1875 30c Franklin, Yellow Orange, Perf. 12

This stamp is so scarce, we don’t even list it in Mystic's Stamp Catalog! Only a small number were printed in 1875, and they were never sold through regular post offices.

The Post Office created this special reprint ahead of the 1876 Centennial International Exposition in Philadelphia. They wanted to display a complete set of US stamps at the fair – and also respond to growing interest from collectors who still hoped to own the earlier, demonetized issues.

Some of the reprints were made from the original plates. Others required entirely new plates because the originals were missing or too badly damaged. In those cases, engravers completely re-engraved the designs by hand, using the earlier stamps as a guide.

The reprints were printed on stiff white paper with no grills, using brighter ink and fresh impressions. They also have a different perforation – gauge 12, instead of the original 15½ – making them easy to tell apart from the stamps issued in the 1850s and 60s.

Not all the stamps were sold at the fair. For some, you had to place a special request directly with the Office of the Third Assistant Postmaster General in Washington, DC – which helps explain why so few were ever distributed.

We’ve secured a small group of these rare 1875 reprints. Once they’re gone, we may not get another chance to offer them.