U.S. REVENUE STAMPS

Between 1863 and 1959. U.S. Internal Revenue stamps were pasted on boxes of cigars to show taxes had been paid. Tax laws changed constantly, usually requiring higher taxes, and new stamps to show that those higher taxes were paid. Hundreds of variations make stamps of great importance in dating a cigar box.

As a result the National Cigar Museum owns a research collection of cigar excise and import tax stamps from the United States and Canada.

To assist collectors, the Museum has posted most of their collection to the web, providing you with color pictures of most stamps for the first time. Though not complete, the collection does display almost every type revenue stamp you’re likely to find. If a particular stamp isn’t illustrated, it means we don’t own it.

       The TC and TD catalog numbers are those assigned by Sherwood Springer, the cataloger of these and many other non postage stamps. Since few people own Springer’s rare 25+ year old catalogs, each line gives the date and denomination of the stamps the Museum needs to complete its collection. Almost every tax stamp has a clear readable date; denominations are the number of cigars being taxed and are always clear and large.

TC1 - 9   1863 (undated, colored ink) any and all cigar stamps (have the 40)

TC24-29 1865  any and all including overprints

TC49     1866  250

TC50     1866  500

TC56     1868  250  blue soldier and horse

TC 58     1869  25 red-orange picturing Washington (have the black)

TC61      1869  250  blue soldier and horse

TC62      1869  500  orange farmer similar to 1868 issue

TC661871  250  black soldier and horse

TC671871  500  black farmer

TC 711872  250   black Adams

TC 721872  500  black Chase

TC91      1875  25 overprinted on

TC92      1875  50 overprinted on

               1878 or 1879 issues overprinted “Act of March 3d, 1883”

TC1241883  200

TC1501883  500 overprinted “Series of 1898” or similar

TC156 1898  13

TC162 1898  500 (have 01)

TC2131901  13 overprinted “Act of 1917”

TC174  1910  13 

TC178  1910  200

TC 180 1910  500

               1910  All except the 12 that are overprinted “Act of 1917”

TC1811914  200 and 250  (500 without 1917 overprint wanted)

any 1926 issue in 12, 13, 200, 250  or  500 denominations

any 1942 issue in 3, 7, 12, 13, 200, 250  or  500 denominations

                 STAMPS for IMPORTED CIGARS

TCC14  1875   100 picturing Harrison

TCC33  1895  Red 50

ANY & ALL stamps for 200, 250, 500

ANY & ALL cigarette customs stamps overprinted “CIGARS”

                   STAMPS for SMALL CIGARS

TD2  1883 vertical 20 cigarette stamp overprinted "...cigars...1897"

TD3  1883  50 strip cigarette overprinted  “...cigars...1897"  have in poor cond

TD4  1883  100 strip cigarette overprinted  “...cigars...1897" 

TD7         1897  50 small cigar strip

TD8  1897  100 small cigar strip

               1897  10, 20, 50 or 100 stamp overprinted “Series of 1898”

TD16     1901  50 small cigars strip

TD23      1910  100 small cigars strip

                   STAMPS for CIGARETTES

         [Cigarette issues in red are of particular interestˆ]

TA74        1898  50 red

TA81        1901  20 green overprinted “!.25 per/M Act Aug. 5, 1909”

TA83        1901  100 green overprinted

                   STAMPS for CUSTOMS CIGARETTES

TAC13    1879  50 strip

TAC20    1903 20 small

TAC21    1903  50 strip

TAC22    1903 100 black

ANY CIGARETTE CUSTOMS ISSUE OVERPRINTED “CIGARS” 

CANADIAN REVENUE STAMPS

Catalog numbers are from: Brandom, Lee W.  CANADIAN REVENUE GROUP OF BNAPS: CATALOG OF TOBACCO TAX PAID STAMPS OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND. n.p.: British North America Philatelic Society, 1976.

CANADIAN EXCISE (internal revenue)

G-113 -147    1868*   strip, black, “filagree”, many variants, want any

   1880    minor interest in blank, London, Montreal, Windsor

G-170 -172        1880    any yellow

G-215,225-6      1883*   200 any variant or color

                          1883     25 Cigars inscribed “Sample Box”

G-258        1897*   6 cigars

G-266         1897*   50 cigars in black (have red blue green)

The Museum owns most of the early Canadian tax issues but has none of the 1915 Series and none of the Series C stamps. We especially want the three most common denominations, 25, 50 and 100 of both issues so I can post them on the web.

G-295 or 296    1915    3 cigars strip

G-296A or 297   1915   6 cigars strip

G-298 or 299     1915  10 cigars strip

G-300         1915   25 cigars strip

G-301        1915    50 cigars strip

G-302    1915   100 cigars strip

G-304    1915    200 cigars strip

G--305    1922    5 cigars gold horizontal

Series A      3, 4 & 10 black with shield not lion/unicorn

G-346 or 347    Series C 25

G-348 or 349    Series C 50

G-349 or 350    Series C 100

1952   either 20 or 30

1960   need denominations:  20, 25, 50,  100;  I have a 30

1971   denominations:  5, 8, 10, 20, 30, 50, 100

1973   any except 6 & 50

CANADIAN CUSTOMS

G-500-503 1864 square 27&28 Vict

G-504  1867 diamond 27&28 Vic

G-507 1868 diamond  31 Vict

G-510- 511 1868* square elaborate blue

1880 minor interest in Montreal, Windsor and Toronto

1885 Bonded Removal stamp, red, small

with solid  Roman CIGARS not outline CIGARS

Please do not zip your photos. I prefer you do not “attach” your photos.

Please send them as low res jpg pasted into an email whenever possible.

Stamps are items on which I do not make offers. Please price what you have.

Thank you.

Tony Hyman     <stamps@CigarHistory.info>

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