5c Jefferson Davis De La Rue Confederate printing plate

This is a copper printing plate of 400 Confederate Postage Stamps, in four panes. It was ordered by the Confederate States of America and manufactured by De La Rue & Company of London. The Federal vessel Mercedita captured the British ship Bermuda between Bermuda and Nassau. As part of the contraband, the printing plate was brought to Philadelphia and sold. It was never used to print stamps for the Confederacy.

Museum ID: 2011.2006.1