1866-75 2c Orange Washington on Bank Check, Type K

The Revenue Act of 1862 imposed a tax on a wide range of documents and goods to help fund the Union's Civil War effort, and among the items taxed were bank checks, which required a two cent revenue stamp affixed before they could be legally used. While most banks and businesses met this requirement by attaching a separate adhesive revenue stamp to each check, Congress also allowed printers to produce revenue stamped paper, printing the required stamp design directly onto checks, drafts, and other financial forms before they were ever filled out. This approach saved banks the trouble of stocking and applying individual stamps, instead building the tax payment directly into the paper itself.

The printed revenue design, featuring a profile of George Washington within an ornate orange frame, appears directly on the check itself between the bank's name and the payment amount, identified by collectors as Type K based on the specific frame and lettering style used. Companies like Fidelity Insurance, Trust and Safe Deposit ordered checks preprinted with this revenue design directly from stationers, ensuring every check they issued already satisfied the federal tax requirement without any additional step needed at the bank counter.

*Your document will have one or two small imperfections that don't detract from its beauty or collectibility, but do save you money off the catalog value!

Revenue stamped paper of this kind offers collectors a distinctive category of Civil War era fiscal history, blending the study of revenue taxation with genuine banking and business ephemera from the period.