Antique 1913 Panama-Pacific Issue 400A 10 Cent postage Stamp Unused Mint

Description

Unused #400A 1913 Panama-Pacific Issue United States 10 cent postage stamp. Orange printing showing the 1769 Discovery of San Francisco Bay by Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola. From The Advanced Heritage Collection (III), Mystic Stamp Company, Camden, NY. Includes mounts.

"The Panama Pacific Exposition Issue commemorated the World's Fair held in San Francisco from February 20 to December 4, 1915. Planning for the event began in 1911, just five years after the great earthquake that destroyed the city. All four stamp designs of the issue were inscribed "San Francisco, 1915" but were released January 1, 1913, to give advance notice of the event. The Bureau’s chief designer, Clair Aubrey Huston, created the handsome designs, but the image of the 10-cent 'orange-yellow' stamp showed so poorly that a darker orange shade was issued in August. The Post Office Department issued the 10-cent stamp of the Panama-Pacific Exposition Issue in three varieties. The first, issued in 1913, has perforations 12 and a orange yellow color; the second, also perf 12, is orange rather than the orange yellow color; the third, issued in 1914, has perforations 10 with the orange color. The 10-cent stamp paid the double weight Universal Postal Union international rate or the domestic registered mail fee. It was also commonly used with other denominations to fulfill large weight and foreign destination rates. An estimated 17 million 10-cent stamps were printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing." (Source: Smithsonian National Postal Museum)

Condition

Very Good

Dimensions

1.125" x 0.875" (Length x Width)