Insurance Agent Cancels: Birckhead & Son of Baltimore

From Polk's Baltimore City Directory, 1901

BIRCKHEAD & SON,

AUG

9

1898

BALTO. MD.

BIRCKHEAD & SON,

SEP

29

1898

BALTO. MD.

BIRCKHEAD & SON,

SEP

29

1898

BALTO, MD.

Used R161 Half Cent Orange Documentary Stamps

As promised, and from Bob Patetta's trove of these stamps, here is a pile of used half cent orange battleships, with many partial cancels.  I am interested in help in identifying many of these cancels.

ANCE CO. OF L

JUL 22 18

JUL   14   1898

E CO. OF LONDO

NS CO. N. A.

UG 9 1898

A. & G.

OCT

12

1898

A. M. WOODRUFF,

AUG

19

1898

B. P. L.

OCT

1

1898

BENJ. PAGE & CO.

AUG

20

1898

BENSWANGER

AUG  XX  1898

BIRCKHEAD & SON,

OCT

24

1898

BALTO. MD.

????

CARPINTER & BAKER

AUG

18

1898

*

CHS

8/15/98

manuscript

D.  &  R.

JUL 30  1898

BOSTON

E.  A.  D. CO. OF MD.

1898

Fidelity & Deposit Co.

sep 2x  1898

Used Half Cent Orange Documentary Battleships

Where do I start?  Bob Patetta just sent a truckload of R161, half cent orange battleship stamp scans, all used.  Bob has an impressive collection of these stamps.  I've included a few highlights, but over the next few weeks I will work on unpacking the scans in a little more depth.

The used orange documentary has a Scott italicized value.  Ostensibly, there is little to establish a solid valuation for the stamp, due to scarcity or otherwise.  Clearly, Bob has managed to accumulate a hefty collection of these, and I am glad he is willing to share them with us here.  Frank Sente has posted several of these stamps used on documents, but his census of these items amounts to a handful.  In Bob's collection we get a chance to see a few more of the used items, though off document.

For those of you that like to assist in identifying unknown initials, this will be your time. 

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

R161 Usage Census Update - 1 Day Travel Insurance

1 Day Travel Policy September 2, 1898 on B. & O. Railroad

The Travelers Insurance Company, Hartford, Conn.

Camden Station Baltimore B. & O. R.R.
inverted date slug of SEP/2/1898

I saved what I consider the best of Bob Patetta's three on-document usages of R161, the 1/2-cent orange battleship documentary, to show last. Bob's Providence Rhode Island check with a combo usage of R161, R162, and R163 to pay the 2-cent bank check tax is stunning. But most fiscal history collectors, I think, prefer usages that are relevant to the purpose for which a stamp was issued.

The 1/2-cent value was created because most documentary insurance taxes, except life insurance, were calculated at 1/2 cent per dollar of premium paid or fraction thereof. And this one-day-travel accident policy for a journey on the B. & O. Railroad with a single one-half cent stamp demonstates that tax rate in the purest way. The premium for the accident policy was just twenty-five cents so only a single 1/2-cent stamp was needed. I wonder how they made change? Actually, the insurance company likely absorbed the tax.

Any usage of the 1/2-cent orange is scarce because the orange version was replaced with a gray version very early in the production of the battleship stamps. The orange color was close to that of the 3/8-cent proprietary issue and to avoid possible confusion, the shade of the 1/2-cent documentary was thus changed to gray.

Only two singular usages of the 1/2 orange documentary have been recorded so far. The other, also used on a travel policy, is pictured near the bottom of Bob Mustacich's website homepage. If anyone has information about any other R161 on-document usages not listed in this census please so advise and, if possible, send scans to 1898revenues@gmail.com

I may be mistaken, but about ten years ago I'm sure someone, whose identity I also don't recall, showed me a check with a block-of-four of the 1/2-cent orange paying the check tax. If it does exist in reality and not just in my imagination, we'd like to add that usage to the census which now stands at seven known usages.

Known today as The Travelers Companies, Travelers traces its history back more than 150 years. Recognized today by its distinctive RED UMBRELLA corporate symbol, Travelers is credited with issuing the first automobile policy, the first commerical airline policy, and the first policy for space travel. Since June 9, 2009, Travelers has been part of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

R161 Usage Census Update - Another Fire Policy

New Hampshire Fire Insurance Company of Manchester Fire Policy

August 20, 1898

This is the second of three on-document usages of R161, the 1/2-cent orange documentary, reported by Bob Patetta. It's a fire policy, similar to the one reported by Bob Hohertz that we blogged about previously.

The tax for fire policies was 1/2-cent per each dollar of premium paid or fraction thereof. So the premium for this $3,000 policy must have been between $16 and $17 as the tax stamps affixed, a pair of R166 4-cent, and a single R161 1/2-cent orange documentaries, total 8 1/2 cents.

The New Hampshire Fire Insurance Company of Manchester was founded in 1869. Today it is part of AIG doing business as the New Hampshire Insurance Company.

We'll cover a couple more R161 usages in days to come and then we'll switch to something different: interesting usages for the two-cent bank check tax.

If you have, or aware of, any R161 usages not yet reported, please email us, including scans if possible, at 1898revenues@gmail.com

R161 Used on a Check

I recall how excited I was about 10 years ago when I obtained my first on-document usage of R161, the 1/2-cent Orange Documentary. I had been searching for one for at least that long. And I was thrilled to find a second usage just last year. But my jaw literally dropped when I opened the scan of the check shown below provided by fellow 1898 revenue collector Bob Patetta.

The 1/2-cent battleship documentaries were issued specifically for use on insurance-related documents as the tax on most insurance policies, other than life insurance, was 1/2-cent per dollar of premium paid. To find both the R161 Orange and R162 Gray 1/2-cent values used together on a check with an R163 1-cent battleship to pay the two-cent bank check tax is extremely unusual.

The battleship revenues were the most colorful stamps of their era and usages featuring more than one denomination can be visually attractive. This one is simply stunning. Thanks, Bob, for sharing it.

George C. Arnold Worsted Yarns Check

Providence, R.I. November 4, 1898

The small strip of tape on the back of the check likewise is unusual. Its red color highlights the $200$ security punch used to confirm the amount of the check.

George C(arpenter) Arnold was a life-long resident of Rhode Island whose ancestors first arrived in 1635 and were associates of Roger Williams. Subsequent ancestors fought in the American Revolution and George, himself, was an officer in the Rhode Island Militia.

Arnold was engaged in the worsted yarn business for more than twenty-five years and also served as an officer or director in several other Providence businesses. He was interested in numismatics and geneology. A brief biographical sketch can be found in the 1919 SAR National Yearbook.

Bob Patetta has provided two other R161 uages that we'll show in coming days. The census of reported on-document usages of the R161 1/2-cent orange documentary stands at seven. If you are aware of additional usages please email us, with scans if possible, at 1898revenues@gmail.com

R161 Usage Census Update - Fire Insurance Policy

Earlier this month when describing an accident insurance policy bearing a scarce usage of R161, the 1/2-cent Orange Documentary Battleship issue, I suggested conducting a census of on-document usages of R161 via this blog. Several additional usages now have been reported bringing the total number of known usages to seven. In due course we'll show them all, and any more that are reported.

Today's example, a homeowner's fire insurance policy from the Home Insurance Company of New York, comes courtesy of ARA President Bob Hohertz.

At left: 1898 Policy for dwelling in Frederick City, Maryland

At right: Headquarters of the Home Insurance Company

119 Broadway, New York, New York circa 1898

bottom half of the policy interior with stamps

Despite the errant year date on the front of the policy, it was written to provide coverage for one year, from noon August 25, 1898 to noon August 25, 1899. It insured damage by fire, not to exceed $1670. $1000 was for a two and one-half story shingle roof dwelling at 82 E. Patrick St., Frederick City, Maryland. Additional coverages included a frame shoemaker shop, a grain warehouse, a stable, a carriage house, and another warehouse off-site.

It included a gasoline permit for a stove, no artifical light permitted in the room when being filled, among other standard provisions of the day. A tipped-in Lightning Clause covered damage caused by lightning, but not tornado, cyclone, or windstorm damage.

Marine, inland, and fire insurance policies, like accident policies, were taxed at 1/2-cent per dollar of premium paid or fraction thereof. The tax for the $8.89 premium thus was 4 1/2-cents, properly paid by a pair of 2-cent I.R. overprint issues and a single R161, 1/2 cent orange documentary. It appears the local agent, Noah E. Cramer may have absorbed the tax as his initials appear on the stamps.

We'll be showing more interesting R161 material in the days to come. If you know of other on-document usages please email us at 1898revenues@gmail.com.

The Home Insurance Company was founded in 1853 and had a long run, but it has been in liquidation since June 13, 2004.

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.

Cancel for August 5: Hall & Henshaw

Hall & Henshaw were insurance underwriters and were based in New York City. Hall & Henshaw had a 3 story loft building near Wall Street. Most half cent documentary stamps were used by insurance companies to pay the tax on small premium policies.

Cancel Styles: The Decipede

Here are examples of a fairly common handstamp style that I call the Decipede. Beyond its lettering the style is characterized by a rectangular box with 10 wavy lines emerging from its sides that look something like the legs of bug. In most cases of this style that I have seen, Chicago is at the bottom. Bulk packet sorting of battleship documentaries will often yield at least one of these types of cancels.

In most cases on the top side of the box of the cancellation is a set of initials. In the stamp below though is a common name found on this type of cancel, F.J. Hohing.