I Found This Revenue Stamp In A Recent Tobacco Advert Cover.

Can anyone give me little information on this tobacco revenue stamp? I just found it inside a cover from a recent tobacco lot that I had purchased.
I never would have found it if I hadn't accidentally held it near a light and seen it's silhouette through the cover.

Here is the scan of it:



Thank you for any information as I am very curious just what it is? Maybe went on the top of a pack of cigarettes perhaps? Just a guess..

There are hundreds of varieties of "cigarette" revenue stamps, and every pack used to have a copy, designed to be split in half when the pack was opened, to prevent re-use.

They are listed in one of the Springer catalogs. Since DeWitt Clinton, a former Senator and Governor of New York, appears on nearly every variety, some people have claimed that he has appeared on more "stamps" than anyone else in history, including Washington, Lincoln, and Queen Elizabeth.

That's both interesting and frustrating that it could possibly take months of searching through mountains of reference material for a number and then it being so "common"..lol Although, I like it and think it neat anyhow. Many thanks doug2222!

Just for reference it was discovered in this cover:

Oh, if you had the right Springer book, it would only take 2 minutes to locate. Our revenue guys probably could look it up for you, they are bound to have the Springer series.

sweet. Thank you Doug.

This is Springer # TA17, Series of 1883 which comes on 4 different shades of paper: a)green, b)gray, c)greenish blue, d)bright blue. This appears to be the greenish blue, which is the most common type. Worth about $1 in today's market.
Clinton was on every cigarette stamp of every denomination from 1883 to 1959. Although this is many billions (trillions?) of stamps, I cannot believe that he is on more stamps than Washington. Think of the hundreds of millions to billions of each of 405, 406, 499, 554, 599, 705, 707, 720 and 804. Plus more modern stamps like 1031, 1213, and 1283, plus all the other postage, stationary, revenues, etc that he is on.

The DeWitt Clinton argument raged for weeks on another website, but no one will ever know the truth.

At some point, someone asked WHY a mostly-forgotten New York governor appeared on all the cigarette tax stamps, and nobody knew. His claim to fame -- New York's Erie Canal was started and finished during his several terms, and he persevered in promoting its financing and construction.

Here's a period newspaper article from 1956 when the size of the DeWitt Clinton stamp was being reduced. It mentions the paper, printing method, cost to print and some other details:



Also, here's a 1959 news article when these cigarette stamps were discontinued. Although one must remember that many stamps of Washington and Lincoln have been issued since then, it does attempt to put in perspective just how many Cigarette Stamps were issued with the portrait of DeWitt Clinton on them:

Wow! You guys are good!

This turned out to be a neat thread afterall! Than you revenuecollector, wt1 and doug!

500 billion estimated stamps depicting his image! Might not be most printed guy ever but that a huge number indeed so I can see how that would easily have come about.

I noticed the mention of lock seals too in these types catalog ..are these collected today?

http://www.scribd.com/doc/36146402/...venue-Stamps

Absolutely. Lock seals and hydrometer labels still have a following. Eric Jackson has many up on his site, and there are some on ebay as well.

Thanks! Man you guys really know your stuff; how very impressive! I'm learning though..lol

Back in 1959 that article might have been correct, but there have been several more multi-billion issue Washington stamps since then. It would be a pretty close thing I think. Remember, there hasn't been more than a ten year period since 1847 without a new stamp with Washington on it.

Plus the fact that cigarettes to mail isn't even a fair comparison. What I mean is I absolutely smoke more than I mail out stuff so I buy more cigarettes than postage hands down and I don't think things changed that much in that way with the only caveat being less smokers and more information on health risks.

btw: I hate smoking and am trying very hard to quit. I only smoke outside and it's mighty chilly up here in Pennsylvania this time of year!

Good luck. FYI, I was the person who brought up Clinton on that other website, and champione him there. I have had some discussions with some seriously knowlegable people who feel that Washington must be ahead at this point. I am told that the information is out there somewhere, since the Specialized only shows quantities of commemmoratives.