#260 1894 50¢ Unwatermarked

Basic Information

Color: Orange
Subject: Thomas Jefferson
Paper: Soft porous paper
Printing method: line-engraved intaglio on flat plates
Printer: The Bureau of Printing and Engraving
Perforations: 12
Scott #: 260
Quantity issued: 175,330
Issued: November 1st, 1894

Value

An unused stamp with perfect gum: $300-$600
An unused stamp with gum and a hinge mark: $35-$100
A used stamp: $5-$15

About the small bank note stamps

The earliest date of use, December 12th 1894

“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

#260 on a cover to France

#260’s primary use was to pay for heavier mail to domestic and foreign destinations, commonly in combination with other denominations.

Plates

#260 was issued with the following plate #'s

75

The Inspiration for the Design

Jefferson source statue

The 1870 rendition of the bust was criticized in that it was said that Jefferson was appearing to be falling asleep or nodding off. This was corrected in the 1894 design, the vignette was tilted a tad to the right and the eyes reworked, the whole effect being one 'wide-awake' third president of the United States. However in doing so some thought it made Jefferson look like a child.