US Beer Stamps Rochester Philatelic Association Presentation by
US Beer Stamps Rochester Philatelic Association Presentation by Mark Scheuer 5/28/09
Plenty of Reasons to Collect • • Engraved masterpieces Watermark varieties Overprint varieties Perforation varieties Paper varieties Inverted centers Representative collection not very expensive State issued and foreign stamps also available
Origins • Revenue tax on Beer started in 1862 $1 per barrel • Stamps required between 1866 and 1954 Affixed to keg Destroyed when keg was “opened” -i. e. , spigot attached • Remaining stamps from brewery archives and barkeepers who collected the stamps although this was illegal
Beer Stamp Use • • Bung / hole on top to let in air Hole drilled in end to install tap Tap at lower end to dispense beer Tap was installed through stamp to destroy it and prevent reuse (tax evasion).
Beer Stamp Use • • Stamp was circular to cover tap area Early stamps were die cut (very rare) or hand cut (rare) into circle to better fit the area for the tap hole Perforation hole pattern in early issues showed area to tap keg Hole was drilled with hand brace and spigot was inserted through stamp
1866 Series Square and die cut to fit circular bung hole in keg. 31 hole pattern to aid in destruction Denominations: 1/8 barrel 1/6 barrel ¼ barrel ½ barrel 1 barrel 2 barrel Sheets of 20 except ½ barrel cancelled “A. S. 1869” for the Amana Society of central Iowa which was issued in a sheet of 35 $1 per barrel
1866 Series
1867 Series Square and die cut to fit circular bung hole in keg. 31 hole pattern to aid in destruction Blank tablet was location for cancel Denominations: 1/8 barrel 1/6 barrel ¼ barrel 1/3 barrel ½ barrel 1 barrel 2 barrel 1/3 barrel added when this size was used to transport kegs by mule in western Mountain areas – 1 keg on each side of mule was found to be best $1 per barrel
1867 Series
1870 Series Blank tablet was location for cancel Denominations: 1/8 barrel 1/6 barrel ¼ barrel ½ barrel 1 barrel 2 barrel Watermark single line IR Yellow and violet security overprint of wavy lines in fugitive ink 1/3 barrel very rare Reported by Applegate (1927) but not listed in Scott and removed from Priester in 1990 $1 per barrel
1870 Series
1871 Series Printed in two colorscenters and plate numbers in black Denominations: 1/8 barrel - Jackson 1/6 barrel - Lincoln ¼ barrel - Webster 1/3 barrel - Farragut ½ barrel - Sherman 1 barrel - Mc. Culloch 2 barrel - Hamilton All copies of 1/6, 1 and 2 barrel – misspelled Bureau Engraving and Priniig (damaged t) Mc. Colloch’s name has extra u $1 per barrel
1871 Series
1875 Series Printed in two colorscenters in black Denominations: 1/8 barrel 1/6 barrel ¼ barrel 1/3 barrel ½ barrel 1 barrel 2 barrel Vignette described as Bacchus Serving the First Fermented Brew to Man Three different shades of green silk paper Printed by the National Bank Note Company $1 per barrel
1875 Series
1878 Series 6 different papers Denominations: 1/8 barrel – Washington 1/6 barrel – Corwin ¼ barrel – Benton 1/3 barrel – Thomas ½ barrel – Jefferson 1 barrel – Johnson 2 barrel - Wright Centers, plate numbers printed in black Printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing One and two lines under Cents and Dollars due to plate recutting $1 per barrel
1878 Series
1878 Series Surcharged in 1898 Tax increase for Spanish American War Denominations: 1/8 barrel – Washington 1/6 barrel – Corwin ¼ barrel – Benton 1/3 barrel – Thomas ½ barrel – Jefferson 1 barrel – Johnson 2 barrel - Wright Centers, plate numbers printed in black Printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing Many different types of surcharges $2 per barrel
1878 Series Surcharged in 1898
1898 Series Tax increase for Spanish American War Denominations: 1/8 barrel – Washington 1/6 barrel – Corwin ¼ barrel – Benton 1/3 barrel – Thomas ½ barrel – Jefferson 1 barrel – Johnson 2 barrel - Wright Centers, plate numbers printed in black Printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing $4 per barrel
1898 Series
1901 / 1902 Series Tax decrease after the war Denominations: 1/8 barrel – Washington 1/6 barrel – Corwin ¼ barrel – Benton 1/3 barrel – Thomas ½ barrel – Jefferson 1 barrel – Johnson 2 barrel - Wright Centers, plate numbers printed in black Printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing $1. 60 per barrel in 1901 $1 per barrel in 1902 Provisional overprints New denominations (Bottom row) Stamps canceled by perfins.
1901 / 1902 Series
1909 -1911 Series New design 1 st issue printed in black 2 nd issue printed in color Blue watermarked paper Printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing $1. per barrel High denominations – Center cutout was given to brewers as used stamp. Outer section was retained by IRS.
1909 -1911 Series
Provisional Surcharge in 1914 Tax increase for WWI $1. 50 per barrel Overprints on black 1/6 barrel 1/3 barrel ½ barrel 5 barrels 10 barrels 25 barrels Overprint on color 1/8 barrel ¼ barrel 1 barrel 2 barrel EMERGENCY/TAX/ UNDER ACT OF 1914 in red, yellow, or black Some handstamped overprints
Provisional Surcharge in 1914
1914 Issue Tax increase for WWI $1. 50 per barrel Printed on various shades of blue paper Watermarked USIR
1914 Issue
1916 Issue Tax increase for WWI $1. 50 per barrel Printed on various shades of blue paper Watermarked USIR ¼ barrel ½ barrel
1917 Provisional Issue Tax increase for WWI $3 per barrel Overprints on 1914 Provisionals 1914 issues 1916 issues Rubber stamps Various Colors ACT OF 1917 ACT 1917 Act of Oct 3, 1917 Printed in red Act of 1917 Printed in red or black Act of 1917 Manuscript ink or crayon Act of 1917 Act 1917
1918 Provisional Issue Tax increase for WWI $6 per barrel Overprints on 1914 Provisionals 1914 issues 1916 issues 1917 Provisionals Rubber stamps Act of 1918 Revenue Act of 1918 Act of 1919 Tax Paid Under Act of 1919 Act of 1918 plus Non-intoxicating, containing not to exceed 2 ¾% of Alcohol by weight
1918 Provisional Issue
1933 First Issue $5 per barrel most of 1933 $6 per barrel Dec 5 1933 thru Jan 11 1934 First Issue A. no overprints B. A stamps overprinted “Act of March 22, 1933” C. A stamps Overprinted with Rubber handstamp “Surcharged $6. 00 Rate” D. B stamps Overprinted with rubber handstamp “Surcharged $6. 00 Rate”
1933 Second Issue $5 per barrel most of 1933 $6 per barrel Dec 5 1933 thru Jan 11 1934 First Issue A. no overprints B. A stamps overprinted “Act of March 22, 1933” C. A stamps overprinted with rubber handstamp “Surcharged $6. 00 Rate” D. B stamps overprinted with rubber handstamp “Surcharged $6. 00 Rate” Also surcharged “Sold at $5. 00 Rate”
1933 Second Issue
1934 Issue $5 per barrel when issued $6 per barrel July 1 1940 $7 per barrel Nov 1 1942 $8 per barrel April 1 1944 1/3 barrel stamp is very rare and cats for $10 K
1934 Issue
1942 and 1945 Issues 1942 $7 per barrel 1945 $8 per barrel Raised to $9 per barrel in 1951 Cancelled with both small and large cutouts
1947 Issue 1947 $8 per barrel Raised to $9 per barrel in 1951
1951 Issue $9 per barrel Overprint of 1933 First Issue 25 barrel stamp Black or purple rubber handstamp “Value increased under Revenue Act of 1951”
Notes Page 3 Tax on beer was part of the general taxes enacted on July 1, 1862 to help the North pay for the Civil War. Tax collection began on August 1, 1862 at a rate of $1 per barrel (31 gallons) and pro-rated for any fraction. Accepted sizes for kegs included halves, quarters, eights, and sixteenths parts of a barrel. In March 1863 the law was amended to include thirds and sixths parts of a barrel Stamps were not issued until 1866. Prior to this, revenue collectors visited breweries before the 10 th of the month to collect the tax for beer “made and sold, or removed for consumption or sale” for the previous month. On July 13 th 1866 a law was passed to issue stamps to be placed on the kegs to be destroyed when the kegs were tapped. Removal of stamps was illegal. A 1 hogshead (2 barrel) rate was added. The third barrel rate was eliminated but restored in March 1867.
Notes Pages 6 -7 A pattern of 31 holes was punched on the stamps to aid in destruction and prevent reuse. Two different hole sizes exist – 1. 3 mm and 1. 6 mm Stamps were printed in sheets of 20. All containers leaving the brewery for the warehouse of less than 6 barrels had to be stamped. All containers leaving the warehouse must be stamped. Failure to do so was subject to a fine of $50 per container. Moving beer to another IRS district allowed for the stamps to be removed prior to shipping only for quantities of at least 100 barrels and required a special permit from the tax collector. Brewers were granted a discount of 7. 5% to allow for spoilage of beer after it had been taxed
Notes Page 8 The stamps were modified in 1867 to include an area for cancellation. The cancelation included the brewer’s name, location, and date of use. The third barrel stamp is highly sought. It was added to accommodate brewers west of the Rocky Mountains who discovered that two 1/3 barrels were the optimal size to be carried by mules. Without this stamp, the brewers would have had to use a ½ barrel stamp on each container. Note – this was not done for the Coors Brewery, which was founded in 1873. Page 9 The “A. S. 1869” printed cancellation was made for the Amana Society in central Iowa. The half barrel stamp was also printed in sheets of 35 and may have been made for the Amana Society (not confirmed). Pages 10 -11 Three changes were made to the 1870 series: 1. Yellow or violet security lines were added in fugitive ink to prevent washing of the cancellation. The catalog also lists gray-green lines.
Notes Pages 10 -11 2. The words “Place for Cancellation” were added to the blank tablet. 3. Perforation holes removed. The 1/3 barrel stamp is not listed in Scott but existed in 1927 (Applegate). Printing records show 151, 460 stamps but there are no known copies today Page 12. The series of 1871 showed famous people on the stamps. The 1/3 barrel stamp showed Admiral David Farragut who died Aug 14, 1870 The 1 barrel stamp showed Hugh Mc. Culloch, Secretary of the Treasury in 1865 -1869 under Lincoln and Johnson and 1884 -1885 under Arthur. He died on May 24, 1895 and, thus, was portrayed on a US stamp while still alive. Two printing errors exist in this series: The sixth, one barrel and 1 hogshead stamps are inscribed: Engraved and Printed at the Bureau, Engraving and Priniig [sic}. Hugh Mc. Culloch’s name shows an extra u (Mc. Cullough).
Notes Pages 14 -15 The 1875 series vignette shows Baccus Serving the First Fermented Brew to Man This series contains the two of 3 known inverts on beer stamps. The 25 cent (1/4 barrel) is known inverted on a single stamp from plate H, position 2 (illustrated in Priester, 1979, p 69). The 1 Hogshead stamp with invert was reported in Linn’s on Sept. 22, 1997 (p 1). It is from vignette position A 18/ frame position 3. The frames were printed first. Pages 16 -17 The 1878 series is the most complicated with different papers, watermarks, recut lines, color shades and surcharges in 1898 for different tax rates during the Spanish American War People shown on the stamps include Treasury Secretaries Thomas Corwin (1850 -1853 under Fillmore) and Phillip Francis Thomas (1860 -1861 under Buchanan), Sen. Thomas Hart Benton (Missouri), and Sen. Silas Wright (NY, also Gov. ) as well as presidents Washington, Jefferson, and Johnson. REA 39 ¼ Barrel (25 cents) is known with inverted center (Priester, p. 75) from plate E position 8 on green double watermarked paper (B series).
Notes Pages 18 -21 The tax rates were increased during the Spanish American War twice and then lowered twice after the war. This led to several provisional handstamps, new denominations, and more provisional handstamps. A collector’s dream. Pages 22 -23 After 1901 all stamps were cancelled by perfins identifying the name of the brewery. Pages 24 -25 The 1909 -1911 series was first printed in black and then in colors to aid in identifying different denominations. The stamps were cancelled by punching out a small central square that was kept as a receipt by the brewer. The IRS kept the outer portion of the stamp.
Notes Pages 26 -33 More rate changes for WWI resulted in provisional handstamps in 1914, new series in 1916 and more handstamps in 1917 and 1918. Pages 34 -36 No new stamps until 1933. Why? Prohibition! Stamps issued in April 1933 but the 21 st amendment repealing prohibition was not ratified until Dec 5, 1933 when Utah became the 36 th state to approve the law. Acceptance was optional and many states and localities remained “dry”. Mississippi was the last state to ratify this amendment in 1966. Many states that ended prohibition issued beer stamps to raise tax revenues. Listings can be found in Hubbard’s State Revenue catalog or the updated version by Troutman. Rate change in Dec 1933 introduced more handstamped overprints and a second series.
Notes Pages 37 A rate reduction in 1934 generated a new series. The tax rates were increased 3 times during WWII. These stamps were not overprinted. Page 39 A 100 barrel stamp was released in 1942. A 500 barrel stamp was released in 1945 Page 40 The printing method was changed from Engraved to Lithographed in 1947 Page 41 The rate was changed in 1951 and a handstamp overprint was used on the 25 barrel stamp. Beer stamp use ended on Dec 31, 1954 but the tax lives on. The current rate (2009) is $18 per barrel with many states adding additional fees after 1933.
- Slides: 50