Black Jack (stamp) facts for kids
The Black Jack stamp is a famous 2-cent postage stamp from the United States. It was first issued in 1863 and used until 1869. People call it "Black Jack" because it has a large picture of President Andrew Jackson, printed in a very dark, almost black, color. This stamp is a very important piece for anyone who collects US stamps.
This stamp was created because people needed a cheaper way to send mail. It cost only 2 cents, which was great for sending newspapers, magazines, and local letters. Sometimes, people even cut the stamp in half to make a 1-cent stamp if they didn't have smaller ones. This happened when local post offices ran out of certain stamps.
During the American Civil War, both the North and the South supposedly liked the "Black Jack" stamp. However, when the South found out the North was using a stamp with one of their heroes, Andrew Jackson, they quickly made their own. They printed a 2-cent stamp called the "Red Jack," which also showed Jackson.
After the Civil War, some people tried to reuse stamps. They would wash off the ink that showed the stamp had been used. To stop this, the government added a special feature called a "grill" to the stamps. A grill was made of tiny bumps pressed into the stamp. This was supposed to make it impossible to wash off the cancellation without being noticed. But clever people found a way around this! They would cut the stamp in half, using only the part that didn't have the cancellation mark.
The first grill used on a Black Jack stamp was called the "Z" grill. It appeared in January 1868. Over the next few months, the Post Office tried out three smaller grill patterns. These were known as the "D," "E," and "F" grills.
