This stamp honors George Washington. It may be one of the least-used United States postal issues ever.
The high denomination combined with a relatively quick demonetization both contribute to the scarcity of used copies of this stamp. In fact, to date there are only 180 verified canceled Washington 90 cent stamps. This stamp was used for just one year before it was replaced by another 90 cent blue Washington with a different design in 1861.
Most of those that were canceled were done so with a pen, so if you come across one of those, realize that its value is significantly less than those with another type of cancel.
Since there are so few used stamps of this issue, it’s one of the very few where you are much more likely to get a mint copy for your collection.
I don’t own a copy of this stamp yet, either mint or used. It is here courtesy of the Wikimedia Commons.
Cataloging the 1860 Washington 90 Cent
The Washington 90 cent is the last stamp in the 1851-1860 series. Other than the special printing version, it is the only issue of its type. The Minimalist Catalog assigns is the number 10.
To this point in postal history, the Minimalist Catalog requires you to have about one-fourth as many stamps to complete your collection compared to what the other major catalog would say.
| Benjamin Franklin 30c Statistics | |||
| Date Used | Designer | Printing | Number |
| 9/11/1860 | n/a | Toppan, Carpenter, Casilier & Co. | 24,280 |