2c Orange Washington on Voucher Check, Type X

The Revenue Act of 1862 imposed a tax on a wide range of documents and financial instruments to help fund the Union's Civil War effort, and checks were among the items requiring proof of payment. Congress allowed printers to produce revenue stamped paper, printing the required stamp design directly onto checks, drafts, and other financial forms rather than requiring a separate adhesive stamp to be affixed by hand. Private printing firms produced this stamped paper under direct government supervision, working from stamp dies loaned to them by the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

This particular design, identified by collectors as Type X, appears on a voucher check, a form that combined a standard check with an attached voucher explaining the purpose of the payment. The voucher portion typically split into two sections, one retained by the person or company issuing the check and the other kept by the recipient, creating a built in paper trail for the transaction. Surviving examples of this revenue imprint appear on checks from banks and businesses across the country, including a First National Bank of Sunbury check from Pennsylvania and a general merchandise store payment from Plymouth, California, reflecting how widely this printed revenue design circulated among banks nationwide.

*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!