In 1873, the United States Congress abolished the franking privilege, a system that had previously allowed government officials and members of Congress to send mail free of charge by signing their names on the envelopes. To replace this system and accurately track departmental postal expenses, the Post Office Department issued specific sets of Official stamps for each of the executive branches (Agriculture, Executive, Interior, Justice, Navy, Post Office, State, Treasury, and War). These stamps became valid for official government use on July 1, 1873.
This set represents the Official stamps issued for the Department of State. To easily distinguish between the departments, each department's stamps were printed in a specific color; the State Department stamps were printed in dark green. The central vignette designs (the portraits) were identical to those used on the regular definitive postage stamps of the 1870 series, produced by the National Bank Note Company.
The Department of State utilized these stamps for official diplomatic correspondence, passport processing, and communications with U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide. The inclusion of the 7-cent denomination (featuring Edwin Stanton) is notable, as it was primarily used to pay the single-weight letter rate to certain European countries before the establishment of the Universal Postal Union. The State Department was also unique in issuing high-value "Dollar" denominations ($2, $5, $10, $20) for heavy diplomatic pouches, which are not included in this specific set.
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