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Stamps (Philately)/1870 internal revenue stamp

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Expert: Mark Leon - 12/2/2006


Question
I have an 1870 bill-of-sale from a furniture store in Newburyport, Massachusetts. It has an orange stamp with the likeness of George Washington on it that has been embossed with the words "Furniture Newburyport". It is a two cent stamp.Can you tell me anything about the history and value of this stamp? The stamp is in very good condition with the embossed words almost invisible. We did a gentle rubbing to read the words.

Answer
Susan,

The 2c Orange Internal Revenue stamp is very common, despite its age.  In the condition you describe, its worth perhaps a quarter (still affixed to the document). The stamp was used to show that the federal tax was paid on the sale.  The revenue generated by such stamps was used to help pay for Lincoln's Civil War effort.  Revenue stamps were first issued in 1862, the result of an act of Congress.

-Mark
http://www.forwardedge.com/usmints.html
http://stores.ebay.com/Accent-Art-Glass?refid=store

Stamps (Philately)

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Mark Leon

Expertise

I am a collector of United States postage stamps, and also a stamp dealer. I`m a member of the American Philatelic Society (APS). My principle area of interest and expertise is in United States Stamps.

Experience

I've been selling stamps on the internet since early 1996. I maintain a stamp web page that concentrates on mint US stamps issued generally between 1890 and 2009. I'm an active seller on ebay.com since 1996, under the user id "mleon". You can find my web page at http://www.forwardedge.com/usmints.html

Education/Credentials
I have a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, 1984.

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