U.S. #543
1919-21 1¢ Washington

Issue Date: May 1921
Printed by: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Method: Rotary press
Watermark: None
Perforation: 10
Color: Green

The Series of 1919-21 1¢ Washington stamps were part of an experiment to make rotary press printings that could be issued in sheet form. A previous stamp had been made with 10x11 perforations (U.S. #542), but the sheets were found to be too brittle. So the perforation gauge was adjusted to 10x10 in U.S. #543. This produced far fewer separations, and U.S. #543 was issued in greater quantities.

1919-21 Coil Waste Stamps

Due to poor centering and other minor defects, a number of coil stamp sheets had been set aside as “waste” to be destroyed. Some of them had been perforated vertically or horizontally, while others had not been perforated at all. Although these stamps were unsuitable for coils, they could be issued satisfactorily as sheet stamps.

In an effort to save money, which was still in short supply after the war, the Bureau decided to release these stamps in sheets. Numerous sheets of the 1¢ Green, 2¢ Carmine Rose, and 3¢ Violet had already been perforated 10 vertically. They were then perforated 11 horizontally and issued with 11x10 perforations.

Other sheets of the 1¢ stamps had been perforated 10 horizontally and were then perforated 11 vertically. Meanwhile, other sheets hadn’t been perforated at all. These 1¢ and 2¢ sheets were perforated with the current standard of 11x11 perforations measured the same as the current sheet stamps being issued. However, when compared, the “coil waste” issues are noticeably darker in color.