A Solo R161 On-Document Usage

United States Casualty Company Limited Travel Accident Policy

Dayton, Ohio August 16,1898

We previously mentioned the existance of this document when conducting a census of on-document usages of R161, the 1/2-cent orange documentary issue. Now, courtesy of Bob Mustacich,we're pleased to show it. Actually it is just one of two reported solo usages of R161. The other five reported on-document usages all are in combination with other stamps.

The need for a 1/2-cent documentary issue resulted from the one-half cent tax per dollar of premium paid on accident, fidelity,and guarantee insurance policies. R161 usages are rare because it was in use for only a short period of time. Because its color so closely matched that of the 3/8-cent proprietary stamp, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing discontinued printings of the 1/2-cent orange after just two days(the exact total printed is unknown) and changed its color to gray. Proper usages of the subsequent gray 1/2-cent issue, R162, aren't exactly common either; but they are not nearly as scarce as the orange variety.

Unlike many travel accident policies that were good for just one-day, or were trip specific, this one covered Chas R. Boes (who also cancelled the stamp)of Dayton, Ohio for a full year; although the death benefit was only $750, much less than the $5,000 that was typical for most single day policies.

Reverse Side of Policy

The census of on-document usages of R161, the 1/2-cent orange documentary, stands at seven reported documents. If you can add an additional usage please contact us, with scans if possible, at 1898revenues@gmail.com.

NOTE: Bob Mustacich , along with Tony Giacomelli, authored The Battleship Desk Reference: A Study Of Proprietary Battleship Revenue Stamps And Their Cancellations. It's an invaluable guide for anyone interested in the proprietary issues. For more information visit Bob's website.

R161 Usage Census Update - Accident Policy Application

Masons Fraternal Accident Association Policy

Westfield, Mass. August 2, 1898

2-cent I. R. provisional overprint and 1/2-cent orange documentary
tied by a blue oval cancel, illegible except for the date.

I've chosen not to unfold this document from how I exhibit it traditionally as it is fragile and has some repairs on the reverse. It's also a bit too large for my scanner, so while the corporate seal appears to be cut off at the bottom, there is an additional inch of space remaining below it and the stamps that is not shown.

It's an accident policy for John B. Shaw, age 43, a merchant of dry goods and furnishings from Sherman, Texas. The premium for this $5,000 death benefit accident policy was $3 per quarter with a one-time $5 application fee. The two and on-half cents affixed to the policy certificate paid the tax on the initial $5 application fee.

Fraternal organizations like the Masons performed a great service in the latter half of the 1800s by offering insurance plans that otherwise were a luxury beyond the means of most people. There were hundreds of such companies by 1900 and while few exist today many provided a needed service well into the 20th Century. My paternal grandfather, who emigrated from Hungary in 1905, and was a coal miner, had a policy with one of the small fraternal groups which today has evolved into the William Penn Association.

The Masons Fraternal Accident Association appears not to have been as successful. Founded August 15, 1887 in Westfield, Massachusetts, it fell into receivership in 1905 via a suit filed by the Attorney General of Massachusetts.

The R161 on-document usage census stands at seven. If you have information about additional on document usages, please email us, with scans if possible, at 1898revenues@gmail.com

Accident Insurance Policy with R161 Usage

Preferred Accident Insurance Company

Three month renewal policy

September 3, 1898 - December 3, 1898

stamps tied by a light double-ring handstamp cancel

Accident, fidelity, and guarantee insurance policies, including renewal policies, were taxed at the rate of 1/2-cent per dollar of premium paid or fraction thereof. The 2 1/2-cent tax on the $5 premium for the renewal of The Preferred Accident Insurance Company of New York personal accident policy shown above was properly paid by two 1-cent provisional I.R. overprints and a single R161, 1/2-cent orange documentary all tied by an indistinguishable light blue, double-ring hand stamp cancel.

Because its color closely resembled that of the 3/8-cent proprietary issue, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing discontinued printings of the 1/2-cent orange after just two days and changed its color to gray. The exact number printed and distributed is unknown.

Most of the copies available are badly off-center. Used copies in very-fine condition are uncommon and any examples used on-document are scarce. Because they are so scarce, we'd like to conduct a usage census. We'll show another example of on-document usage in a future blog and Bob Mustacich shows a nice single-copy usage on a travel insurance policy near the bottom of his homepage. I've also seen a block of four used on a check. That's four known usages. If you have, or know of, other on-document examples, please let us know. We'd like to show, and make a permanent record of them.

Scant information about The Preferred Accident Insurance Company appears online. Although the company may have been formed earlier, it did not incorporate until 1893. The firm apparently ran into financial difficulty in the late 1940s as it was voluntarily taken over by the Superintendent of Insurance of the State of New York in 1949. The company's remaining assets were liquidated as of April 30, 1951.