1861–67

At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Union postal officials decided to demonetize the existing stamps issued from 1851–61 so they could not be used by the South. Eight stamps ranging in value from 1¢ to 90¢ were prepared initially; later, a 2¢ stamp picturing Andrew Jackson was issued, followed by a 15¢ design honoring the recently assassinated Abraham Lincoln.

Stamps from this series were the first to feature “grills,” impressed patterns of squares that were intended to break the paper fibers so cancellation inks would soak in and make the stamps impossible to clean and reuse.

Blue 1-cent U.S. postage stamp picturing Benjamin Franklin — Benjamin Franklin

Black 2-cent U.S. postage stamp picturing Andrew Jackson — Andrew Jackson

Rose 3-cent U.S. postage stamp picturing George Washington — George Washington

Brown 5-cent U.S. postage stamp picturing Thomas Jefferson — Thomas Jefferson

Green 10-cent U.S. postage stamp picturing George Washington — George Washington

Purple 24-cent U.S. postage stamp picturing George Washington — George Washington

Orange 30-cent U.S. postage stamp picturing Benjamin Franklin — Benjamin Franklin

Front of cover bearing 3-cent George Washington stamp and Camp Douglas prisoner's letter marking — Camp Douglas POW Cover

Next: 1869

Published 2018-06-18 Last updated 2018-06-21