The banknote issues give collectors the most trouble with identification with the possible exception to the Washington/Franklins. I’m going to write a series of guides that will hopefully be a good reference to help you distinguish the small differences between the similar denominations. Ebay only allows ten photos for each guide. Therefore I will break each guide down to one denomination. In this lesson we will look at the twenty four cent and fifteen cent issues.

Scott numbers 142 & 153 were printed by the National Banknote Co. in 1870. Both issues were printed on white wove paper and are purple in color. The only distinguishing difference is that Scott #142 was embossed with a grill while #153 was not. Only 2,000 examples of #142 were printed while 1,100,000 were printed of #152. Scott #164 was printed by the Continental Banknote Co. in 1873. Only one known example of this variety exists! The #164 issue must be assumed to be a Continental issue because it was printed on ribbed paper.

Scott #141 was printed by the National Banknote Co. in 1870. It was printed on white wove paper and is described as orange, bright orange or deep orange in color. In my opinion the Continental and American (163 & 189) printings have a reddish tint in the color while the National (#141 & #152) printings did not. Only 80,000 examples of #141 were issued. The stamp can be identified by the fact that it was embossed with an “H” or “I” grill. The “I” grill being the scarcer of the two. An example of #141 is shown below.

Scott #152 was issued in 1870 by the National Banknote Co. It was printed on white wove paper and was not embossed with a grill. Scott #152 is described as bright orange or deep orange in color. 5,500,000 examples were printed. Scott #152 is pictured below.

The 15c issue of the 1870s gives a lot of collectors trouble identifying. According to many specialists a “secret” mark on this issue never existed and the “v” listed in Scott’s catalogue should be over looked. You can identify Scott #152 by the quality of the printing as the plate was still fresh and not yet worn. You will notice how clear the engraved lines appear to the left and the right of the numeral “15” on the example below. Scott #163 and #189 show very poor definition of the engraved lines on either side of the numeral “15” do to the wearing of the plate.

Scott #163 was printed in 1873 by the Continental Banknote Co. Scott #163 was printed on white wove, ribbed or silk fiber paper. The most common paper type was white wove. Generally Scott #163 is not embossed with a grill with the scarce exception of some embossed with a J grill. Scott #163 is described as yellow orange, pale orange or reddish orange. 5,500,000 copies were printed.

Scott #189 was printed in 1879 by the American Banknote Co. It was the only fifteen cent issue to be printed on soft porous paper. If you compare Scott #65 and #212 side by side holding them up to bright light you will be able to see the difference in paper types. Scott #65 was always printed on white wove paper and Scott #212 was always printed on soft porous paper. The color is described in Scott as yellow orange, pale orange or reddish orange. 15,000,000 examples were printed.

Cancels are one clue you can use to distinguish the earlier and later printings. The oval letter and numeral cancels did not come into use until 1876. Before than the cork or woodblock cancels were the norm. If you have a stamp with the oval type cancel it is most likely a #163or #189 as Scott #141 & #152 will usually have a cork or killer cancel. Stamp on the left features an earlier killer cancel and the stamp on the right features the oval type that came into use in 1876.