#67 1861 5¢ Buff

Basic Information

Color: Buff
Subject: Thomas Jefferson
Printing method: line-engraved intaglio on flat plates
Printer: The National Bank Note Company
Perforations: 12
Watermark: none
Scott #: 67
Plate: 17
Quantity issued: 175,000 (including 67a, 67b)
Issued: August 19th, 1861

Value

An unused stamp with perfect gum: -
An unused stamp with gum and a hinge mark: $3,750-$5,500
A used stamp: $100-$130

Usage

#67 on a cover to France

The 1861 5-cent stamp was introduced during the Civil War to replace previous issues, primarily serving to pay for specific, less common postal rates rather than standard domestic letter postage.

Main Usage (Foreign Mail): The primary use of the 5-cent stamp was to pay the domestic portion of postage for mail destined for foreign countries, particularly France (see cover above).
Combination Rates: It was often used in combination with other stamps (such as the 10-cent or 12-cent issues) to make up complex foreign or heavy letter rates.
Crossing the Mason-Dixon Line: The 1861 issue, including the 5-cent, was part of the new series that replaced demonetized, older stamps, and saw use on authorized mail during the early, chaotic months of the war, particularly in August 1861. A more detailed explanation can be found below.

Encased Stamps

Currency Substitute
Stamps were encased in brass and mica holders during the US Civil War (1862) to serve as durable, small-denomination emergency currency (commonly 1¢, 5¢, or 10¢). This innovation by John Gault addressed a severe, wartime coin shortage caused by citizens hoarding gold and silver, while allowing businesses to make change and advertise their services.

The Two Jeffersons

Thomas Jefferson

Jefferson Davis

The North
The 1861 stamps of the North featured Thomas Jefferson, a continuation of the portrait of the previous 5¢ issue. It was issued to replace earlier issues that were demonetized. The new stamp was only distributed to US Post Offices. The confederacy was denied access to them.

The South
As the Confederacy no longer had access to a 5¢ stamp they quickly issued there own. A somewhat crude effort due to a lack of quality paper. Paper was primarily manufactured in the north and the south had a severe paper shortage as a result of this. At the start of the war the printing of stamps was exclusively in the north and the south had to use printers not used to the process. Furthermore the Confederacy had not perforating machines, and as a result all their stamps were without perforations.

Crossing the Mason-Dixon line

Dealing with the Confederacy
Union authorities assumed that a large number of the 1856 3¢ issue remained unaccounted for in the hands of Confederate Postmasters. To prevent fraudulent use of these stamps, Congress authorized the design and production of the 1861 3¢ to replace the old stamp design as soon as possible.

A notice went out to Postmasters declaring that they could exchange the old design for the new design, but they only had seven days to do so. After that point, all the old designs would be demonetized and therefore of no value. This notice was an abject failure, and the period of grace was twice extended, all the way up to November.

Some of the border states of the confederacy kept the stocks of the new design. Although invalid in the Southern States, they were happy to sell at 50¢ on the dollar to postmasters in Union Kentucky.

The Postmaster General declared that no mail from the North would be delivered to the South by the US Postal Service. This did not sit to well with the southerners. It prompted two companies in Kentucky to start a roaring business delivering mail across the border. These companies then smuggled guns, slaves, and all sorts of contraband during the course of the civil war. These companies were Whitesides and The Adams Express, an example of a mail from each is shown here.