Postage Stamps of the United States First Issued in 1861   Presidents: Jan.1-Mar.3:  James Buchanan ·  Mar.4-Dec.31:Abraham Lincoln   Postmasters General: 1/1-2/11: Joseph Holt  ·  2/12-3/4: Horatio King ·  3/5-12/31: Montgomery Blair Admitted to the Union: Kansas on January 29, 1861 Important Events in U.S. Postal History The Pony Express officially quit delivering letters on October 24, 1861, made obsolete by the completion of the trans-continental telegraph From Nov. 1861 until the end of the year, the stamps of the 1851 issue were gradually demonetized by region. Postage Rates in 1861 Domestic Letter Rate* under 3000 mi. per 1/2 oz.: Three Cents - Prepayment compulsory, stamp required Domestic Letter Rate* over 3000 mi. per 1/2 oz.: Ten Cents - Prepayment compulsory, stamp required Foreign Letter Rate under 2500 mi. per 1/2 oz.: Ten Cents - except where otherwise adjusted by treaty Foreign Letter Rate over 2500 mi. per 1/2 oz.: Twenty Cents - except where otherwise adjusted by treaty Rate for Drop Letters: One Cent - prepayment required after February 27 Rate for Newspapers and Circulars up to 3 oz.: One Cent, with one cent for each additional oz. Carrier Fee (not available in all cities): One Cent Registry Fee: Five Cents - no return receipt to sender - paid in cash - stamp not required * On May 1, 1861 the letter rate was 3¢ if it stayed East of the Rockies and 10¢ if it crossed the Rockies both regardless of distance, effectively eliminating the (3000 mi.) distinction. This distinction was dropped as of July 1, 1863. Designs of the Stamps of 1861-1868   Printed by the National Bank Note Company - All Designs by James Macdonough   The examples shown are proofs of the 1861-1868 designs  (move cursor over stamp for Scott number) 1¢ Franklin Engraver: Joseph Pease 2¢ Black Jackson Engraver: Joseph Pease 3¢ Rose Washington Engraver: Joseph Ourdan 5¢ Brown Jefferson Engraver: William Marshall 10¢ Washington Engraver: William Marshall 12¢ Washington Engraver: William Marshall 15¢ Black Lincoln Engraver: Joseph Ourdan 24¢ Lilac Washington Engraver: William Marshall 30¢ Franklin Engraver: Joseph Pease 90¢ Washington Engraver: Joseph Pease The following postage stamp varieties were first issued by the U.S. in 1861: Ordinary issue: See also: Designs of the 1851-1860 Regular Issues Designs of 1851-1860 · Perforated 15.5 - Issued in 1861 Scott 18 - 1¢ Blue Franklin (Plate 12) - 1851 Design - Type I - EDU: Jan.  25, 1861 Scott 20 - 1¢ Blue Franklin (Plate 11) - 1851 Design - Type II - EDU: Jan. 12, 1861                   1¢ Blue Franklin (Plate 12) - 1851 Design - Type II - EDU: Jan. 21, 1861 Scott 22 - 1¢ Blue Franklin (Plate 11) - 1851 Design - Type IIIa - EKU: Dec. ?, 1860                   1¢ Blue Franklin (Plate 12) - 1851 Design - Type IIIa - EDU: Jan. 25, 1861 Scott 30 - 5¢ Orange to deep orange brown Jefferson - Type II - EDU: May 8, 1861 - about 570,000 issued 1c Franklin - 3c Washington - 5c Jefferson - 10c Washington - 12c Washington  Designs of 1861-1867 · No Grills · Perf 12 Scott 63 - 1¢ Blue Franklin - EDU: Aug. 17 (off cover); Aug. 21, 1861 (on cover) - about 138 million issued  Scott 63a - 1¢ Ultramarine Franklin  Scott 63b - 1¢ Dark Blue Franklin  Scott 64 - 3¢ Pink Washington - EDU: Aug. 17, 1861 (FDC) - about 100,000 issued Scott 64a - 3¢ Pigeon Blood Pink - Washington EDU: Aug. 21, 1861  Scott 64b - 3¢ Rose Pink Washington - EDU: Aug. 17 (FDC), 1861 Scott 65 - 3¢ Rose Washington - EDU: Aug. 19, 1861 - about 1.8 billion issued Scott 67 - 5¢ Buff Jefferson - EDU: Aug. 19, 1861 - about 175,000 issued Scott 67a - 5¢ Brown Yellow Jefferson - EDU: Aug. 21, 1861 Scott 67b - 5¢ Olive Yellow Jefferson - EDU: Sep. 18, 1861 Scott 68 - 10¢ Yellow Green Washington - EDU: Aug. 20, 1861 - about 27 million  issued Scott 68a - 10¢ Dark Green Washington   Scott 69 - 12¢ Black Washington - EDU: Aug. 30, 1861 - about 7.3 million issued The EDU of the 1861 24¢ is Scott 70c - see also: issues of 1862 for the red lilac Scott 70 Scott 70b - 24¢ Steel Blue Washington - EDU: Sep. 21, 1861 Scott 70c - 24¢ Violet Thin Paper Washington - EDU: Aug. 20, 1861 Scott 70d - 24¢ Thin Paper - Pale Gray Lilac Washington - EDU: Sep. 10, 1861 Scott 71 - 30¢ Orange Franklin - EDU: Aug. 20, 1861 - about 3.3 million issued Scott 72 - 90¢ Blue Washington - EDU: Nov. 27, 1861 - about 388,700 issued Commemoratives: The first commemorative stamps were not issued until 1893 Special Delivery: The first Special Delivery stamps were not issued until 1885 Postage Dues: The first  Postage Due stamps were not issued until 1879   Previous: 1860 Next: 1862

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