#130 1875 24¢ Re-issue

Basic Information

Color: Green & violet
Subject: Signing of the Declaration of Independence
Paper: Hard wove paper
Printing method: line-engraved intaglio on flat plates
Printer: The National Bank Note Company
Perforations: 12
Scott #: 130
Quantity issued: 10,000, sold 2,091
Earliest known use: March 27, 1880

Value

An unused stamp with perfect gum: $27,000
An unused stamp with gum and a hinge mark: $1,300-$2,100
A used stamp: $1,000-$1,300

Covers

#130 on a cover to Germany

#130, although primarily sold as a souvenir stamp it was still valid for postage. There are only three known covers, four if you include one mailed in 1926

About the Reprints

The 1876 Centennial International Exhibition
Click image to enlarge

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

Click image to enlarge

The orginal 24¢ 1869 pictorial stamp (#120) was inspired by John Trumbull's painting Declaration of Independence. It depicts the Committee of Five presenting their draft of the document to the Second Continental Congress

The massive 12-by-18-foot original hangs in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C.. A smaller original version (approx. 21 x 31 inches) is held at the Yale University Art Gallery. Standing prominently in the centre are (left to right) John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert R. Livingston, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin.