$5.00 Green & Black on Violet Paper, Proprietary (RB10a). Outstanding centering, wonderfully rich color and beautifully etched impression, July 1878 manuscript cancel, the only imperfections are two miniscule corner perf creases at top right and top left, they are completely irrelevant given the remarkable preservation and overall condition of this stamp

EXTREMELY FINE. A VISUALLY STRIKING EXAMPLE OF THE RARE $5.00 PROPRIETARY STAMP ON VIOLET PAPER. AMONG THE FINEST WE HAVE OFFERED.

According to Introduction to U.S. Revenue Stamps by Richard Friedberg, beginning with the 1871 revenue issues, the government provided for two classes of revenue stamps, one for documentary issues and one for proprietary articles, such as medicines, matches, perfumes, playing cards, canned foods etc. Kingsley records just 119 copies

Most examples of the $5.00 have faults (many quite severe), due to the stamp’s large size and the nature of its use. The example offered here, with its outstanding physical attributes and essentially sound condition (the perf creases are almost undetectable), is one of the finest extant.

P.F. certificate 155294 no longer accompanies

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