Customs Cigars Facsimile Stamp

Springer mentions facsimiles of the the 1868 and 1871 customs cigars stamps but does not mention facsimiles of the later stamps. I just received this ebay purchase that is a facsimile of TCC23. Has anyone ever seen one of these before?

I have seen others, particularly the stamp with Grant on it. I don't remember seeing this one before.

I also have not seen this one. By this late date these were supposedly not permitted.

There are a number of other revenue facsimiles, including opium strips, medicines, and other tobacco stamps. A fun area and many are quite scarce.

thanks

Including this one as far as scarcity goes I should think.

Many of the later facsimiles that are mentioned, including the opium one, were issued during periods of time when there was no need for a stamp (tax had been rescinded or in the case of the opium stamps, the use of stamps was suspended). The one illustrated appears to be close in design to an issued stamp and presumably used during the period when there were customs cigars stamps. That particular use was in violation of government regulations. A wonderful example in my opinion.

Ron Lesher

I have always assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that the TCC facsimiles were to deceive consumers into thinking that the cigars were higher quality foreign manufacture cigars rather than domestically produced cigars. That is, a guy walks into the store and there are various boxes of cigars open behind the counter. He sees a box with what looks like a customs cigar stamp on the box and decides to try that cigar instead of a cigar in the box next to it.
If the cigar box also has the correct TC stamp on it, the correct tax was paid, and there should be no violation of the tax law. Or are you saying that there was a regulation against imitating the design of a tax stamp.

I believe that all the previously recorded imported cigar facsimiles are pre-1875. Yes, they were intended to deceive the consumer. And the facsimiles were introduced when the government refused to put the imported cigar stamps on U.S. manufactured cigars even when the manufacturer shipped them to Canada and then subsequently shipped them back in hopes of getting the imported cigar stamps affixed by customs officials. Given the facsimiles I have seen, one is led to believe that this practice of deception began around 1870-71 and continued until the government added more regulations forbidding the use of "look alike" stamps probably circa 1874.