The Winton M. Blount Postal History Symposia - Smithsonian ...

n u m b e r 5 5 • 9 5down Plate No. 34. A plate proof (on card) of Scott No.J32P4 is shown in Figure 2 illustrating the marginal markingsand the plate number. It should be mentioned thatwhile the card proof in Figure 2 appears claret in color,it fluoresces under long wavelength ultraviolet light, thusFigure 2. A plate proof on card (J32P4) of the two- cent small numeralpostage due illustrating the original plate number (no. 34) andthe marginal marking. From the collection of Harry K. Charles, Jr.placing it amongst the vermilion shades (e.g. Scott No.J30), that also fluoresce under UV light. 4 A plate proofin deep claret was approved on July 14, 1894. The BEPsent the two- cent to press immediately, and it was issuedon July 20, 1894. Note the die proof shown in Figure 1was approved on August 11, 1894, by Third AssistantPostmaster General Kerr Craige. The approval date wasalmost a month after the plate proof was approved andthree weeks after the stamps were issued.The one- cent die was the next postage- due design prepared.It was assigned die number 56, and it was used tolay down Plate No. 57. A plate proof from Plate No. 57was pulled and approved on August 11, 1894. The colorof this plate proof sheet was deep carmine.The ten- cent bureau due was issued on September 24,1894. The plate for the ten- cent due was prepared fromdie number 55. A large die proof for the ten- cent valuewas approved on August 30, 1894, by Wesley R. Davis,the United States postage stamp agent. Kerr Craige alsoapproved another copy of the ten- cent die proof on August30th. Although the dies and plates for the three- cent, fivecent,thirty- cent, and fifty- cent values were prepared atabout the same time, they were not issued until April 27,1895, when supplies of these other values in postmasters’hands ran low. Die numbers and large die approval datesfor the first bureau dues are given in Table 1. Many issuesplagued the early production of the new bureau postagedues including the three- cent cracked die which necessitatedthe creation of a new die prior to plate production 5(See Table 1). Bureaucratic delays and other administrativeTable 1. Die Numbers and Approval, Hardening, and Issue Dates for the First Postage Dues Produced by the BEPDie Die Die Plate PlateScott No. Value No. Approval Hardening No. Certification Issue DateJ31 1¢ 56 8/11/1894 a 8/10/1894 b 57 8/11/1894 8/14/1894J32 2¢ 50 8/11/1894 a 7/13/1894 b 34 7/14/1894 7/20/1894J32 3¢ 54c8/18/1894 d3¢ 64 8/23/1894 a 8/28/1894 70f4/27/1895J34 5¢ 57 8/30/1894 a,e 8/29/1894 b 71f4/27/1895J35 10¢ 55 8/30/1894 a,e 8/29/1894 b 72f9/24/1894J36 30¢ 53 8/23/1894 a 8/30/1894 73f4/27/1895J37 50¢ 61 9/1/1894 a,e 9/4/1894 74 10/4/1894 4/27/1895aApproved by 3rd Assistant Postmaster General, Kerr CraigebApparently hardened before official approval.cDie Approval Information Unavailable.dDie Cracked upon hardening. It was put in a clamp and used to make a transfer roll. The transfer roll had the raised crack line removed and then was used to lay down anew die—die 64. The complete story of the die crack is given by McIntire.eApproved by Wesley R. Davis (U.S.P.S.A.).fThe exact dates are unavailable to this author, but they are likely to be within a few days of die hardening.