U.S. Bank Note 10c Identification

Ten Cent Jefferson Bank Notes of 1870 - 1882 Perforated 12
Scott Number	Date of Issue	Earliest Known Usage	Paper Type	Printer	Secret Mark	Grill
139	April 1870	6/2/1870	Hard White	National	No	Yes
150	April 1870	May 1870	Hard White	National	No	No
161	1873	8/2/1873	Hard White	Continental	Yes	No
172	1875	Special Printing	Hard White	Continental	Yes	No
187	1879	9/5/1879	Soft Porous	American	No	No
188	1879	2/21/1879	Soft Porous	American	Yes	No
197	1880	Special Printing	Soft Porous	American	Yes/No	No
209	April 1882	5/11/82	Soft Porous	American	No	No

U.S. Bank Note Stamp - Paper Types · The Secret Mark on the 10c U.S. Bank Note Stamp

American Bank Note Ten Cent - Scott 187 Vs Scott 209
without Secret Mark

The 10c American Bank Notes without Secret Mark

Scott 187

Scott 209

Scott 187

Scott 209

Side-by-side comparison of the 10¢ American Bank Note of 1879 (left) Vs the 10¢ Re-engraved stamp of 1882. Note the deeper, richer brown of Scott 209.

A blow-up of the distinguishing areas of the 10¢ of 1879 (left) Vs the 10¢ Re-engraved stamp of 1882. Note there are only four lines between the vignette and the outer frame of 209 and five in the 187, and that these lines have been strengthened in the re-engraved 209.

Follow these steps in the identification of your ten cent Bank Note:
You will need to check for the "secret" mark , which is fortunately easy to spot. If the stamp has the "secret" mark, determine the type of paper it was printed on, if it was printed on the "hard, white" paper it is the Continental Bank Note printing, Scott 161. If it was printed on the "soft porous" paper, it is the American Bank Note printing, Scott 188.

If it does not have the "secret" mark, check the paper type. If it was printed on the "hard, white" paper it is a National Bank Note printing. If the stamp has a grill, it may be Scott 139. If it does not have a grill it is Scott 150. Care must be taken when authenticating the grill. Many fake grills have been added over the years in an attempt to increase the value of the stamp.

If it was printed on the "soft porous" paper, it is an American Bank Note printing. If the stamp does not have the "secret" mark you will need to check to see if the stamp is the original 1879 printing, Scott 187 or the re-engraved stamp, Scott 209. See the illustration above for details. Scott has given the re-engraved stamp a sub-listing, Scott 209b for the black brown shade.

If you are unsure of the type of paper used or of the secret mark, you MUST assume that the stamp is the more common variety. If the stamp is unused and has at least partial gum, this stamp should be certified to ascertain the type, since the value of the stamp will in most cases far out weigh the cost of certification.

Watch for re-perforation (to fake a more well-centered stamp), for re-gumming (a major problem with the Bank Notes), and even for bleaching of the cancellation (to remove the cancel). Unused copies carry a substantial premium over the used stamp.

We include the "Special" printings in this identification guide merely for completeness. Only 180 copies, total, of Scott 172 and 197 were sold, and they were never issued for postal use and were issued without gum. We occasionally see uncertified copies of these stamps offered for sale at ridiculously low prices. You can rest assured that the stamp being offered is not genuine. These stamps are so rare, only 70 copies are known, they seldom come up for sale, except in the sale of a major U.S. Collection.

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