The 1st-3rd Issue U.S. Revenues

The first 3 issues of U.S. Revenues are some of the most beautifully engraved stamps ever issued by the U.S. These stamps were used between 1862 and 1874, to pay taxes to the U.S. Government on documents and proprietary articles.

The first series, which interests me the most, is comprised of many more stamps than the second and third issues. There are four main "varieties" of each denomination/type (not every type existed in every variety):

Old Paper

generally the most common variety, perforated 12, plain paper (Scott catalog letter c)

Imperforate

same as above, but with no perforations between the stamps (Scott catalog letter a)

Part Perforated

an amalgam of the above two, perforated either horizontally or vertically, and imperforate in the other direction (Scott catalog letter b)

Silk Paper

Starting in August 1870, many issues were printed on an experimental silk paper (multicolored threads sparsely interwoven in the paper) (Scott catalog letter d)

I'm not a specialist in Revenues, in that I haven't gotten involved in the search for double- and triple-transfers, cracked plates, etc. I'm working on completing a set of the major varieties (a daunting task in and of itself, as many of the various varieties are incredibly expensive!)