1940 Howell Cobb Revenue Stamp

In 1940, the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing issued a series of "revenue stamps" for use by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. These were not intended for use as postage but rather were applied by I.R.S. agents to legal and financial documents that were subject to federal taxation.

The stamps were all engraved, carmine in color, and portrayed former U.S. Secretaries of the Treasury. The $60 denomination shown above featured Georgian Howell Cobb, who Pres. James Buchanan appointed as U.S. Treasury Secretary in 1857. [For more information on Cobb, see the Sept. 9 entry of "This Day in Georgia History".] Another Georgian and former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury -- William Crawford -- was featured on the 10-cent denomination in this set of stamps.

To prevent reuse, the revenue stamps were reissued each year with an overprint indicating the year. The larger denominations (including the Cobb stamp shown above) were issued annually from 1940 to 1958, with the above example part of the initial 1940 series.

(c) Carl Vinson Institute of Government, The University of Georgia

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