1851 1c Carriers Stamp, Franklin, Blue, Plate Proof on Card

Get this Plate Proof 1851 1¢ Carrier's Stamp

Proofs have a look all their own.  Pulled under controlled conditions, they show sharper detail and stronger color than the stamps we’re used to seeing.  When the printing company was preparing to produce Carriers stamps, this proof was made to ensure that everything was in order with the plates before full-scale printing began.  It was printed on card paper.  Plate proofs were produced in very small quantities (fewer than 3,000 for most early stamps).

Plate Proofs
Once the design has been approved and the plates have been created, the printer will produce plate proofs to ensure that everything is in order before full-scale printing begins. Plate proofs are impressions taken directly from the printing plate and are usually produced in sheets, similar to the final stamps. However, they are typically printed on a different type of paper—often unperforated—and may be in a different color than the issued stamps.
Plate proofs allow collectors to study the alignment and spacing of the stamps on the plate, as well as any differences between individual stamps on the same sheet. Like trial color and die proofs, plate proofs are not intended for postal use, making them a prized addition to any collection.

Scarce Official Carrier Stamp
Most collectors are unaware of this very scarce Official Carrier stamp. LO1 was issued by the US Post Office as part of the Issue of 1851. Semi-Official Carrier Stamps paid for local carriers to deliver a letter to or from a post office. At that time, ordinary U.S. postal rates only secured delivery between post offices – not to your address. The U.S. Post Office issued this “Official” carrier stamp in an attempt to standardize the carrier service. LO1 was used mainly in the cities of Philadelphia, New York, and New Orleans. 

This Carrier's plate proof has been preserved for over a century and a half.  Now it’s your turn to give this stamp the home it deserves – in your collection.