#225 1893 8¢ Small Bank Note

Basic Information

Color: Lilac
Subject: William Tecumseh Sherman
Paper: Soft porous paper
Printing method: line-engraved intaglio on flat plates
Printer: American Bank Note Co.
Perforations: 12
Scott #: 225
Quantity issued: 12,087,800
Issued: March 21, 1893

Value

An unused stamp with perfect gum: $30-$60
An unused stamp with gum and a hinge mark: $7-$24
A used stamp: $1.50-$5

About the small bank note stamps

Sherman was originally slated for the 10¢ value, an essay with a cut out photo of him is seen here. #225E4

“Small Bank Note" stamps refers to the last, and only, definitive series printed solely by the America Bank Note Company in 1894, hence the name bank note series. The printing of this series was taken over by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in 1895. The Bureau added a triangle to the corner of the stamps to differentiate the 1895 from the 1894 series.

They are called "Small" to distinguish them from the "Large Bank Notes" issued from 1870 to 1893, as the 1894 stamps were reduced in size to cut production costs.

Usage

#225 on the earliest recorded date of use, May 4th, 1893

#225 was designed to cover the registration fee for first-class letters, which was reduced from 10 cents to 8 cents during that period. It was commonly used in combination with a 2¢ stamp to pay for both the first-class letter rate and the registry fee.

Plates

#225 was issued with the following plate #'s

ZZ 265 - 269

The Inspiration for the Design

General Sherman source photo

Having spent a large part of my life living in Savannah I imagine that this stamp was not popular in western Georgia. Shermans march burnt everything and anything between Atlanta and Savannah. Instead the folks probably used the 8¢ Columbian (#236) which also issued in 1893.

Sherman was the third Civil War general to be featured on a stamp, he was preceded by Winfield Scott and Ulysses Grant.