Two Questions On 1898 Documentary Series

1) Usually the website Swedish Tiger will show premiums for "Earliest Known Usage" regarding classic stamps, but does anybody know where to find the earliest known usage for the Documentary/Proprietary issues?
I've read that they were issued in July 1898, but please correct me if I'm wrong about that.

2) I've been comparing this r164 to my other examples because the paper resembles that found on the silk banknotes.
a- Tiny black fibers scattered throughout front/back
b- Snap test is very snappy
c- Ink color is more vibrant than usual with design details more "Hi-Def"

Was experimental paper was used for this series?
May be very unlikely or just very inconsequential.. Thanks for the comments

delivery dates are shown in the Boston Book for these. the mandatory 1st day of use was july 1st 1898.
there is no mention of any experimental paper used for this series but given the issue quantities some variation in the paper can be expected.
the tiny black spots usually are brown wood fibers under magnification and are part of the paper making process,
the carmine color can be affected by plate wiping paper moisture content age and exposure levels and similar things.

These were issued in huge quantities on soft, wood pulp paper. Some variation is inevitable. Same with the shades.

Definitely 1 Jul 1898, although I do have a copy with a printed Jun 29, 1898 canx.

Thanks for the information! Makes a lot of sense.

StateRevs- Very neat!! I wonder if that was an error on the company's part, or if they managed to get a hold of some before issuance.
Amazing set you have there.

Others will have to weigh on the Jun canx date.

Unlike 1st Day of Issue postage stamps, which could be used before their official release to pay the cost of postage, there was no tax on 29 Jun. The tax itself didn't start until 1 Jul, so as far as I know, there was no legal requirement to pay any tax in Jun. Getting stamps early and actually using them served no purpose (except to pay a nonexistent tax).

I'm sure it was just the day the cancel was applied. Everyone knew the date of the start of taxation at that point. John Wyeth was a fairly large and well known company by then, so it would be natural for them to print these up beforehand.

Keep in mind these revenues are being canceled by individuals and companies for the first time in 15+ years. They are not in the habit and they do not have the controls, rules and regulations that the USPOD had.

July 1, 1898 uses are not too difficult to find if you keep your eyes open:

That is certainly correct for R154, R155, R164, and RB24, those are found both on document and even more commonly just with a cancel. But the other catalog numbers from 1898 are not found with FDC nearly as often, and some are quite scarce. And some were issued a bit later as well.

With respect to 1st day uses for the Spanish American War tax, they can be all over the map when it comes to market value and demand. Some nondescript examples have fetched hundreds of dollars in major auctions while the very same types of documents can be obtained on eBay for $20-30... less if you find them from a seller who doesn't know about the first day of tax.

The first day cancels on stamps removed from documents don't really carry any premium in the marketplace in my opinion. They lose context once removed from their document.

I probably have a few dozen documents that are first day uses, most of which are improper uses of postage stamps as revenues, as that is my specialty.

A few notable examples:


The first two are matched pairs of first day improper uses where one was caught and properly taxed and the other went through uncaught.






And a few in the opposite direction, where the revenue stamps were used improperly as postage on cover on July 1, 1898:







Some straight forward revenue uses:









And a few examples that predate the formal first day of tax:

I've always wondered if this first one was a philatelic inspiration.

Only example I've seen with the date & month. Anyone else have one?

@revenuecollector Great selection of the July 1st proper and improper usages. Thanks for posting, those were nice to see. I love the registered cover to Scotland. Just wow.

I am still amazed that that cover was not stopped and assessed postage due in NY. New Orleans I can possibly understand, but by July 11 I would have expected the people in the NY registry and foreign mail division to be better informed. Apparently not.

Revcollector,

They still weren't by 1907

Huge shame somebody cut this cover apart. I can in no way compete with Dan's illegal usage collection, but this one is pretty cool. Would have been hugely cooler if complete!

Wrong stamp and wrong rate; shouldn't it be 5 cents?

Battleship EKUs!!!!

Just found a couple of early canx lurking in my 1898 stuff.

Jan and Feb 1898 canx - woo woo!

Of course, they should actually be 1899 year plugs, but somebody(ies) forgot to change the year.

Beat that, Dan