Counsular Service Fee Stamps Rk Series

I haven't found that many RK stamps on document so I thought I would share one that I have had for several years. It has a RK31 single and a strip of 4 RK35.

That is pretty neat. I really like the red Great Seal of the United States.

RK31's are not often found on documents. That is a very nice piece.

As a revenue neophyte it's great to actually see the type of stamp in actual use. It puts it in perspective and helps me more than written pages in a specialty book (although they help a lot as well).

Well done art, thanks for the post.

This is an old issue, but I have few of these documents with RK stamps. If you are interested you can see those in Pinterest.

https://it.pinterest.com/kjl6519/re...f-the-world/

I have got these almost 30 years ago :)

I changed the place of my revenue documents and stamps.

http://karilahti.wix.com/revenuedocuments (registeration not needed).

These are intriguing. What did the consular fee actually pay for?

The consular service fee would have paid for the time and effort of creating and checking the documents required by the State Department. Unlike taxes, money from fees can only be used by and for the department that collects it. Nice to have a multiple on the document, multiples are almost always scarce.

I had a chance to examine the document below in Eric Jackson's inventory last month at CHICAGOPEX. Sadly, way beyond my means. Sorry, no high-resolution image available.

The total Scott Catalog value of the stamps is $4,713.50.

Scott RK7, RK13 and RK4
two vertical pairs and a single of the $10, two vertical pair, one horizontal pair (s/e) and two singles of the $5, and a vertical pair with partial plate number of the $2, all tied on the back page from a document. Paris, France.

The consular fee stamps came into existence as the result of a Congressional investigation. There was a fee schedule for services. Minor consular officials on occasion would overcharge citizens and pocket the difference between the fee due and the fee charged; this was a way to supplement their low salaries. The stamps made these officials accountable. Hard to charge a citizen $2 and then place a $1 stamp of the document!