Basic Information
Color: Black
Subject: Andrew Jackson
Printing method: line-engraved intaglio on flat plates
Printer: The National Bank Note Company
Perforations: 12
Watermark: none
Scott #: 73
Plates: 28-31, 50-51, 53
Quantity issued: 256,586,000
Issued: July 1st, 1863
Value
An unused stamp with perfect gum: $250-$525
An unused stamp with gum and a hinge mark: $12-$23
A used stamp: $6-$8
Usage
#73 used on a cover paying the standard 2¢ drop letter rate
A new stamp was needed to pay for the increased 2¢ rate for circulars and drop letters. #73 was primarily used for prepaying the 2-cent postage rate for "drop letters" (delivered within the same post office), circulars, and newspapers during the early Civil War era. It was the standard adhesive for low-weight, local mail and printed matter.
Drop Letters: It was used for local "drop letters" (mail delivered within the same post office area).
Printed Matter: Used for newspapers, circulars, and unsealed printed matter for up to 4oz. There are no surviviing examples of #73 on such.
Make-Up Rate: It was frequently used in combination with other stamps to make up higher rates, particularly during the Civil War, or sometimes cut in half to act as a 1-cent stamp (see below)
Bisected Stamps
#73a
Diagonal half used as 1¢ as part of 3¢ rate on cover.
Value: $250-$275
#73b
Diagonal half used alone as part of 1¢ on cover.
Value: $1,100
#73c
Horizontal half used as 1¢ as part of 3¢ rate on cover.
Value: $200
#73d
Vertical half used as 1¢ as part of 3¢ rate on cover.
Value: $300-$400
The Inspiration for the Design
John Wood Dodge painting of Andrew Jackson
The confederate 2¢ Jackson
The Portrait
It is believed that the engraved head is after a miniature painting of Jackson, at age 78, done by John Wood Dodge (1807-1893). Jackson is said to have sat for the painting in 1842, at which time he was living in retirement at the Hermitage, his home near Nashville
The Political Motivation
The choice of Andrew Jackson was highly symbolic during the Civil War. Jackson was a transformative figure in the Democratic Party who was also a staunch Unionist, and placing his likeness on a stamp was intended to send a strong pro-Union message to the Confederate States of America.
However Jackson's popularity extended to the south, the Confederacy also utilized the same image by Dodge for their own 2¢ stamp (CSA #8).
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.
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.
Notable Stamps
The Atherton Shift
A double transfer
Printed both sides
(#73f)
Laid Paper
(#73g)
