The Bank Note Issues

Part III
by Michael Mills

This stamp comes in many shades of ultramarine, as well as a blue-gray shade, on thin to medium thick white wove paper. Varieties include a double transfer, a worn plate, and a "precancelled G."

In May 1873 the Continental Bank Note Company took over a new contract with the Post Office for the production of the issue and they acquired most of the production materials of the stamps from National, which included dies as well as plates. It would be CBN which would continue production until 1879.

It was Continental that engraved small obscure marks in the design to separate their work from National's, and on the one-cent the mark is a small shading or line in the small ball to the left of the stamp's demonination. On the National, the ball is empty.

Paper-wise, the CBN Franklins come on hard paper, thin to medium thickness. The Continental Franklin comes in several more shades of ultramarine than the National versions, and there are imperfs, double transfers, some Continental grills, actual ribbed paper, silk fibers in some paper, a cracked plate, and a few other varities scattered through the production history. Continental also went through thirty plates for the one-cent during their run with the Frankin.

However, the gem of the Continental one-cent is the so-called "Cogwheel Punch" that cut a series of U-shaped slits arranged in a wide circle centered on the stamp. These stamps were printed on double paper with the slits on the top printed layer only. Continental also produced a Special Printing that was done in 1875 for the 100th anniversary of Independence on whiter paper with trimmed perfs.

In 1879 American Bank Note merged with Continental, and the larger entity used the American name. Production proceeded normally. The only change was that the American's were printed on a soft absorbent paper, rather than the hard papers of the preceding printings: soft paper and a secret mark is an American Bank Note.

American Bank Note also put out Centennial Special Printing, which combined with Continental's version amounted to just three-hundred and eighty-eight sets sold. ABN's special Franklin was a bright ultramarine shade on bright white paper without gum.

In the summer of '81 the Franklin was re-engraved, the test for which is to compare the top corner ornaments. The re-engraved has more engraved lines, more color, and there's coloring in the ball on the left. A re-engraved variety also exists called the Douglas Patent which is similar to the Cogwheel, but used small circles instead.

In 1887 the Post Office issued a newly designed 1c Franklin, the reason for which seems to have been the simple need for a change after many, many years. The new design was much like the old one, and the Post Office made many copies overprinted with "Sample." They were given to contractors then bidding on the new series of stamp issues coming in 1890.

Naturally, there is more to the stamps than their production. There's cancellation and usage, and this is an avid arena of Banknote collecting. Colored cancels, ranging from black, purple, to red, green, and orange, add to the value of a stamp, as well as wordings, such as "Steamship," "Railroad" or "Paid." Pursuing the stamps on cover simply intensifies the quest and allure of the series for many, and should be undertaken with a measure of diligent self-control.