Help With A Stamp I Got. Is It A R2

Hi everyone everyone.

I am new to the forums and got back into collecting a few years ago. I collect for fun. Collected as a kid with my mom. I lost interest but she kept collecting off and on. After she passed my brother sold the collection with my knowledge which he said had some pretty good value. Wish I had those stamps now to add into what I have.

But anyway, I recently had gotten some from an elderly gentleman. In it was one in an envelope marked r2 with fine unused on it and $377. Can anyone help give some light onto it. Thanks.

The first stamp is a playing card revenue stamp for use on packs of playing cards. A scan showing the entire stamp front and back is needed. Watermark and perforation size is also important as there are different types. These start with Scott #RF27 in the catalogue.

The next revenue stamp is Scott #RE11 for a tax on wine/cordials with a clear cancellation.

If somebody paid 377 $ they got gyp'd

The R2 is incorrect and the price a fantasy.

The wine stamp has the very common cancel 2nd. Dist., NY cancel, which was lower Manhattan where a lot of the wine was imported in 1917-18. The stamps were put on import documents in order to clear customs [that meant paying the import duty (no stamps) and the Internal Revenue tax (with stamps)]. The paperwork with the stamps was forwarded to Washington for destruction, but the pioneer First Day Cover servicer, C.E. Worden had contacts in Washington and rescued huge (not YUGE!) quantities of the wine stamps. Without that these stamps would be much scarcer.

Thanks everyone. The info helps me. I'm under a learning curve. This time around of collecting is different cause I'm learning about the scotts (hope that's right) numbering of stamps besides learning how to tell where they came from, etc..