# 43 - 1875 10c Washington, blue green
U.S. #43
10¢ Washington
Reprint of 1857-60 Issue
Earliest Known Use: 1875Quantity Sold: 516
Printed by: Continental Bank Note Company
Printing Method: Flat plate
Watermark: None
Perforation: 12
Color: Blue Green
Issued for the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, this stamp is a reprint of the 10¢ stamp from the series of 1857-61. However, because it was issued for collectors and not postal use, it was issued in much smaller quantities. Just 516 #43 stamps were sold! (The rest were destroyed.) That’s an amazingly low number – surely not enough to satisfy collector demand. In fact, this 10¢ Washington is so scarce it's not offered in Mystic's U.S. Stamp Catalog!
The paper on this issue is harder and whiter than the original. The perforations are also different. (The first issue was perforated 15½.)
The Post Office Department wanted to sell every US stamp at the Exhibition – including the ones that were no longer in use. Because many of the original plates couldn’t be found, new ones had to be engraved. Observant collectors noticed subtle differences, so Scott gave them their own numbers. Not realizing they had created philatelic rarities, the Post Office Department sold them as planned.
These reprinted stamps weren’t valid for postage, and most of them never were used in that way. But there was a single #43 stamp discovered with a cancel!
Centennial International Exhibition
Prior to this, the U.S. had staged the Great Central Fair of 1864, one of several sanitary fairs held during the Civil War. This and similar fairs showed how public, private, and commercial efforts could join together for a larger fair. The 1864 fair included handmade and industrial exhibits and a visit from the president and his family and offered ordinary citizens the chance to support the welfare of Union soldiers and join in the war effort.
Funding came from several sources – the city, the state, and extensive fund raising. New hotels were built and transportation was improved to bring people into and around Philadelphia. The 115-acre fairgrounds housed more than 200 buildings. These included five main buildings as well as separate structures for state, federal, foreign, corporate, and public exhibits. This was an unusual strategy compared to past fairs that usually only had one or a few large buildings.
That first day, 186,272 people were in attendance, though 110,000 had free passes. Attendance dropped off sharply after that, and was further hurt by a heat wave in June and July. Cooling temperatures and positive reviews later created a surge in attendance.
The U.S. Post Office Department also had a strong presence at the fair. They wanted to sell every U.S. stamp at the exhibition, even those that were no longer in use. Because many of the original plates couldn’t be found, new ones had to be engraved. Observant collectors noticed subtle differences, so Scott gave them their own numbers. Not realizing they had created philatelic rarities, the Post Office Department sold them as planned. Most of these stamps weren’t valid for postage and were issued in very small quantities. And most of the unsold stamps were later destroyed!
See below for more of the stamps issued at the exhibition. They were all produced in limited quantities!
U.S. #43
10¢ Washington
Reprint of 1857-60 Issue
Earliest Known Use: 1875Quantity Sold: 516
Printed by: Continental Bank Note Company
Printing Method: Flat plate
Watermark: None
Perforation: 12
Color: Blue Green
Issued for the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, this stamp is a reprint of the 10¢ stamp from the series of 1857-61. However, because it was issued for collectors and not postal use, it was issued in much smaller quantities. Just 516 #43 stamps were sold! (The rest were destroyed.) That’s an amazingly low number – surely not enough to satisfy collector demand. In fact, this 10¢ Washington is so scarce it's not offered in Mystic's U.S. Stamp Catalog!
The paper on this issue is harder and whiter than the original. The perforations are also different. (The first issue was perforated 15½.)
The Post Office Department wanted to sell every US stamp at the Exhibition – including the ones that were no longer in use. Because many of the original plates couldn’t be found, new ones had to be engraved. Observant collectors noticed subtle differences, so Scott gave them their own numbers. Not realizing they had created philatelic rarities, the Post Office Department sold them as planned.
These reprinted stamps weren’t valid for postage, and most of them never were used in that way. But there was a single #43 stamp discovered with a cancel!
Centennial International Exhibition
Prior to this, the U.S. had staged the Great Central Fair of 1864, one of several sanitary fairs held during the Civil War. This and similar fairs showed how public, private, and commercial efforts could join together for a larger fair. The 1864 fair included handmade and industrial exhibits and a visit from the president and his family and offered ordinary citizens the chance to support the welfare of Union soldiers and join in the war effort.
Funding came from several sources – the city, the state, and extensive fund raising. New hotels were built and transportation was improved to bring people into and around Philadelphia. The 115-acre fairgrounds housed more than 200 buildings. These included five main buildings as well as separate structures for state, federal, foreign, corporate, and public exhibits. This was an unusual strategy compared to past fairs that usually only had one or a few large buildings.
That first day, 186,272 people were in attendance, though 110,000 had free passes. Attendance dropped off sharply after that, and was further hurt by a heat wave in June and July. Cooling temperatures and positive reviews later created a surge in attendance.
The U.S. Post Office Department also had a strong presence at the fair. They wanted to sell every U.S. stamp at the exhibition, even those that were no longer in use. Because many of the original plates couldn’t be found, new ones had to be engraved. Observant collectors noticed subtle differences, so Scott gave them their own numbers. Not realizing they had created philatelic rarities, the Post Office Department sold them as planned. Most of these stamps weren’t valid for postage and were issued in very small quantities. And most of the unsold stamps were later destroyed!
See below for more of the stamps issued at the exhibition. They were all produced in limited quantities!