# 9X3 - 1847 5c black, signed ACM connected
Be One of the Fortunate Few to Own Scarce 1845 NY Postmaster Provisional
The 1845 New York Postmaster Provisional stamp is seldom seen – only 5,500 were issued. However, collectors carefully preserved a small number of #9X3 stamps – so now Mystic can offer this historic stamp to you for your private collection.
Congress legislated uniform postage rates in 1845, but made no allowances for stamps. New York’s postmaster general arranged to have stamps printed by the firm of Rawdon, Wright and Hatch. The quality of their work was so impressive the federal government awarded its 1847 contract for US #1 and #2 to the firm without asking for bids from competing printers.
Own history you hold in your hands – get scarce #9X3 on gray wove paper signed by ACM today.
Postmasters’ Provisional Stamps
In the 1840s, United States postal authorities were carefully watching the world’s reaction to Great Britain’s Penny Black, the first adhesive postage stamp. An adhesive stamp was being considered for use in the US.
Then on March 3, 1845, Congress passed a postal reform act that established uniform nationwide postal rates, effective July 1 of that year. Prior to this, different areas had different postal rates, which made it difficult to determine the postage amount and pre-pay it. As a result, the recipient instead of the sender usually paid the postage. One of the major effects of standardizing postage rates was that stamps could be used to pre-pay postage. However, the government wouldn’t issue its own postage stamps for another two years.
Morris paid about $55 for the first batch of stamps, which he received on June 12. He then sent a copy of the stamp with a letter to postmasters in Boston, Philadelphia, Albany, and Washington to inform them of this new development.
Baltimore issued its own provisional stamp a day after New York and St. Louis followed suit later that year. Seven other cities would issue their own in 1846.
All of the Postmasters’ Provisionals helped to popularize the use of stamps for pre-payment, setting the stage for America’s first postage stamps in July 1847.
Be One of the Fortunate Few to Own Scarce 1845 NY Postmaster Provisional
The 1845 New York Postmaster Provisional stamp is seldom seen – only 5,500 were issued. However, collectors carefully preserved a small number of #9X3 stamps – so now Mystic can offer this historic stamp to you for your private collection.
Congress legislated uniform postage rates in 1845, but made no allowances for stamps. New York’s postmaster general arranged to have stamps printed by the firm of Rawdon, Wright and Hatch. The quality of their work was so impressive the federal government awarded its 1847 contract for US #1 and #2 to the firm without asking for bids from competing printers.
Own history you hold in your hands – get scarce #9X3 on gray wove paper signed by ACM today.
Postmasters’ Provisional Stamps
In the 1840s, United States postal authorities were carefully watching the world’s reaction to Great Britain’s Penny Black, the first adhesive postage stamp. An adhesive stamp was being considered for use in the US.
Then on March 3, 1845, Congress passed a postal reform act that established uniform nationwide postal rates, effective July 1 of that year. Prior to this, different areas had different postal rates, which made it difficult to determine the postage amount and pre-pay it. As a result, the recipient instead of the sender usually paid the postage. One of the major effects of standardizing postage rates was that stamps could be used to pre-pay postage. However, the government wouldn’t issue its own postage stamps for another two years.
Morris paid about $55 for the first batch of stamps, which he received on June 12. He then sent a copy of the stamp with a letter to postmasters in Boston, Philadelphia, Albany, and Washington to inform them of this new development.
Baltimore issued its own provisional stamp a day after New York and St. Louis followed suit later that year. Seven other cities would issue their own in 1846.
All of the Postmasters’ Provisionals helped to popularize the use of stamps for pre-payment, setting the stage for America’s first postage stamps in July 1847.