1909 8c Washington, Olive Green, Double Line Watermark, Bluish Paper, Perf. 12

Stamps from the bluish paper experiment are hard to find, and the 8¢ is one of the hardest. It was never meant to be sold at post offices. The only source of the 8¢ on this paper was the archives of the Post Office Department, where sample stamps were kept. Years later, the department traded about 80 copies of it, and of the 4¢, to collectors for rare stamps that were missing from the archives. Those trades are how this stamp reached the public, which is why it is missing from almost all collections. Nearly all known copies are off center to some degree. 

The paper was a failed test. Printing stamps in the early 1900s meant dampening the paper before printing, and the sheets shrank as they dried. That threw off the perforations, and some estimates say up to 20 percent of the stamps were ruined. To fix it, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing mixed rag stock into the wood pulp, about one third by most accounts. The rag fibers may have carried a little dye, which gave the paper its bluish tint. Many collectors check the gum on the back, which looks grayish next to ordinary gum. The test did not stop the shrinking, so the Bureau dropped it after a short time.

The portrait of George Washington was modeled on a bust by the French sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon. Washington appeared on the 8¢ stamp for only a few years, since Franklin replaced him on the 8¢ and higher values beginning in 1912. The bluish paper 8¢ is one of the last stamps that came out of the Bureau’s attempt to solve its shrinking problem.

This is the first time Mystic has ever be able to offer this stamp. Only about 80 collectors will ever be able to own a #363. This one is centered to the right. It has disturbed original gum and a sizable hinge mark, with no other flaws. It comes with a 1993 Philatelic Foundation certificate. We have only one available, and because the stamp is so hard to find, it may be a long time before another comes along.