Not the usual use of the word "Facsimile"
May 15, 2023 20:31:54 GMT
purrfin and philatarium like this
Post by ClassicPhilatelist on May 15, 2023 20:31:54 GMT
Usually when we hear the word Facsimile in the context of philately, it is an indicator of a reprint or forgery usually of high value material for space fillers, and often have the term "Facsimile" printed in an inconspicuous space. But just like in Star Wars "There is another".
What I'm talking about is the area of US Back of Book known as "Private Die Proprietary" or sometimes referred to as "M&M" a colloquial that means "Match and Medicine". To first understand the the Facsimile that I refer to, let's set the context of why Private Die exists at all. In 1860, the US Civil War broke out. It was clear immediately that it would not be short, and would be costly. Then President Abraham Lincoln looked for a way to pay for the war, established the Revenue Act of 1862. The Act was a means of raising revenue to fund the Civil War and was the first time that the U.S. government imposed internal taxes on various goods and services.
This tax was levied on a few selected goods, including matches, medicines, perfumes, and playing cards, and on a late date, canned fruit, though only 1 manufacturer was ever selected and it was short lived because the tax was repealed. (This makes finding this canned fruit tax stamp rather difficult). Manufacturers were required to affix these stamps to their products as a proof of tax payment.
However, the government faced logistical problems with the enforcement of this new tax. There were too many products and manufacturers for the government to effectively control. Thus, the government allowed manufacturers to produce their own stamps, which were then submitted to the government for approval. These are known as "private die proprietary stamps", and the stamps themselves were then printed by the current authorized bank note printer during the area (Private Die ran in parallel with several of the bank note printers).
These stamps were unique to the manufacturers, often bearing the company's logo or other identifying symbols. Not only did these stamps serve as proof of tax payment, but they also functioned as a form of advertising for the companies. (More on this later). These stamps were printed on special paper and were typically cancelled when the product was sold, to prevent reuse. The use of private die proprietary stamps ended in 1883 when the government stopped the tax on these particular goods. While the Civil war ended in 1865, they had not collected enough tax to pay for it, so they kept it running.
So with that context, how does this "facsimile" variation come into play? Well, remember I mentioned these tax stamps serving as branding and product advertising? When the tax was repealed, many (especially medicines) of the makers recognized the value of this brand identification, and asked the government for their tax stamp plates back. Many were obliged, with the stipulation that, they could not use the words "Internal Revenue" and have a value (1c, 2c, etc) associated with it. (Though funny, some still did in the case of a value). The words "Internal Revenue" or often "Int. Rev" were replaced with "Trade Mark", but for the most part, aside from removing the values for prior tax from the stamps, many remained appearing exactly as they had, and thus the "medicine facsimile" is born, but with a legitimate place in philatelic collecting.
I've recently produced a full set of album pages for this area of collecting, which I'm happy to provide at no cost to anyone who might be interested. As I update new items, I will send as well, as there are still some new examples being found in this rather obscure area of collecting. You can reach me at scottvpayton@hotmail.com and request medicine facsimile pages.
Cheers!
Scott
What I'm talking about is the area of US Back of Book known as "Private Die Proprietary" or sometimes referred to as "M&M" a colloquial that means "Match and Medicine". To first understand the the Facsimile that I refer to, let's set the context of why Private Die exists at all. In 1860, the US Civil War broke out. It was clear immediately that it would not be short, and would be costly. Then President Abraham Lincoln looked for a way to pay for the war, established the Revenue Act of 1862. The Act was a means of raising revenue to fund the Civil War and was the first time that the U.S. government imposed internal taxes on various goods and services.
This tax was levied on a few selected goods, including matches, medicines, perfumes, and playing cards, and on a late date, canned fruit, though only 1 manufacturer was ever selected and it was short lived because the tax was repealed. (This makes finding this canned fruit tax stamp rather difficult). Manufacturers were required to affix these stamps to their products as a proof of tax payment.
However, the government faced logistical problems with the enforcement of this new tax. There were too many products and manufacturers for the government to effectively control. Thus, the government allowed manufacturers to produce their own stamps, which were then submitted to the government for approval. These are known as "private die proprietary stamps", and the stamps themselves were then printed by the current authorized bank note printer during the area (Private Die ran in parallel with several of the bank note printers).
These stamps were unique to the manufacturers, often bearing the company's logo or other identifying symbols. Not only did these stamps serve as proof of tax payment, but they also functioned as a form of advertising for the companies. (More on this later). These stamps were printed on special paper and were typically cancelled when the product was sold, to prevent reuse. The use of private die proprietary stamps ended in 1883 when the government stopped the tax on these particular goods. While the Civil war ended in 1865, they had not collected enough tax to pay for it, so they kept it running.
So with that context, how does this "facsimile" variation come into play? Well, remember I mentioned these tax stamps serving as branding and product advertising? When the tax was repealed, many (especially medicines) of the makers recognized the value of this brand identification, and asked the government for their tax stamp plates back. Many were obliged, with the stipulation that, they could not use the words "Internal Revenue" and have a value (1c, 2c, etc) associated with it. (Though funny, some still did in the case of a value). The words "Internal Revenue" or often "Int. Rev" were replaced with "Trade Mark", but for the most part, aside from removing the values for prior tax from the stamps, many remained appearing exactly as they had, and thus the "medicine facsimile" is born, but with a legitimate place in philatelic collecting.
I've recently produced a full set of album pages for this area of collecting, which I'm happy to provide at no cost to anyone who might be interested. As I update new items, I will send as well, as there are still some new examples being found in this rather obscure area of collecting. You can reach me at scottvpayton@hotmail.com and request medicine facsimile pages.
Cheers!
Scott