St. Louis Bears facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St. Louis Bears
St. Louis Bears 5¢, 10¢ and 20¢ denominations
Country of production	United States of America
Location of production	St. Louis, Missouri
Date of production	1845-46
Nature of rarity	A small quantity exist
Face value	5¢, 10¢ and 20¢
Estimated value	$8,000, $8,000 and $50,000

The St. Louis Bears are special Provisional stamps. The St. Louis Post Office made them in 1845 and 1846. They helped people pay for mail before the U.S. government made its own stamps. St. Louis, Missouri, was one of 11 cities to create these stamps. The postmaster, John M. Wimer, started the idea.

The Bears came in three values: 5 cents, 10 cents, and 20 cents. The first known stamp was used on November 13, 1845.

Why Were These Stamps Made?

In 1845, the U.S. Congress changed postal rules. They made mail fees the same across the country. It cost 5 cents to send a letter up to 300 miles. It cost 10 cents for letters going farther. Before this, mail prices were different everywhere. This made it hard to pay for letters ahead of time. So, the person receiving the letter usually paid.

After the new rules, it made more sense to pay for mail when sending it. St. Louis was one of 11 cities that made these "Postmasters' Provisionals." These were temporary stamps. St. Louis was far from big cities on the Atlantic coast. Because of this, it was the only city to offer a 20-cent stamp.

Other cities' stamps were often simple. Some were just handstamps. Others had engraved letters or signatures. Two even showed pictures of George Washington. The New York Postmaster's Provisional was very well made. It was engraved by a company that made bank notes. These temporary stamps were used until July 1, 1847. That's when the U.S. government started issuing its own national postage stamps.

A newspaper called the Missouri Republican wrote about the stamps. On November 5, 1845, it said:

LETTER STAMPS. Mr. Wimer, the postmaster, has prepared a set of letter stamps, or rather marks, to be put upon letters, indicating that the postage has been paid. In this he has copied after the plan adopted by the postmaster of New York and other cities. These stamps are engraved to represent the Missouri Coat of Arms, and are five and ten cents. They are so prepared that they may be stuck upon a letter like a wafer and will prove a great convenience to merchants and all those having many letters to send post paid, as it saves all trouble of paying at the post-office. They will be sold as they are sold in the East, viz.: Sixteen five-cent stamps and eight ten-cent stamps for a dollar. We would recommend merchants and others to give them a trial.

How the Stamps Looked and Were Made

The stamps are called "Bears" because of their design. They show a drawing of the Great Seal of Missouri. On the seal, two standing bears hold a round shield. The shield has the words "Unite[d] we stand[,] divide[d] we fall." The artist tried to make it look like the bears' paws covered the "d"s. But the letters were spaced wrong, so it didn't quite work.

Inside the shield, you can see a third bear. It's in the bottom-left part. There's also a crescent moon and a small drawing of the U.S. Coat of Arms. Below the bears' feet, a ribbon says: Salus populi suprema lex esto. This is Latin for "Let the well-being of the people be the highest law."

A local engraver named J. M. Kershaw made the stamps. He used a copper plate with six images. The plate was meant for making visiting cards. Each of the six stamps on the plate was engraved by hand. This means no two stamps are exactly alike! Each stamp value has its own special look. This was different from the New York stamps. Those were made from one perfect design copied many times.

The St. Louis stamp plate was changed twice. At first, it only made 5-cent and 10-cent stamps. The 5-cent stamps were on the left side, and the 10-cent stamps were on the right. In 1846, the Postmaster decided a 20-cent stamp was needed. So, the top two 5-cent images were changed to 20 cents. After enough 20-cent stamps were made, the plate was changed back. The 5-cent designs were put back in place.

We know that the first two printings made 2,000 5-cent stamps, 3,000 10-cent stamps, and 1,000 20-cent stamps. The last printing likely added 1,500 5-cent stamps and 1,500 10-cent stamps.

These stamps were not very popular. Most people didn't use them. One researcher looked at many letters from St. Louis from 1845 to 1847. They didn't find a single St. Louis Bear stamp on any of them. It seems two companies used most of the stamps. They were Nisbet & Co., Private Bankers, and Crow & McCreery, Wholesale Dry Goods. They used them for business mail. They also let their employees and families use them for personal letters.

Finding the St. Louis Bears

The St. Louis Bears were first written about in stamp books in 1873. But not many people knew about them until 1895. That year, a worker at the Louisville, Kentucky courthouse found a hidden treasure. He was burning old papers in a furnace. He found 137 St. Louis Bear stamps!

A famous stamp expert, Charles Haviland Mekeel, checked these stamps. He confirmed that the 20-cent stamps were real. Some experts had thought the few 20-cent stamps found before were fake. At that time, Mekeel said, "No stamps in the world have commanded the price that certain of the stamps of St. Louis have realized."

More Bears have been found since then. Other rare stamps are now worth more money. But the St. Louis Bears are still very rare. The 20-cent stamps are especially hard to find. Most of them are also in poor condition.

The most common 5-cent and 10-cent Bears are printed on greenish paper. The Scott catalogue, a guide for stamp values, says they are worth $8,000 if used. The 20-cent stamp on gray-lilac paper is listed at $50,000. Stamps on other types of paper are even more valuable.