Skip to main content

Search

Donate

Home Smithsonian Institution

Site Navigation

  • Visit
    • Hours and Locations
    • Entry and Guidelines
    • Mall Museum Map
    • Dining
    • Shopping
    • Accessibility
    • Group Visits
  • What's On
    • Exhibitions
      • Current Exhibitions
      • Upcoming
      • Past Exhibitions
      • Online Exhibitions
    • Today's Events
    • Online Events
    • All Events
    • IMAX & Planetarium
  • Explore
    • Art & Design
    • History & Culture
    • Science & Conservation
    • Collections
      • Open Access
      • Smithsonian Snapshot
    • Research Resources
      • Libraries
      • Archives
        • Smithsonian Institution Archives
        • Air and Space Museum
        • Anacostia Community Museum
        • American Art Museum
        • Archives of American Art
        • Archives of American Gardens
        • American History Museum
        • American Indian Museum
        • Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, African Art
        • Freer and Sackler Archives
        • Hirshhorn Archive
        • National Anthropological Archives
        • National Portrait Gallery
        • Ralph Rinzler Archives, Folklife
        • Libraries' Special Collections
    • Blogs
    • Podcasts
    • Mobile Apps
  • Learn
    • For Kids and Teens
    • For Educators
      • Resources
      • Field Trips
      • Professional Development
      • Events
    • Youth Programs
    • Fellowships and Internships
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer
      • Behind-the-Scenes
      • Digital Volunteers
      • Smithsonian Call Center
      • Visitor Information Specialist
      • Docent Programs
    • Citizen Science
    • Work with Us
      • Office of Human Resources
        • Working Here
        • Employee Benefits
        • Job Opportunities
        • How to Apply
        • Job Seekers with Disabilities
        • Frequently Asked Questions
        • SI Civil Program
        • Contact Us
      • Affiliations
      • Global Partners
  • Support
    • About Membership
    • Become a Member
    • Renew Your Membership
    • Make a Gift
  • About
    • Museums and Zoo
    • Research Centers
    • Cultural Centers
    • Education
    • Our Organization
      • Leadership
        • Secretary Bunch
        • Advancement
        • Communications
        • Administration
        • Education
        • Museums and Culture
        • Science and Research
      • Board of Regents
        • Members
        • Committees
        • Reading Room
        • Bylaws, Policies and Procedures
        • Contact
        • Schedules and Agendas
        • Meeting Minutes
        • Actions
        • Webcasts
      • General Counsel
        • Legal History
        • Internships
        • Records Requests
          • Records Request Reading Room
        • Tort Claim
        • Subpoenas & Testimonies
        • Events
      • Equal Employment Office
        • EEO Complaint Process
        • Individuals with Disabilities
        • Special Emphasis Program
        • Supplier Diversity Program
          • Doing Business with Us
          • Policies and Procedures
          • Additional Resources
          • Goals and Accomplishments
      • Sponsored Projects
        • Policies
          • Animal Care and Use
          • Human Research
        • Reports
        • Internships
    • Reports and Plans
      • Annual Reports
      • Metrics Dashboard
        • Dashboard Home
        • Virtual Smithsonian
        • Public Engagement
        • National Collections
        • Research
        • People & Operations
        • One Smithsonian
      • Strategic Plan
    • Newsdesk
      • News Releases
      • Media Contacts
      • Photos and Video
      • Media Kits
      • Fact Sheets
      • Visitor Stats
      • Secretary and Admin Bios
      • Filming Requests

$1 Beer revenue stamp proof single

National Postal Museum

Addthis Share Tools

    • Print

Object Details

Printer
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
National Bank Note Company
Description
This image is a proof on card of the one barrel, 1-dollar Beer Stamp of 1871. The 1871 series of Beer stamps was bicolor with engraved colored frames printed by the National Bank Note Company and engraved black vignettes printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. For this stamp, the frame is scarlet and the vignette is an image of Secretary of the Treasury Hugh McCulloch (1808-1895). Two words are misspelled on the proof (and the stamp): McCulloch's name is misspelled "McCullough," and the word "printing" in "Bureau of Engraving and Printing" is misspelled. If listed in Scott, the number would be REA28P4.
Brewers received the stamps without gum or perforations. They then cut the stamps apart, cancelled them, and pasted them over the bung of the beer barrel so that tapping the barrel destroyed the stamp.
The BEP used four vignette plates for the 1-dollar stamp and designated them with letters (A-D), which appear on the left of the vignette (A for the stamp illustrated). Starting at a sheet's upper left corner, a position number (from 1 to 20) appears on the vignette's right side. A printed sheet had four rows of five stamps each. Plate letters A, B, and D are known on yellow orange stamps, while all four plates are known on scarlet ones. Plate numbers for the frame plates appeared in the side margin next to stamp 10, with plate 6 known on yellow orange stamps.
1871
Object number
1993.2002.61
Type
Revenue Stamps
Medium
card; ink (scarlet, black); engraved frame and vignette
Dimensions
7 x 7 cm (2 3/4 x 2 3/4 in.)
Place
United States of America
See more items in
National Postal Museum Collection
Title
Scott Catalogue USA REA28P4
National Postal Museum
Record ID
npm_1993.2002.61
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/hm8d80f8fdf-a50a-48cb-9176-a8cb5d1de970

Related Content

  • Beer in the Smithsonian's Collections

  • Tax Season

This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Open Access page.
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
View manifest View in Mirador Viewer

Footer logo

Link to homepage

Footer navigation

  • Contact Us
  • Press Room
  • Human Resources
  • Host Your Event
  • Access Smithsonian
  • EEO & Supplier Diversity
  • Inspector General
  • Records Requests
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use

Social media links

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Email signup form

Email powered by BlackBaud (Privacy Policy, Terms of Use)
Back to Top