Basic Information
Colors: Blue, pale blue, dark blue
Subject: Benjamin Franklin
Printing Method: die-to-relief-to-plate intaglio engraving process
Printer: Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co., whilst part of the American Bank Note Company.
Perforations: 15 to 15½
Watermark: none
Scott: #21
Plate: 2, 4 and 12
Type: III
Quantity Issued: Not known
Issued: September 18th, 1857
Value
An unused stamp with full perfect gum: $70,000
An unused stamp with gum and a hinge mark: $23,000-$43,000
A used stamp: $200-$700
General Notes
Full Pane of
the 1857 1¢
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The largest break on the top line
Position 99R2
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Position 99R2
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Plate 12 secret mark
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#21 was printed from plates 2, 4 and 12. Stamps from plate 12 feature a "secret mark"—a small dot located at the left center of the colorless oval surrounding Franklin’s portrait.
Because the plates were tightly packed, finding a #21 with well-centered perforations that do not cut into the design is difficult, making high-grade examples more valuable to collectors.
How many plates were there?
There were twelve plates of the 1¢ Franklin made, plate six was never used, probably due to it being damaged in it's creation. Most of the plates were used for both the imperforate and perforated design. Some only produced one type or the other. For instance, plate 12 produced only perforated stamps and the early state of Plate 1 produced only imperforate stamps whilst plate I late (reconstruction) produced both imperforate and perforated stamps.
The Inspiration for the Design
Bust of Franklin
Jean-Jacques Caffieri
A New Contract
Under Postmaster General Nathan K. Hall, the contract to print the 1851 Issue was awarded to the Philadelphia firm of Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co. (Casilear retired in October 1854, but his name was included in plate imprints as late as 1857).
The 1¢ 1851 stamp, with a bust of Franklin based on Caffieri’s sculpture, was one of the workhorses of postage stamps issued during the decade it was current. Twelve plates were required to print sufficient quantities of 1¢ stamps, and the creation of those plates caused Toppan Carpenter a great degree of difficulty.
How to Identify this Stamp
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To identify the #21 you must first confirm it is perforated and then examine specific details of the outer frame lines. This stamp is classified as Type III
Key Identification Points for 1857 Type III (#21):
Perforated: Unlike its 1851 predecessor (#8), #21 is perforated (gauge 15½). Reprints have a gauge 12 perforation
Outer Frame Lines: The top and bottom outer frame lines are both broken.
Comparison: If only one line (top or bottom) is broken, it is a Type IIIa (Scott #22). If both lines are complete, it is a Type IV (Scott #23).
Side Ornaments: The side ornaments are complete and not trimmed away, which distinguishes it from the more common Type V (Scott #24)
Color: Typically a deep blue or bright blue.
Usage
#21 on a cover posted locally paying the drop letter rate of 1¢
The 1¢ denomination was primarily used to pay the following postal rates:
Newspapers
The standard rate for mailing newspapers.
Drop Letters
Letters delivered from the same post office where they were mailed (before free city delivery was established).
Unsealed Circulars
Mass-mailed advertisements or information that was not sealed.
The Inspiration for the Design
Under Postmaster General Nathan K. Hall, the contract to print the 1851 Issue was awarded to the Philadelphia firm of Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co. (Casilear retired in October 1854, but his name was included in plate imprints as late as 1857).
The 1¢ 1851 stamp, with a bust of Franklin based on Caffieri’s sculpture, was one of the workhorses of postage stamps issued during the decade it was current. Twelve plates were required to print sufficient quantities of 1¢ stamps, and the creation of those plates caused Toppan Carpenter a great degree of difficulty.
The First Perforated Stamp
The first perforating machine
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The idea behind perforating the stamps was to make the stamps easier to separate and apparently to make the stamps adhere better, although I am not sure about the thinking behind that one.
A rouletting machine was purchased from the UK. The only perforating machines were made in the UK and the British Printers, Perkins Bacon, did not want to let one go abroad. A typical British attitude at the time. So the Bureau purchased the rouletting machine. They tried it out and the result was not what they were looking for. To convert the rouletting machine to a perforating machine was as simple as swapping out the rouletting roller with a perforating roller (which had to be designed and produced). Takes less than a minute.
There was one slight problem space allowance to feed the sheets of stamps was kind of narrow. This was solved by squeezing the row of stamps into the narrower space. Something that philatelists who prize four margin stamps will forever regret.
The sheet of stamps was fed in one way to get the vertical perforations, the spacing on the perforator roll was changed and then the sheet was fed through horizontally.
The Types of the 1851-57 One Cent Stamps (Large Diagram)
