AboutMark 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 2004. I'm an active seller on
ebay.com since 1996, under the user id "mleon".
I have a Bachelor of Science degree in computer
science from the University of Nevada at Las
Vegas, 1984. You can find my web page at
http://www.forwardedge.com/usmints.html
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.
