Fourth Bureau Issue Proofs

I estimate that there are about 400 large proofs of the Fourth Bureau Issue (FBI) of ordinary stamps that got out of the U.S. Government and stayed in the public domain. This includes 13 sets of die proofs, nine signed by Postmaster Generals, as well as other unsigned die proofs, trial color proofs, and die essays. Most of these proofs were either gifts from a Postmaster General (PMG) or became the property of engravers who worked at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Many of the proofs still exist, although some of their proof cards are trimmed down from the normal 6 in. x 8 in. format. This frequently removed the control number on the reverse of the card. Counterfeit 5 digit control numbers were added to some of these cards. The proofs in the die proof sets were pulled in 1922-26 (7 digit control numbers), 1929 (6 digit control numbers starting with a 1), and 1933 (6 digit control numbers starting with a 3). I believe that 9 or 10 of the die proof sets contained only pre-1929 proofs. Only a few of the original sets are intact today. The die proof colors reflect the colors of the FBI stamps from the corresponding periods. Shown below are PMG signed 1922 and 1929 11-cent Hayes die proofs. All 1929 signed proofs were backdated to their original proof dates. Also shown are a variety of colors found on the Hayes die proofs. I would like to hear from other collectors of FBI proofs.



*** Moved by Staff to a more appropriate forum. ***

"I would like to hear from other collectors of FBI proofs."

Based upon your web pages, https://jerryakatz.wordpress.com/#blog ; I trust you have already reached out to the usual collectors, dealers (including dealer data bases) and expertising folks for your inquiry. Also have you reviewed the various appropriate publications including the 50 year run of the Essay-Proof Journal which ended in 1993?

You may find more success with either an ad in The United States Specialist or have published there a quick article which includes the same request. It has an Essay-Proof Committee.

Thanks for the comments. I should really contact the inactive Proofs and Essays Committee of the USSS to get it to bring members with similar likes together.

Here's an updated version. All five proofs exist.

Is it just I or is the updated version the exact same image as in the OP?

Yes, according to my rods and cones anyway, the two sets of images are identical.

What I don't quite get is the "approved" signatures on what are very different colors or at least very different shades of colors. "Approved" for what? Not to be printed in these different colors, so approved for what?

Purely aesthetically, the actual color of the stamp issued was one of the darker green shades on the right, perhaps the 4th one from the left? But I do like the much bluer #2 stamp so much I wish they'd chosen that one. Probably a little to wild for the USPS at the time.

No., they are different. The proof on the far right was replaced by a newly discovered greener proof. The attractive blue is actually the original color of the Hayes stamp. See below. Plate 14058 was the only plate used in the first printing. Note the date. The other plate block, 19135, was printed in 1929. I believe that Scott does not list primary colors by date, but by most commonly found. I think that the first color should be the primarily listed color.

The PMG approval shows up on several different colored proofs because gift copies were printed in 1929 and backdated to 1922.

Thanks. It makes it easier to understand the point of the post when it is not your collecting area.

The die proof color variations over time reflect what was actually happening with the colors the stamp itself was experiencing from 1922 to 1931. Here is a representation of some of the variations. Scott 563 was probably printed in more common color variations than any other stamp printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in the 20th century.
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