Interesting...

[rdwyer]

Check out this tax stamp. On the right and left side you can see "Factory no" twice. Did they have tax stamps on a sheet and overprinted all of them at the same time using one huge stamp? Weird, never saw this before. Comments? Jon?

[Maddog]

Jon,

I actually have several old tax stamps but they were issued for securities and they too have stampings on them. I saw mint versions of the ones I have and they didn't have any stampings which makes me believe that what you see was a form of cancellation stamping.

Charlie.

[steve B]

Yes, the basic ones were printed in sheets, and the end user would cancel them. All that was required was a name or initials and a date. But anything done in high volume was either precanceled with a printed cancel like on almost all the cigarette stamps, or used in a way that use of the product destroyed the stamp like the stamps on liquor bottles or playing cards. Eventually the date wasn't required, most Cigarette stamps from the early 1900s only have the factory and month.

I think that's one of the distinctions between stuff like documentary stamps that could be used at any time and had different rates and what are referred to as taxpaids, which indicate the tax had been paid somewhere during the manufacturing. Or if it makes more sense - A document was stamped and taxes paid at the time of use, cigarette taxes were paid periodically based on production . They would file a form indicating the quantity shipped and pay the tax based on that.

The Scott US specialized catalog covers most of the ones to be cancelled on use from the 1860's till recently. I have that, but don't have the special catalog for the taxpaids. Some are odd, like old beer bottles include the word taxpaid somewhere on the label. Or ones where the entire package is the tax stamp like some foil tobacco wrappers.


Steve B