U.S. #575
Series of 1923-25 1¢ Ben Franklin

Issue Date: March 16, 1923
First City: Washington, D.C.
Quantity Issued: 16,072,400
Printed by: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Flat Plate
Perforation: None
Color: Green

Private Companies Purchased Imperforates for Vending Machines

Like the Washington-Franklin imperforates, the imperforate stamps of 1923-25 were issued for private companies to use in their vending machines. Since the machines required special perforations, the companies bought the imperforate stamps and applied their own perforations.

U.S. #575 was mostly used in Chicago by private companies for mass-mailings. By April 1925, the third class circular rate rose to 1 ½¢, which ended the main need for this stamp. It was also used in New York until the Postage Meter Company purchased the Mail-o-Meter Company. After that, private perforation of U.S. #575 occurred only in Chicago.

Although issued in great quantities, there were some attempts at manipulating the market value of US. #575. As the third class increase approached, some stamp dealers set aside large numbers of the stamp, which drove prices up for a time.