1947 1/4 bbl. Beer Stamp, Green, Black Control Numbers

Scott #REA191 is a United States Internal Revenue beer tax stamp from the Series of 1934, printed in a rich dark green, representing the tax on a quarter barrel of fermented malt liquor. The horizontal format design reads "Stamp For / Quarter Barrel / Fermented Malt Liquor / Series of 1934," set against a fine lathe-work security background. Black control numbers appear on both sides. The extensive hole-punch cancellation pattern running diagonally across the stamp confirms it was used at an American brewery.

The quarter barrel — approximately 7.75 gallons — was a popular keg size used by breweries for smaller accounts and locations that did not require full half-barrel or full-barrel deliveries. It was commonly distributed to neighborhood taverns, restaurants, and clubs where draft beer consumption was moderate but steady. The deep green color of the quarter barrel stamp made it easy for brewery workers and revenue agents to quickly distinguish it from the carmine eighth-barrel and orange half-barrel stamps issued in the same series, reducing the risk of a stamp being applied to the wrong size container.

This stamp is part of the long-running Series of 1934 that continued in use through the late 1940s, a testament to the stability and consistency of the post-Prohibition federal beer tax system.