postage stamp previously issued had cost more than 90¢. This was a larger number of stamps than the United States Post Office had ever offered in a definite series, thanks to the unprecedented inclusion of stamps denominated $1, $2, $3, $4 and $5: no U. They were available nationwide, and were not restricted to the Exposition in any way.
#Columbian exposition series
įifteen denominations of the series were placed on sale by post offices on Monday, January 2, 1893.
This arrangement prompted considerable public criticism-not allayed by American Banknote's argument that the Columbians’ size (double that of normal stamps) warranted a higher price-and Wilson Bissel, who became Postmaster General after Grover Cleveland reassumed the Presidency during March 1893, attempted to renegotiate the stamp contract on terms more favorable to the Post Office. Indeed, Postmaster John Wanamaker (of department store fame) executed a new contract with American Banknote specifically for the Columbian stamps without any competitive bidding process, which allowed the company to charge 17¢ per thousand stamps, in contrast to the 7.45¢ per thousand it had been collecting for stamps of the 1890 definitive series.
However, where previous contracts had required printing companies to provide designs and plates at their own expense for any new stamps required by the Post Office, the 1889 contract specified that the Post Office would pay those costs. The Columbian stamps were supplied by the American Banknote Company, which had a four-year contract for the production of United States postage stamps beginning December 1, 1889.
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