James Smillie of the National Bank Note Company, based on a photo of the ship.