90c Lincoln with G. Grill stamp

Pres. Abraham Lincoln was first depicted on the 15-cent 1866 Issue - the first time a person appeared on a stamp within a year of their death. The 1869 Lincoln Issue was based on a photograph by Matthew Brady; and, as the highest value (90 cents) of the set, was the least used and had the fewest printings. Interestingly, the 90-cent Lincoln was the only bi-color of the Issue with no known inverts. It would be the only bi-color portrait stamp printed by the United States until the 1918 Third Bureau Issue image of Benjamin Franklin. The next president to be portrayed on a bi-color stamp would be Woodrow Wilson in the 1938 Presidential Series. Because of these factors, the 90-cent Lincoln is highly desirable to collectors. Identical to its two preceding lower values, the 90-cent stamp most often paid the postage for large-weight letters sent domestically or expensive foreign destination rates. A total of only 47,460 stamps were printed by the National Bank Note Company.

Alexander T. Haimann, National Postal Museum
May 16, 2006

Scott Catalogue USA: 122
unused; perf 12

Museum ID: 1980.2493.584