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InsuranceStatutes

April 29, 1857SECTION 1. [On and after the first day of July, eighteen hundred and fifty-seven, the

following tax is hereby imposed, … to wit: … [on] any policy of insurance, contract or instrument in the nature thereof, upon any house, factory, machinery, ship, steamer or vessel, of any description, any goods, wares, or merchandise, or furniture, or any life insurance, one-half of the duty levied on bills of exchange.

April 26, 1858SECTION 1. Section one [of the Act of April 29, 1857] is hereby amended so as to read as

follows:Section one—The following tax is hereby imposed, … to wit: … [on] any policy of insurance,

contract, or instrument in the nature thereof, upon any house, factory, machinery, ship, steamer, or vessel, of any description, any goods, wares, or merchandise, or furniture, or any life insurance, if to run for one year or more, one-half of the duty levied on bills of lading as herein provided; if for nine months and not more than twelve months, three-fourths of the rates last above established; if for six months and not over nine months, one-half of the above established rates; if for three months and not over six months, one-fourth of the above established rates.

April 23, 1860SECTION 1. The Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint

two Inspectors of Stamps to reside at the city of San Francisco.SEC. 2. The duties of the Stamp Inspector[s] shall [include] … to inspect the records of

policies of insurance issued at the city of San Francisco.

May 9, 1861SECTION 1. On and after the first day of May, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, the following

tax is hereby imposed, … to wit: … [on] any policy of insurance, contract, or instrument, in the nature thereof, upon any house, factory, machinery, ship, steamer, or vessel, of any description, any goods, wares, or merchandize, or furniture, or any life insurance, one-half of the duty levied on bills of exchange.

April 10, 1862SECTION 1. Section one of [the Act of May 9, 1861] is hereby amended so as to read as

follows:Section 1. On and after the first day of May, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, the following

tax is hereby imposed, … to wit: … [on] any policy of insurance, contract, or instrument in the nature thereof, upon any house, factory, machinery, ship, steamer, or vessel of any description, any goods, wares, or merchandise, or furniture, or any life insurance, one-half of the duty levied on bills of exchange, as herein provided: if for nine months, and not less than six months, three-fourths of the rates last above established; if for six months, and not less than three months, one half of the rates above established; if for three months, or less, one-fourth of the rates above established.

SEC. 2. Section seven of said Act is hereby amended so as to read as follows:Section 7. No instrument or writing whatever, executed on or after the first day of May,

eighteen hundred and sixty-one, and chargeable by this Act with the payment of duty, as aforesaid, and no contract of insurance, made and entered into with any insurance company, or companies, or individual insurers, upon property or lives within this State, or upon vessels, freights, or merchandise, owned, shipped, or consigned, by or to any person or persons in this State, shall be pleaded, or set up, or given, in evidence in any court, or admitted to be available in law or equity, but shall be and remain absolutely void, unless the same shall be stamped and marked, as aforesaid, and it shall not be lawful for any person or persons owning or controlling property in this State, to insure the same with any such insurance company or companies, or individual insurers, or to enter into any insurance contract, or to receive any policy on which the stamp tax has not first been paid; and in default of

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such payment by said insurer, insurers, insurance company or companies, every person so insured, or receiving unstamped policies, shall become liable to the State of California for the amount of tax on the sums named to be insured by such unstamped policies. Any person or persons refusing or failing to comply with the provisions of this Act, or acting as Agents for any insurance company, or individual insurer, who shall neglect, or refuse, or fail, to comply with the same, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction thereof, before any Court of competent jurisdiction, be fined, for each offence, a sum not less than two hundred dollars or more than one thousand dollars, the amount recovered to be paid into the State Treasury.

SEC. 3. Any person, firm, officer, or agent, on his own account, or for, or on account of any company, association, corporation, or individual, issuing any instrument or writing whatsoever, charged by this Act, or the Act to which this is amendatory and supplemental, with the payment of taxes or duty, shall be required to place such stamp upon the face of every such instrument or writing, and to write upon the face of every stamp used the date at which the same is placed upon every such instrument or writing aforesaid; and such stamp shall not again be used. Any person, officer, or agent, failing to comply with the provisions of this section, or issuing a stamp more than once, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction thereof, before any Court of competent jurisdiction, be fined in a sum of not less than two hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, the amount recovered to be paid into the State Treasury.

April 15, 1862SEC. 3. … All insurers and insurance companies, or agents thereof, collecting premiums

at San Francisco, on the application of either of the Stamp Inspectors, shall exhibit to him their records of policies, or certificates, issued, and their books, showing the amount of their business, and the names of parties insured by them. All persons engaged in the collection of premiums from citizens of this State, whether by the issuance of policies or certificates of insurance, or by the indorsement of risks upon open policies, issued by the insurers or insurance companies, shall be deemed to be insurance agents, for the purposes of this Act; and the amount of stamp tax to be paid by such agents shall be ascertained by applying the rates of duty established by law to the whole sum insured by such agents, to be ascertained by the Inspectors from the books of the agency. Any receipt for the payment of a premium of insurance, when no policy or certificate has been issued, shall be deemed a policy, for the purposes of this Act, and shall be stamped as aforesaid. But no policy, certificate, or entry of reinsurance, made by one company or individual for another, when the original insurance has paid stamp duty, as herein before provided, shall be liable to the operations of this Act.

March 8, 1866SECTION 1. No stamp shall be required nor stamp duty exacted on any contract of insurance

when limited to accident resulting in injury or death.

By the Act of April 19, 1857, effective July 1, 1857, bills of exchange drawn in, but payable out of, California were taxed according to a graduated schedule of 22 rates based on the amount of the transaction. The tax on policies of insurance was defined to be half that on bills of exchange. These Exchange and Insurance rates are shown in Table I.

These taxes lasted less than ten months, ending abruptly on April 26, 1858, when the legislature replaced the tax on bills of exchange with one on bills of lading for shipments of gold or silver out of the state, effective immediately. These dates demarcate a First Period of Exchange and Insurance taxes. State records reveal that during this time 50,683 sets of First, Second, and very

occasionally Third, Exchange stamps were sold. They were initially printed in blue, first on white wove paper, then blue laid paper, and after mid-October 1857 in red (Mahler, 1997a,b, 2010). Sixty-two intact stamped bills from this period have been recorded (Mahler, 2010); since just over 100,000 stamps were sold, the survival rate of intact bills has been about 0.06%. Forty-six of these 62 bills bear blue stamps.

During this same period the Insurance stamps, printed exclusively in blue on white wove paper, presumably had a pattern of usage and survival similar to that of the early Exchange stamps. They paid the tax on insurance policies and renewals. Like bills of exchange, these documents remained

Insurance First Period, 1857–8

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Figure Insurance-1. Policy of Home Insurance Co., November 10, 1857, amount $1000, stamped with $1 blue Insurance (DIN10), on sewing machines of Wheeler and Wilson Manufacturing Co., San Francisco. One of two recorded documents bearing blue Insurance stamps.

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Figure Insurance-2. Policy of Niagara Fire Insurance Co., November 10, 1857, amount $1000, stamped with $1 blue Insurance (DIN10), on sewing machines of Wheeler and Wilson. The other of the two recorded documents bearing a blue Insurance stamp.

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Insurance Second Period, 1858–61

Amount Exchange InsuranceAbove $20 to $50 .08 .04Above $50 to $100 .20 .10Above $100 to $150 .30 .15Above $150 to $200 .40 .20Above $200 to $300 .60 .30Above $300 to $400 .80 .40Above $400 to $500 $1 .50Above $500 to $750 $1.40 .70Above $750 to $1000 $2 $1Above $1000 to $1500 $3 $1.50Above $1500 to $2000 $4 $2

Amount Exchange InsuranceAbove $2000 to $3000 $6 $3Above $3000 to $4000 $8 $4Above $4000 to $5000 $10 $5Above $5000 to $7000 $14 $7Above $7000 to $10,000 $20 $10Above $10,000 to $15,000 $30 $15Above $15,000 to $20,000 $38 $19Above $20,000 to $30,000 $56 $28Above $30,000 to $50,000 $90 $45Above $50,000 to $100,000 $175 $87.50Above $100,000 $200 $100

Table IExchange and Insurance Taxes, 1857–8 and 1861–72

in effect for a short time (a month or so for exchange, up to a year for insurance), then passed into personal or commercial archives whose survival depended upon the same vagaries of fate: fires, floods, earthquakes, deaths of key individuals, business successes or reversals, and similar elemental forces. The key difference between the Exchange and Insurance stamps of the First Period is that far fewer of the latter were sold, a total of only 3321 spread over 20 denominations (no 4¢ or $100 stamps were ever sold, only one $87.50, and four each of the $28 and $45; Mahler, 1997a, 2010). Any example is a first-class rarity. Smith (1903) referred to “documents in my possession, both insurance and exchange papers, bearing stamps in blue,” but until recently no intact policies bearing blue stamps were known to modern revenue specialists. A decade ago it was noted that “assuming the same survival rate for insurance policies as observed for bills of exchange, 0.06%, allows us to hope one or two might still exist on original policies.” (Mahler, 1997a). That hope has now been fulfilled.

Shown above are the key pieces from a group of six stamped policies insuring sewing machines of the Wheeler and Wilson Manufacturing Co. against fire at various locations in San Francisco (Figures Insurance-1,2). These two are virtually identical except for being issued by different companies, the Home Insurance Co. and the Niagara Fire Insurance Co. Each provided $1000 coverage for one year commencing November 10, 1857, at a cost of $25, on machines stored at 157 Sacramento Street. The policies are even made in the same hand, that of Jonathan Hunt, agent for both companies. Each bears a $1 blue Insurance stamp (DIN10), cut square, with blue “GWW” Controller’s handstamp, correctly paying the tax for amounts above $750 to $1000. The Records of the State Controller confirm that Jonathan Hunt had purchased 32 Insurance stamps on October 17, 1857, including six of the $1 (Mahler, 1997a, 2010). These are the long-awaited discovery examples of blue Insurance stamps on original policies. A fuller description of the “Wheeler and Wilson Find” is provided in Mahler (2009).

In the original schedule of 1857, the Insurance tax had been specified indirectly, not explicitly, defined to be half that for bills of exchange. When the Exchange tax was rescinded in 1858, the Insurance tax was not; it was merely reformulated, tied instead to the new Bill of Lading tax. For policies of one

year or more, the tax on insurance was set at half that for bills of lading, which was 30¢ for amounts to $100, and 0.2% for all other amounts; the Insurance rates were thus 15¢ for amounts to $100, and 0.1% for all other amounts. The legislature then introduced short-term rates, as follows:

Term Rates Amount to $100 Over $100One year or more 15¢ 0.1%9 to 12 months 75% of rates for one year or more 11¼¢ 0.075%6 to 9 months 50% of rates for one year or more 7½¢ 0.05% 3 to 6 months 25% of rates for one year or more 3¾¢ 0.025%

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To accommodate this rather unwieldy schedule, 36 large circular Insurance stamps were created, printed in red. For each time bracket, stamps were issued in nine denominations corresponding to convenient amounts of coverage from $100 to $50,000, the same amounts specified on the nine lowest Bill of Lading denominations. As always, the stamps were user-friendly; here they stated not only the tax, but the time of the policy and the upper limit of its coverage. 12 Month stamps, the most common—or more appropriately, least rare—time bracket, are known in all nine denominations. 3 Month and 6 Month stamps are listed in Cabot (1940) and Hubbard (1960) for all but the highest denomination, corresponding to $50,000 coverage; state records show that 25 each of the unlisted stamps were issued to the San Francisco County Treasurer, but all eventually returned unsold. For the little-used 9 Month stamps, the standard catalogs list only five (and price only one); again, the other four were issued, but all returned unsold (Kenyon, 1920; Mahler, 2011).1

These large Insurance issues were mistakenly dubbed “Marine Insurance” stamps by early catalogers, at least as far back as Adenaw (1894), an error perpetuated ever since. They were in fact general purpose stamps designed to be used on all manner of policies or receipts.

Problematic Pro-rating This short-term schedule of 1858 was not well thought out, on two counts. The most obvious is that the pro-rating was not done proportionately, and left policies of less than three months untaxed. It seems obvious that for durations up to one-fourth of a year the rate should have been one-fourth the yearly rate; up to half a year, half the rate; and up to three-fourths of a year, three-fourths the rate. Years later the Act of April 10, 1862, would correct this error. By then the Bill of Lading tax had been abolished, and the original slate of Exchange taxes re-established. The Insurance rates were again defined to be half the rates for bills of exchange, with the following exceptions:

Term Rate 6 to 9 months 75% of basic rate (i.e., 37½% of Exchange rates) 3 to 6 months 50% of basic rate (i.e., 25% of Exchange rates) 3 months or less 25% of basic rate (i.e., 12½% of Exchange rates)

This made more sense. In the meantime, though, by the letter of the law policies of less than three months were exempt. Amazingly, in a few cases the party affixing the stamps deduced what the rate should have been under proportional pro-rating, and paid this “phantom rate”!

The effects of this disproportional pro-rating in the 1858 schedule were minimized by a second flaw, namely that the brackets were not mutually exclusive, but overlapped at their endpoints. Policies of exactly nine months were taxed at both the 75% and 50% rates; six month policies at both the 50% and 25% rates; and three month policies fell into both the three to six month 25% bracket and the “phantom” bracket of up to three months. Since the majority of maritime policies were for exactly three months, they were accidentally taxed at the proportionally correct 25% rate. Only policies strictly less than three months were left out of the rate tables. For six and nine month policies the proportionally correct rate was the higher of

the two applicable, hardly an ideal situation; the public was left to deduce what the law intended rather than what it said, and trusted to pay the higher rate!

End of the Second PeriodOn January 28, 1861, the U.S. Supreme

Court declared California’s tax on bills of lading unconstitutional. That tax, enacted April 26, 1858, had replaced the Exchange tax originally enacted in 1857. Now the Act of May 9, 1861, effective on passage, brought matters full circle, implicitly rescinding the tax on bills of lading and reestablishing the Exchange and Insurance taxes enacted in 1857 (see Table I). Thus ended the Second Period for Insurance, which had lasted just over three years, and began the Third Period.

The StampsAs pointed out nearly a century ago

by Kenyon (1920), the large Insurance stamps were printed in four distinct colors, which he called orange-vermilion, brick red and carmine-lake, all on bluish paper, and vermilion on white paper; Figure Insurance-3 shows examples of each. After the denomination, its color is the next most basic defining characteristic of a given stamp. The fact that the seminal catalog of

1. The unlisted stamps were issued June 25, 1858, and returned July 31, 1861, along with 21 of the 9 Mo./$7.50 and 23 of the 12 Mo./$50 (four and two had been sold, the only sales of these stamps).

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Adenaw et al. (1921) failed to incorporate this fundamental descriptor into its listings is surprising, the more so as Kenyon was one of the co-authors. [It is not generally realized that the detailed listings of Cabot (1940) were copied verbatim from the now little-known work of Adenaw et al. —i.e. Julius K. Adenaw, J. Delano Bartlett, Brewster C. Kenyon, E. H. Vanderhoof, Walter D. Grout and Frank L. Applegate, a veritable Who’s Who of state revenue authorities.] These “savants of 1921” made only a cursory nod in the direction of

Figure Insurance-3. Left to right: large Insurance stamps in orange-vermilion, brick red, and carmine-lake on bluish paper, and vermilion on white paper.

stamp color, via the overarching notation “dull orange to deep rose”; their “dull orange” and “deep rose” are evidently Kenyon’s orange vermilion” and carmine-lake.

Using the Stamp Record of the State Controllers, supplemented by intact stamped documents, all deliveries by the Stamp Commissioners to the Controllers have been identified by color Mahler, 2011a). The dates of first deliveries for the four printings were as follows:

Orange-vermilion on bluish paper May 13, 1858Brick red on bluish paper July 1, 1859Carmine-lake on bluish paper March 16, 1860Vermilion on white paper December 10, 1860

As with all California issues of 1857–72, the Controller’s initialed handstamp was applied to these stamps before sale or

2. All previously published works erroneously give the changeover dates from Whitman to Meloney as October 12, 1858, and from Meloney to Brooks as January 15, 1860. In the State’s Stamp Record, Whitman’s final entry is dated October 6, 1858, and Meloney’s first entry, October 11, 1858. Meloney remained in office until March 15, 1860, with Brooks assuming the duties March 16.

George W. Whitman January 7, 1856–October 6, 1858 Aaron R. Meloney October 11, 1858–March 15, 1860Samuel H. Brooks March 15, 1860–November 20, 1861

issuance to County Treasurers. During the period they were in use, the Controllers, with their terms of office,2 were:

Meloney used two handstamps, dubbed plain and fancy.

If the large Insurance stamps are classified by denomination, then paper color, then

stamp color, then control handstamp, there are six distinct types. Detailed catalog listings have been proposed with the six types labeled A through F, in the following format:

—————————Thin bluish paper————————— Thin white paper orange-vermilion brick red carmine-lake vermilion (June 1, 1858) (July 1, 1859) (March 16, 1860) (Dec. 10, 1860)GWW ARM plain ARM fancy SHB SHB SHB A B C D E F

Appendix X lists the 36 large Insurance stamps in this format, with the best estimates

of the numbers sold, and proposed current prices.

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Only 25 full documents taxed at the Second Period rates have been recorded, 23 policies and two renewals; all are listed in the accompanying census. Nineteen are for one year, taxed at the 0.1% rate. One is for six months, taxed at 0.05%; four for three or four months, taxed at 0.025%; and one for one month, by the letter of the law not taxable, but stamped at the 0.025% “phantom rate.” A large piece of a policy bearing two stamps and dated July 20, 1858, is also listed; this is the earliest recorded usage of the large Insurance stamps (Figure Insurance-4). The classification of four of these documents is somewhat problematic. The Act of May 9, 1861, effective on passage, had rescinded the Second Period Insurance rates and re-established the original First Period rates, retroactive to May 1, 1861. It must have taken some weeks or months for this news to reach all appropriate parties. For most policies—at least those for a year or more—the taxes computed by the two schedules were the same; how then to classify the documents, Second Period or Third? Ideally the determining factor, if it could be known, would be the schedule used to compute the tax; if the old rates were used even though the new ones were already in effect, the usage could be plausibly attributed to the Second Period. One policy furnishes a useful clue in this regard, issued by the Liverpool and London Fire and Life Insurance Co. on July 1, 1861, providing $6000 coverage for one year to William Daegner on a building and contents including gold scales in Columbia, Tuolumne County. (Daegner was the Wells Fargo Agent at Columbia, and the building was presumably their agency there.) For a $6000 policy, the tax at the Second Period 0.1% rate was $6; by the Third Period

Notable Examples

schedule, it was $7, as the policy falls into the $5000–$7000 bracket. Only $6 was paid, by 6 Mo./$5 and 12 Mo./$1 stamps (DIN38, 53). While the property insured was in Columbia, the policy was issued in San Francisco by the Liverpool and London agent there, and presumably stamped by him. Evidently even some seven weeks after the Insurance stamp taxes had been revised by the Legislature, the agent of one of the major insurers in the state was still unaware of it. By implication two earlier items bearing large Insurance stamps, dated May 15 and June 18, 1861, have also been classed as Second Period usages, and a policy made some two weeks later, on July 16, 1861, has been included as well. Besides Columbia, insured properties on recorded Second Period usages were at Healdsburg, Forest Hill, Sacramento, San Francisco, Stockton and Suisun City, but the documents all appear to have been issued in San Francisco, and presumably stamped there. Later this would change. Three more usages of large Insurance stamps have been recorded, but now paying the Third Period rates, before the new small red Insurance stamps came into general use. The earliest recorded usage of the small red stamps is October 18, 1861, on a Liverpool and London Fire and Life Insurance Co. policy (Figure Insurance-34), but other users still had the old stamps on hand: a Hartford Fire Insurance Co. policy dated September 18, 1861, for $1150 has the new $1.50 rate paid by 6 Mo./50¢ and 12 Mo./$1; a Connecticut Fire Insurance Co. of Hartford policy dated November 1, 1861, bears a 12 Mo./$2; and a renewal receipt affixed to an Atlantic Fire Insurance Co. policy, dated November 1, 1861, bears 6 Mo./$2.50 and12 Mo./50¢ (Figure Insurance-12).

1. Portion of policy #405 of R. E. Haven, Insurance Broker, San Francisco, July 20, 1858, to Janson Bond & Co., stamped with 6 Mo./$2.50 and 12 Mo./50¢ in orange- vermilion with blue “GWW” control handstamp (DIN37A, 52A) (Figure Insurance-3). There was no requirement for use of “matching” stamps, i.e. 3 Month stamps on three month policies, 6 Month stamps on six month policies, and so on; in fact the Act of April 26, 1858, which redefined the Insurance rates, made no mention of stamps whatsoever. Of the 25 recorded Second Period usages,

eleven bear at least one mismatching stamp; evidently any combination was tolerated provided the amount paid was correct.

This is the earliest recorded usage of large Insurance stamps. Even better, these two appear to have been part of the very first sale of large Insurance stamps! On May 29, 1858, brokers Haven & Johnston had purchased one to ten apiece of 17 denominations, totaling $50, including two apiece of the 6 Mo./$2.50 and 12 Mo./50¢; their next purchase was on July 19, and it would have been virtually impossible for stamps delivered

Comments

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Figure Insurance-4. Portion of policy, R. E. Haven, San Francisco, July 20, 1858, stamped with 6 Mo./$2.50 and 12 Mo./50¢ (DIN37A, 52A), the earliest recorded usage of large Insurance stamps.

that day in Sacramento to have been used in San Francisco July 20. 2. Policy #581 of Home Insurance Co., November 10, 1858, to Wheeler and Wilson Manufacturing Co., $1000 for one year on sewing machines and other merchandise in their building at Montgomery and Sacramento Streets, San Francisco, stamped with 12 Mo./$1 (DIN53A) (Figure Insurance-5). As with the two policies made a year earlier bearing blue stamps (Figures Insurance 1, 2), here too a policy with identical date and coverage was obtained from the Niagara Insurance Co, #18023, bearing the same stamp. Both stamps have blue “GWW” handstamp and are generously cut square, the only recorded large Insurance stamps on document not cut to shape. 3. Policy #56 of Humboldt Fire Insurance Co., May 26, 1859, to Daniel Gibb & Co., $10,000 for one year on merchandise in their building at Post and Vallejo Streets, San Francisco, stamped with 12 Mo./$10 orange-vermilion with “ARM” handstamp (DIN56A) (Figure Insurance-6). Only 45 of these were ever sold. $10 is the highest-denomination large Insurance stamp recorded on document.4. Policy #218 of Merchants’ Insurance Co. of Hartford, March 7, 1860, to H. C. Hayden, Agent, $3000 for one year on sewing machines and other merchandise stored at the northeast corner of Pine and Leidesdorff streets (Hayden is identified in the 1858 San Francisco Directory as agent for Wheeler & Wilson’s Sewing Machines), stamped with 3 Mo./$2.50 and two 3 Mo./25¢, all brick red

with blue “ARM” fancy control (DIN26C, 29C), (Figure Insurance-7). 5. Policy #646 of Quaker City Fire Insurance Co., September 25, 1860, to H. Crandell & Co., $1000 for one year on a hotel in Forest Hill, stamped with 12 Mo./$1 carmine-lake with “SHB” control (DIN53E) (Figure Insurance-8). One of five recorded policies with identical coverage, dates and stamps, each issued by a different company. Forest Hill, now a ghost town, was in Placer County, 17 miles north of Auburn.6. Policy #983 of Continental Insurance Co., December 10, 1860, to the estate of John Rivett, $3000 for one year on a building in Sacramento, stamped with 3 Mo./$2.50 and 12 Mo./50¢, both carmine-lake “SHB” (DIN29E, 52E) (Figure Insurance-9). Policy #984 has also survived, for $2000 to the same parties, stamped with two 6 Mo./$1 (DIN35). 7. Policy #1726 of Hartford Fire Insurance Co., to Chas. B. Cooley, $400 for one year on a dwelling in Sacramento, January 10, 1861, 40¢ tax paid by two 12 Mo./20¢ vermilion on white paper (DIN51F) (Figure Insurance-10). Policies were seldom made in amounts this small, and these are the only recorded 12 Mo./20¢ stamps on document, This is also the earliest recorded usage of white paper stamps. The large Insurance stamps were printed first on bluish paper, with subsequent printings only of the most-used denominations on white paper. The 29 recorded documents bearing these stamps have a total of 44 stamps on bluish paper and only five on white paper.

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Figure Insurance-5. Policy of Home Insurance Co., November 10, 1858, $1000 for one year, stamped with 12 Mo./$1 (DIN53A) cut square, on sewing machines of Wheeler and Wilson Manufacturing Co., San Francisco.

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Census of Insurance Policies and Renewals Bearing California Revenue Stamps

FIRST PERIOD (July 1, 1857, to April 26, 1858)

$1 Rate (above $750 to $1000)Date Company Amount Stamp(s) Location Comments11/10/1857 Home Ins. Co. $1000 $1 Insurance (DIN9) S. Francisco #461; Wheeler & Wilson Mfg. Co., on Sewing Machines, 157 Sacramento St.11/10/1857 Niagara Ins. Co. $1000 $1 Insurance (DIN9) S. Francisco #17991; details as above

(All other rates)No examples recorded

SECOND PERIOD (April 27, 1858, to May 9, 1861)3

One Year orMore

Amount to $100, tax 15¢No examples recorded

Amount over $100, tax 0.1%Date Company Term Amt. Tax Stamp(s) Location Comments7/20/1858 R. S. Haven, Broker ??? ??? $3 6 Mo./$2.50 (DIN37A) ??? Piece only; “GWW” handstamps 12 Mo./50¢ (DIN52A)11/10/1858 Home Ins. Co. 1 year $1000 $1 12 Mo./$1 (DIN53A) S. Francisco #581; Wheeler & Wilson Mfg. Co., on sewing machines, etc.11/10/1858 Niagara Ins. Co. 1 year $1000 $1 12 Mo./$1 (DIN53A) S.Francisco #18,023; as above; many tone spots4/8/1859 Liverpool & London 1 year $10,000 $10 12 Mo./$5 (x2, DIN55B) S. Francisco On “50 Vara lot No. 532” Fire & Life Ins. Co. 5/26/1859 Humboldt Fire In. Co. 1 year $10,000 $10 12 Mo./$10 (DIN56B) S. Francisco #563/7/1860 Merchants’ Ins. Co. 1 year $3000 $3 3 Mo./25¢ (x2, DIN26C) S. Francisco #218; for Wheeler & Wilson Mfg., 3 Mo./$2.50 (DIN29C) Co., on sewing machines, etc.8/21/1860 Hartford Fire Ins. Co. 1 year $2000 $2 12 Mo./$2 (DIN54) Healdsburg #13059/18/1860 Aetna Ins. Co. 1 year $5000 $5 12 Mo./$5 (DIN55B) Stockton #489, to Wm. Pierce9/25/1860 Charter Oak Ins. Co. 1 year $1000 $1 12 Mo./$1 (DIN53E) Forest Hill #1233; to H. Crandell & Co. on hotel9/25/1860 City Fire Ins. Co. 1 year $1000 $1 12 Mo./$1 (DIN53E) Forest Hill #136; same property as above9/25/1860 Hartford Fire Ins. Co. 1 year $1000 $1 12 Mo./$1 (DIN53E) Forest Hill #1305; ditto9/25/1860 Imperial Fire Ins. Co. 1 year $1000 $1 12 Mo./$1 (DIN53E) Forest Hill #???; ditto9/25/1860 Quaker City Ins. Co. 1 year $1000 $1 12 Mo./$1 (DIN53E) Forest Hill #646; ditto12/10/1860 Continental Ins. Co. 1 year $3000 $3 3 Mo./$2.50(DIN29E) Sacramento #983 12 Mo./50¢ (DIN52E)12/10/1860 Continental Ins. Co. 1 year $2000 $2 6 Mo./$1 (x2, DIN36E) Sacramento #9841/10/1861 Hartford Fire Ins. Co. 1 year $400 40¢ 12 Mo./20¢ (x2, DIN51F) Sacramento #1726; stamps on white paper5/15/1861 Imperial Ins. Co., 1 year $700 70¢ 6 Mo./25¢ (DIN34C) Stockton? Renewal of policy #284,191, one Calif. Agency 12 Mo./50¢ (DIN52F) of six recorded renewals6/18/1861 Imperial Fire Ins. Co. 1 year $2000 $2 12 Mo./$1 (x2, DIN53C) Stockton #294,617; renewal attached dated 6/21/1862 (see below)7/1/1861 Liverpool & London 1 year $6000 $6 6 Mo./$5 (DIN38) Columbia On bldg. and contents incl. gold Fire & Life Ins. Co. 12 Mo./$1 (DIN53) scales; tax $7 by new rates effective May 1,1861, old rates used here7/16/1861 Hartford Fire Ins. Co. 1 year $750 75¢ 3 Mo./3¾¢ (DIN23) Marysville #2309; underpaid 3 Mo./25¢ (DIN26)

Nine Months to 12 Months

Amount to $100, tax 11¼¢Amount over $100, tax 0.075%

No examples recorded

3. These Second Period rates were replaced with a new schedule by the Act of May 9, 1861, which made the new rates retroactive to May 1, 1861. I have used May 9, not May 1, as the nominal termination date for the Second Period; in practice, the old rates were used for some time thereafter, until news of the new schedule was disseminated.

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Figure Insurance-6. Policy of Humboldt Insurance Co., May 26, 1859, $10,000 for one year, bearing 12 Mo./$10 with “ARM” control (DIN56B), the highest recorded large Insurance denomination on document.

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Figure Insurance-7. Policy of Merchants’ Insurance Co. of Hartford, March 7, 1860, $3000 for one year, stamped with 3 Mo./25¢ (x2) & 3 Mo./$2.50 brick red (DIN26C 29C), on Wheeler and Wilson sewing machines.

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Figure Insurance-8. Policy of Quaker City Fire Insurance Co., September 25, 1860, $1000 for one year, stamped with 12 Mo./$1 carmine-lake (DIN53E), on hotel in Forest Hill.

15

Figure Insurance-7. Policy of Continental Insurance Co., December 10, 1860, $3000 for one year, stamped with 3 Mo./$2.50 and 12 Mo./50¢ carmine-lake (DIN29E, 52E).

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Figure Insurance-9. Policy of Hartford Fire Insurance Co., January 10, 1861, $400 for one year, stamped with two 12 Mo./20¢ on white paper (DIN51F), the earliest recorded usage of white paper stamps.

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Six to Nine Months

Amount to $100, tax 7½¢No examples recorded

Amount over $100, tax 0.05%Date Company Term Amt. Tax Stamp(s) Location Comments5/1/1861 Atlantic Fire Ins. Co. 6 Mos. $3000 $1.50 9 Mo./75¢ (x2, DIN44D) Suisun City #67; to Wm. Pierce; stamp unpriced by Cabot, only 92 sold; 1yr.renewalaffixed(seebelow)

Three to SixMonths

Amount to $100, tax 3¾ ¢No examples recorded

Amount over $100, tax 0.025%Date Company Term Amt. Tax Stamp(s) Location Comments3/9/1859 Humboldt Fire In. Co. 4 Mos. $3000 75¢ 6 Mo./$1 (DIN36) S. Francisco #26; to Daniel Gibb & Co. on merchandise in New Orleans Warehouse; overpaid by 25¢8/14/1860 Quaker City Ins. Co. 3 Mos. $3500 87.5¢ 3 Mo./12½¢ (DIN25D) S. Francisco Marine policy #479, on cargo of 6 Mo./25¢ (DIN34E) bark “Vickery,” voyage San 12 Mo./50¢ (DIN52E) Francisco to New Westminster8/14/1860 Neptune Ins. Co. via 3 Mos. $3500 87.5¢ 3 Mo./12½¢ (DIN25D) S. Francisco Marine policy #72, on cargo of PacificIns.Agency 6Mo./25¢(DIN34E) bark“Vickery,”voyageSan 12 Mo./50¢ (DIN52E) Francisco to New W estminster8/31/1860 Home Ins. Co. 1Mo. $3000 75¢ 3 Mo./25¢, (DIN26D) S. Francisco #841: H. C. Hayden, Agent (for 12 Mo./50¢ (DIN52) Wheeler & Wilson Mfg. Co.), on Sewing Machines, Montgomery St.4/20/1861 Security Fire Ins. Co. 3 Mos. $10,000 $2.50 12 Mo./50¢ (DIN52E) Not stated Renewal #401 on policy #348; 12 Mo./$2 (DIN54F) $2 on white paper

Figure Insurance-10. Renewal of Imperial Fire Insurance Co. Californian Agency, May 15, 1861, $700 for one year, stamped with 6 Mo./25¢ on bluish paper plus 12 Mo./50¢ on white paper (DIN34C, 52F).

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Figure Insurance-11. Policy of Imperial Fire Insurance Co. Californian Agency, June 18, 1861, $2000 for one year, stamped with two 12 Mo./$1 brick red (DIN53C). Renewal attached dated June 21, 1862, stamped with $2 small red Insurance (DIN69) with “GRW” monogram handstamp.

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8. Renewal receipt for policy #284,191, Imperial Insurance Co. Californian Agency, May 15, 1861, $700 for one year, to Mrs. F. J. Huggins of Stockton, stamped with 6 Mo./25¢ brick red with “ARM” fancy control plus 12 Mo./50¢ vermilion on white paper (DIN34C, 52F) (Figure Insurance-10). Ms. notation “Stamp $.75” added to the $8.75 premium, making $9.50 received; this shows that the stamp tax was passed by the insurers to the public. Here the 70¢ tax was overpaid by 5¢. One of two recorded combinations of stamps on blue and white papers.9. Policy of #294,617 of Imperial Fire Insurance Co. Californian Agency, June 18, 1861, to Frank Huggins, $2000 for one year on a dwelling in Stckton, stamped with two 12 Mo./$1 brick red “ARM” fancy (DIN53C) (Figure Insurance-11). A renewal receipt (now inscribed “San Francisco Agency”) for one year is attached, dated June 21, 1862, stamped with $2 small Insurance (DIN69) with “GRW” monogram handstamp, and ms. cancel as newly required by the Act of April 10, 1862.

Short-Term Rates10. Policy #67 of Atlantic Fire Insurance Co., May 1, 1861, to William Pierce, $3000 for six months on a warehouse in Suisun City, Solano County, stamped with two 9 Mo./75¢ brick red with “SHB” control (DIN44D) (Figure Insurance-12). This stamp was unlisted by Cabot and Hubbard; only 66 were sold. The only recorded example of the 0.05% rate for six to nine months. Ex-Joyce. Renewal receipt #122 is affixed, dated November 1, 1861, for an additional year, taxed at the Third Period $3 rate, stamped with 6 Mo./$2.50 and12 Mo./50¢, both on white paper (DIN37F, 52F). One of three recorded usages of large Insurance stamps to pay Third Period rates; this and one other made the same day are the latest.11. Marine policy #479 of Quaker City Insurance Co., August 14, 1860, $3500 on the cargo of the bark Vickery on a voyage from San Francisco to New Westminster (British Columbia), tax at the three-month 0.025% rate 87½¢, paid by 12 Mo./50¢ and 6 Mo./25¢ carmine-lake and 3 Mo./12½¢ brick red, all with “SHB” control (DIN25D, 34E, 52E) (Figure Insurance-13). The cargo was insured for $7000, and the policy providing the other $3500 has also survived, marine policy #72 of the Neptune Insurance Co. via the Pacific Insurance Agency, identical to this one in all details.

The arrival at the San Francisco mint in 1858 of 800 ounces of gold from the Fraser River region in present-day British Columbia triggered a wild rush to that area. New Westminster sprang into existence on the north bank of the Fraser, and became a major outfitting point for expeditions. In February 1859 it became the capital of the newly-created Colony of British Columbia. The Fraser River rush was short-lived, but opened the door to far-ranging exploration and richer strikes in the 1860s. 12. Renewal receipt #401 on policy #348, Security Fire Insurance Co. California Agency, April 20, 1861, to S. C. Shaw, $10,000 for three months, tax at the 0.025% rate $2.50, stamped with 12 Mo./50¢ and 12 Mo./$2, the latter on white paper (DIN52E, 54F)) (Figure Insurance-14). The second of the two recorded combinations of stamps on blue and white papers, which best shows the contrast between the papers.

The “Phantom Rate”13. Policy #841 of Home Insurance Co., August 31, 1860, to H. C. Hayden, agent for Wheeler and Wilson Sewing Machines, $3000 for one month on “Sewing machines, Work, Upholstery, Portable room Paintings, Mirrors and Similar articles on exhibition contained in the one Story Frame Pavilion building on West Side of Montgomery Street between Sutter & Post Streets, San Francisco,” stamped with 12 Mo./50¢ and 3 Mo./25¢ carmine-lake with “ARM” handstamps (DIN26E, 34E) (Figure Insurance-15). The exhibition referred to was the Industrial Exhibition, or Mechanic’s Fair, opening September 4, 1860, in a pavilion on the corner of Sutter and Montgomery. The 75¢ tax paid on this one-month policy is one-fourth that for a year’s coverage in the same amount. Strictly speaking, because of a legislative blunder no tax need have been paid. Short term rates had been set as follows: Term Rate 9–12 months 75% of one year rate 6–9 months 50% of one year rate 3–6 months 25% of one year rateLogically, for durations up to one-fourth of a year the rate should have been one-fourth the yearly rate; up to half a year, half the yearly rate; and up to three-fourths of a year, three-fourths the yearly rate. The Act of April 10, 1862, would so stipulate. In the meantime, though, policies of less than three months were exempt. Amazingly, in the case at hand the “phantom rate” that would have applied under proportional pro-rating was paid. It is natural to wonder at the logic employed.

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Figure Insurance-12. Policy of Atlantic Fire Insurance Co., May 1, 1861, $3000 for six months on a warehouse in Suisun City, tax $1.50 at 50% of the one-rear rate, stamped with two 9 Mo./75¢ (DIN44D). The only recorded example of the 50% rate for policies of six to nine months. The 9 Mo./75¢ is unpriced by Cabot; only 92 were sold. Ex-Joyce.

Renewal receipt for an additional year affixed, November 1, 1861, Third Period $3 rate paid by 6 Mo./$2.50 and 12 Mo./50¢, both on white paper (DIN37F, 52F), the latest recorded usage of large Insurance stamps.

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Figure Insurance-13. Marine policy of Quaker City Insurance Co., August 14, 1860, $3500 on cargo of bark “Vickery” from San Francisco to New Westminster, British Columbia, tax at the three-month 0.025% rate 87½¢, paid by 12 Mo./50¢ & 6 Mo./25¢ carmine-lake and 3 Mo./12½¢ brick red (DIN25D, 34E, 52E).

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Figure Insurance-14. Renewal receipt of Security Fire Insurance Co. California Agency, April 20, 1861, $10,000 for three months, tax $2.50 as 25% of the one-year rate, stamped with 12 Mo./50¢ and 12 Mo./$2, the latter on white paper (DIN52E, 54F). One of the two recorded combinations of stamps on blue and white papers; this one best shows the striking contrast between the two papers.

During the Second Period of Insurance stamp taxes, the rates were half the Bill of Lading rates. In January 1861, though, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the bill of lading tax unconstitutional. It was implicitly rescinded by the California legislature in its Act of May 9, 1861, which in its place re-established the original schedule of taxes on bills of exchange. The Insurance tax was now reset to half that on bills of exchange, as during 1857–8. This initiated a Third Period for Insurance, which would last until the expiration of the stamp taxes on December 31, 1872. New small red Insurance stamps

were created in the same 22 denominations originally issued in blue in 1857, one for each rate, as listed above in Table I, using the original dies.4 There was a lag of some months, however, before the new stamps came into general use. The Records of the State Controller show that the large Insurance stamps continued to be sold throughout May, June and July 1861, with the last sale on July 30, after which the notation “Policies of Insurance closed” appears; the first delivery of the small red stamps reached the Controller only on August 1, 18615 and the first sale was made on August 5. Even then it was necessary for the stocks of the large Insurance stamps still in the hands of the public to be depleted before the new stamps were used exclusively. The earliest recorded usage of the small red Insurance stamps on an intact document is October 18, 1861, and the latest recorded use of the large stamps, November 1, 1861 (Figures Insurance-12, 34). In late 1866 the small Insurance stamps and all other Circulars would be replaced by the general state revenue stamps (the “Rectangulars”).

4. From the Stamp Commissioners Minute Books, June 1, 1861: “The Board after an examination of the dies prepared under the provisions of [the Act of April 29, 1857] adopted the same for Exchange, Insurance, Attorneys and Passengers, and ordered that the Secretary of State cause such stamps to be printed and delivered to the State Controller. ...”5. In contrast, the first delivery of the new Exchange stamps was on June 15, 1861.

Insurance Third Period, 1861–72

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Figure Insurance-15. Policy of Home Insurance Co., August 31, 1860, $3000 for one month, on Wheeler and Wilson Sewing Machines displayed in pavilion of the Industrial Exhibition or Mechanic’s Fair, San Francisco, which opened September 4, 1860. Tax 75¢ at the “phantom rate” for policies of less than three months, paid by 12 Mo./50¢ & 3 Mo./25¢ carmine-lake (D25E, 34E).

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Francisco, premium $2, stamped on reverse with 20¢ brown rouletted (D6a) and U.S. 10¢ Bill of Lading (R32c) (Figure Insurance-17). The second of the two recorded examples of the 20¢ rate and the only recorded example of the 20¢ roulette on document. The 20¢ is tied by “LIV. & LON. & GLOBE INS. CO. S.F.” dated handstamp, and the U.S. 10¢ by a dated herringbone that breaks the paper of the stamp. Why were different cancels applied to the two stamps? The answer illustrates a fine point of U.S. stamp tax regulations. In his Circular No. 82 of February 10, 1870, U.S. Commissioner of Internal Revenue Columbus Delano had mandated that stamps be cancelled either by writing the date and user’s initials in ink, or by a handstamp or machine cancel that cut the stamp; handstamp cancels that did not cut the stamp were prohibited. In a Supplement dated July 15, 1870, he added the requirement that cut cancels include the date (Mahler, 1988). The company handstamp used here on the 20¢ state stamp would thus have been illegal if used on the 10¢ U.S. stamp, but the dated herringbone conformed precisely to the federal guidelines. Since it also satisfied the only requirement in the state statutes regarding cancels—that they specify the date—it could have been used on the California stamp as well. This would certainly have been more convenient than using two cancels; there must have been some real or perceived benefit in retaining the company cancel for the state stamps. All recorded policies of the period executed at San Francisco show this puzzling dual cancellation (Figures Insurance-xx).

30¢ Rate (above $200 to $300)3. Policy #6017 of Phoenix Insurance Co., January 25, 1872, $250 for one year on property in San Bernardino, stamped with $1 yellow quadrisect (D23) and U.S. Postage 3¢ Banknote strip of three. The California stamp has ms. cancel “30 cts” with date and initials. The only recorded example of the 30¢ rate.

20¢ Rate (above $150 to $200)1 Policy #7069 of Phoenix Insurance Co., September 17, 1866, to E. Hooper, $200 for one year on a barn in Linda Township, “about two miles from Marysville,” Yuba County, premium $7.50, stamped with 20¢ Insurance with tablet error “ABOVE $50 TO $100” instead of “ABOVE $150 TO $200” (DIN62a) and U.S. 10¢ Inland Exchange (R36c) (Figure Insurance-16). One of two recorded examples of the 20¢ rate, and one of two recorded examples of the 20¢ tablet error on document. The stamps are cancelled by “J. F. SMITH & CO. M’VILLE” datestamp, and signed as Agent by Jos. F. Smith at Marysville; the stamps were presumably affixed there. Incidentally, Marysville was named in 1850 after Mary Murphy, a survivor of the ill-fated Donner Party, who had recently married one of the co-owners of the townsite. The 20¢ tablet error resulted from insertion of a tablet for the 20¢ Exchange stamp into the cliché of an Insurance stamp. There is no useful primary evidence as to the rarity of the error relative to that of the normal stamp. Cabot (1940) priced the error on thin white paper at $5, and the normal stamp at $2.50; and on medium white paper at $5 for the error and $1 for the normal. On document, two examples of the error are known, and six of the normal. This would be consistent with a small sheet size, possibly a strip of four, one with the erroneous cliché. The U.S. Insurance stamp taxes were based not on the amount of coverage, but on the premium. Effective August 1, 1864, they were as follows:Rate Premium10¢ To $10, after 3/3/1863 25¢ All premiums, 10/1/1862–3/2/1863 Above $10, 3/3/1863–7/31/1864 Above $10 to $50, after 8/1/186450¢ Above $50, after 8/1/1864 2. Policy #1,635,159 of Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Co. Pacific Department, January 26, 1872, to Perry Fitzhugh, $200 for one year on belongings in a dwelling in San

Notable Examples

Short-Term Rates The Act of May 9, 1861, failed to pro-rate the Insurance taxes for short-term policies, but this was remedied by the Act of April 10, 1862, which set the following short-term rates:

Term Rate6 to 9 months 75% of one year rate3 to 6 months 50% of one year rate3 months or less 25% of one year rate

Unlike the 1858–1861 Second Period, when 9 Mo., 6 Mo., and 3 Mo. stamps were created, this time no new stamps were issued for these short-term rates, and until now they have been virtually unknown to philatelists. Only eight documents taxed at these rates have been recorded.

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Figure Insurance-16A. Policy of Phoenix Insurance Co., September 17, 1866, $200 on barn in Linda Township, Yuba County, stamped with 20¢ Insurance with tablet error “ABOVE $50 TO $100,” U.S. R36c. One of two recorded examples of the 20¢ rate, and one of two recorded 20¢ tablet errors on document.

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Figure Insurance-17. Policy of Liverpool & London & Globe Insurance Co., January 26, 1872, $200, stamped on reverse with 20¢ brown rouletted (DIN6a) , U.S. R32c. The second of the two recorded examples of the 20¢ rate, and the only recorded example of the 20¢ roulette on document. Right, close view of stamps; note “JJG” Controller’s handstamp and the different cancels used on the state and federal stamps (see text).

Figure Insurance-16B. Close view of 20¢ tablet error.

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THIRD PERIOD (May 10, 1861, to December 31, 1872)6

Term Nine Months or More7

20¢ Rate (above $150 to $200)Date Company Amt. Stamp(s) Location Comments9/17/1866 Phoenix Ins. Co. $200 20¢ Insurance (DIN62a) Marysville #7069; on barn in Linda Twp; 20¢ U.S. R36c is “ABOVE $50 TO $100” error1/26/1872 Liverpool & London $200 20¢ brown rouletted (D6a) S. Francisco #1,635,159; stamps on back; only & Globe Ins. Co. U.S. R32c recorded example of 20¢ roulette on document; scarce “JJG” h.s.

30¢ Rate (above $200 to $300)1/25/1872 Phoenix Ins. Co. $250 $1 yellow quadrisect (D23) S. Bernardino #6017; Calif. stamp with ms. “30 U.S. 3¢ Banknote strip of three cts,” date and initials

40¢ Rate (above $300 to $400)6/13/1867 Home Mutual Ins. Co. $400 20¢ brown (x2, D6) Chinese Camp #2468 U.S. 5¢ stamp (x2)2/14/1872 Home Mutual Ins. Co. $400 40¢ rose carmine (D8) Oakland Renewal on policy #12,388 U.S. R32c

50¢ Rate (above $400 to $500)4/3/1862 Home Ins. Co. $500 50¢ Insurance (DIN65A) S. Francisco Policy #2441; stamp on bluish paper (unpriced in Cabot), “GRW” monogram; several renewalsexist,oneaffixed(see below)4/11/1863 Home Ins. Co. $500 10¢ Insurance (DIN60) S. Francisco Renewal form of Bigelow & Bro., 20¢Insurance(x2,DIN62) Agents,#3137affixedtopolicy U.S. R47a #2441 (see above); stamps on back4/4/1865 Home Ins. Co. $500 10¢ Insurance (DIN60), S. Francisco Renewal form of Bigelow & Bro., 20¢ Insurance (x2, DIN62, 62a) Agents, #5747 on policy #2441 U.S. R48c (miswritten “2241”); one 20¢ is “ABOVE $50 TO $100” error7/23/1870 Occidental Ins. Co. $500 50¢ olive yellow rouletted (D12a) S. Francisco #12,432; only recorded example of U.S. R32c 50¢ olive yellow roulette on document

70¢ Rate (above $500 to $750)5/17/1862 Imperial Ins. Co. $700 20¢ Insurance (DIN62) Stockton Renewal on policy #284,191 50¢ Insurance (DIN65) 5/16/1863 Imperial Ins. Co. $700 20¢ Insurance (DIN62) Stockton Renewal on policy #284,191 50¢ Insurance (DIN65) U.S. R50a 5/15/1864 Imperial Ins. Co. $700 30¢ Insurance (DIN63) Stockton Renewal on policy #284,191 40¢ Insurance (DIN64) U.S. R42b, 27b11/28/1864 Phoenix Ins. Co. $600 70¢ Insurance (DIN66) Oakland Renewal #1024 on policy #6033 U.S. R48c5/13/1865 Imperial Ins. Co. $700 20¢ Insurance (DIN62) Stockton Renewal on policy #284,191 50¢ Insurance (DIN65) U.S. R44c

6. The Second Period rates were replaced with those of the Third Period by the Act of May 9, 1861, retroactive to May 1, 1861. Here May 9, not May 1, has been used as the nominal termination date for the Second Period; in practice, the old rates were used for some time thereafter, until news of the new schedule was disseminated. 7.All pieces listed below have term one year.

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70¢ Rate (above $500 to $750), cont.Date Company Amt. Stamp(s) Location Comments5/12/1866 Imperial Ins. Co. $700 10¢ Insurance (DIN60) Stockton Renewal on policy #284,191 15¢ Insurance (DIN61) 50¢ Insurance (DIN65) U.S. R50c2/21/1868 Phoenix Ins. Co. $600 70¢ yellow orange (D16) Oakland Renewal #1109 on policy #6168 U.S. R32c 2/21/1869 Phoenix Ins. Co. $600 30¢ rose carmine (D7) Oakland Renewal #1271 on policy #6168 40¢ rose carmine (D8) U.S. R32c1/23/1872 Liverpool & London $600 70¢ orange (D15) S. Francisco #1,635,103; stamps on back; 70¢ orange & Globe Ins. Co. U.S. R32c die-cut; state stamps cancelled company d.s., U.S. stamp by dated herringbone

$1 Rate (above $750 to $1000)2/15/1862 Home Ins. Co. $800 $1 Insurance (DIN67) S. Francisco #2361; stamp “SHB” control, bluish paper?6/11/1862 Home Ins. Co. $1000 $1 Insurance (DIN67) S. Francisco Renewal #2510 on policy #1020; “GRW” monogram1/2/1865 Phoenix Ins. Co. $1000 $1 Insurance (DIN67) Marysville #6575 U.S. R48c3/1/1865 Home Ins. Co. $800 50¢ Insurance (x2, DIN67) S. Francisco Renewal form of Bigelow & Bro., U.S. R48c Agents, on horses, chaise, buggy10/29/1866 San Francisco Ins. Co. $800 $1 violet (D20) S. Francisco #5799 U.S. R47c1/20/1869 Phoenix Ins. Co. $800 $1 (D19/22) Salinas Stamps on back; $1 die-cut U.S. R43c12/16/1869 Phoenix Ins. Co. $800 $1 yellow (D23) Oakland Renewal #1491 on policy #6612 U.S. R44c7/12/1870 Liverpool & London $1000 $1 yellow rouletted (D23a) Oroville #1,283,334; stamps on back; only & Globe Ins. Co. U.S. R48c recorded example of $1 yellow roulette on document7/23/1871 Occidental Ins. Co. $800 50¢ olive yellow (x2, D13) S. Francisco #26,504; wonderful ABNCo-engraved U.S. R32c vignette of Golden Gate and Fort Point 7/6/1872 Liverpool & London $1000 $1 yellow (D23) S. Francisco #1,637,311; stamps on back, $1 die-cut & Globe Ins. Co. U.S. R32c

$1.50 Rate (above $1000 to $1500)9/18/1861 HartfordFireIns.Co.$1150 6Mo./50¢(DIN35C) Folsom #2550;renewalaffixedbearingDIN68 12 Mo./$1 (DIN53F) (see below)8/20/1862 Liverpool & London $1500 50¢ Insurance (DIN65) Columbia Stamps with ms. cancel “Aug 20 1862,” & Globe Ins. Co. $1 Insurance (DIN67) early example (required as of 4/10/1862)9/18/1862 HartfordFireIns.Co.$1150 $1.50Insurance(DIN68) Folsom Renewalaffixedtopolicy#2550of 9/18/1861 (see above); stamp on back11/21/1863 City Fire Ins. Co. of $1500 $1.50 Insurance (DIN68) S. Francisco #960; h.s. cancel of John Fowler, Agent Hartford, Conn. U.S. R42c, 27c 11/21/1863 Metropolitan Ins. Co. $1500 $1.50 Insurance (DIN68) S. Francisco Renewal #34,908 on policy #33,343; U.S. R42b, 27c stamps on reverse2/12/1865 Hartford Ins. Co. $1500 $1.50 Insurance (DIN68) S. Francisco Renewal #5658 on policy #6490; stamps U.S. R48c on back, tied by Bigelow Bros. h.s.1/29/1867 Phoenix Ins. Co. $1500 50¢ violet (D189) Long Bar (3 mi. from Marysville) $1 violet (D20) U.S. R47c8/19/1867 Liverpool & London $1500 $1.50 yellow green (D27) S. Francisco #565,121 & Globe Ins. Co. U.S. R48c10/14/1868 Fireman’s Fund Ins. $1500 $1.50 yellow green (D27) S. Francisco #17,774 Co. U.S. R43c 10/1/1869 Phoenix Ins. Co. $1500 $1.50 gray green (D28) S. Francisco Policy #18,198 U.S. R44c

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Figure Insurance-18. Policy of Home Mutual Insurance Co., June 13, 1867, $400 on property in Chinese Camp, Tuolumne county, stamped with 20¢ brown (x2, D6) and two U.S. 5¢. One of two recorded examples of the 40¢ rate.

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Figure Insurance-19. Policy of Home Insurance Co., April 3, 1862, $500, stamped with 50¢ Insurance on bluish paper (DIN65B) with monogram“GRW” handstamp. Renewal receipt affixed, April 11, 1863, stamped on reverse with Insurance 10¢ and two 20¢ (DIN60, 62) and U.S. 25¢ Life Insurance imperforate (R47a).

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Figure Insurance-20. Renewal form of Home Insurance Co., April 4, 1865, stamped with Insurance 10¢ and two 20¢ (DIN60, 62, 62a) and U.S. R48c. The 20¢ tablet error is juxtaposed with the normal 10¢ and 20¢, the tablets reading:

“ABOVE $150 TO $200, 20CTS”“ABOVE $50 TO $100, 20CTS”“ABOVE $50 TO $100, 10CTS”

Something is obviously wrong here! The error is in the middle stamp.

Figure Insurance-21B. Close view of 50¢ roulette.

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Figure Insurance-21A. Policy of Occidental Insurance Co., July 23, 1870, stamped with 50¢ olive yellow rouletted (D12a), the only recorded example on document, and U.S. R32c. Facing page, close view of 50¢.

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Figure Insurance-22. Renewal receipt of Imperial Insurance Co., Stockton, May 15, 1864, for $700, stamped with 30¢ and 40¢ Insurance (DIN63–4) and U.S. Inland Exchange 5¢ and 20¢ part perforates (R27b, 42b). The only recorded examples of the 30¢ and 40¢ Insurance on document.

Figure Insurance-23. Renewal receipt of Phoenix Insurance Co., Sacramento Agency, November 28, 1864, for $600, stamped with 70¢ Insurance (DIN66) and U.S. 25¢ Power of Attorney (R48c). The only recorded example of the 70¢ Insurance on document.

34

Figure Insurance-24. Renewal receipts on the same policy of Phoenix Insurance Co., Oakland Agency, each for $600, one made February 21, 1868, stamped with 70¢ yellow orange (D16) and U.S. 10¢ Bill of Lading (R32c), the other dated February 21, 1869, stamped with 30¢ and 40¢ rose carmine (D7, 8) and U.S. 10¢ Bill of Lading (R32c). The 30¢, 40¢ and 70¢ Rectangulars are all rare on Insurance documents, no more than three of each having been recorded.

40¢ Rate (above $300 to $400)4. Policy #2468 of Home Mutual Insurance Co., June 13, 1867, to S. J. Pratt, $400 for one year on property in Chinese Camp, Tuolumne county, premium $10, stamped with two 20¢ brown (D6) and two overlapped U.S. 5¢ stamps (Figure Insurance-18). One of two recorded examples of the 40¢ rate. Chinese Camp had a population of some thousands in the 1850s and 1860s, many Chinese. Today it is essentially a ghost.

50¢ Rate (above $400 to $500)5. Policy #2441 of Home Insurance Co., April 3, 1862, to Mrs. Charlotte Brueck, $500 for one year on property in San Francisco, stamped with 50¢ Insurance on bluish paper

(DIN65A) with striking monogram“GRW” handstamp (Figure Insurance-19). This stamp was unpriced in Cabot and Hubbard. Renewal receipt #3137 is affixed, April 11, 1863, again for $500 and one year, with premium $22.50, stamped on reverse with Insurance 10¢ and two 20¢ (DIN60, 62) and U.S. 25¢ Life Insurance imperforate (R47a), tied by BIGELOW BRO’S. & FLINT” fancy handstamp cancels. Both policy and renewal are forms of Bigelow & Brother, Agents.6. Renewal form of Home Insurance Co., Bigelow & Bro., Agents, #5747 on policy #2441 (miswritten “2241”) to Mrs. Charlotte Brueck, April 4, 1865, $500 for one year, premium $22.50, stamped with Insurance 10¢ and two 20¢ (DIN60, 62, 62a) and

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Figure Insurance-25. Policy of Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Co. Pacific Department, January 23, 1872, amount $600, stamped on reverse with die-cut 70¢ orange (D15) and U.S. 10¢ Bill of Lading (R32c). Left, close view of the stamps.

Figure Insurance-26B. Close view of $1 roulette.

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Figure Insurance-26. Policy of Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Co. New York Department, July 12, 1870, $1000 for one year on a dwelling and belongings in Oroville, stamped on reverse with $1 yellow rouletted (D23a) and U.S. 25¢ Power of Attorney (R48c), executed and stamped in San Francisco. The only recorded example of the $1 yellow roulette on document. Facing page, close view of the $1 stamp.

U.S. 25¢ Power of Attorney (R48c) (Figure Insurance-20). One 20¢ is the “ABOVE $50 TO $100” tablet error, the second of the two recorded examples of this stamp on document, wonderfully highlighted here by its juxtaposition with the normal 10¢ and 20¢, the tablets reading:

“ABOVE $150 TO $200, 20CTS”“ABOVE $50 TO $100, 20CTS”“ABOVE $50 TO $100, 10CTS”

Something is obviously wrong here—these cannot all be correct!7. Policy #12,432 of Occidental Insurance Co., July 23, 1870, to J. McMann, $500 on furniture and clothing in a dwelling in San Francisco, premium $5, stamped with 50¢ olive yellow rouletted (D12a) and U.S. 10¢ Bill of Lading (R32c) (Figure Insurance-21). The only recorded example on document of the 50¢ olive yellow roulette. The policy has a lithographed vignette of the Golden Gate. Example 14 describes another policy on the same property, made a year later with increased coverage.

70¢ Rate (above $500 to $750)8. Renewal receipt for policy #284,191 of Imperial Insurance Co., May 15, 1864, to F. J. Huggins of Stockton for $700, premium $13.12, stamped with 30¢ and 40¢ Insurance on thin white paper (DIN63A, 64A) and U.S. Inland Exchange 20¢ and 5¢ part perforates (R27b, 42b) (Figure Insurance-22). The only recorded examples of the 30¢ and 40¢ Insurance on document.

For stamps on document it can be difficult to distinguish between thin and medium white papers However the “SHB” control, as on the 30¢ here, is a sure sign of thin paper; Samuel H. Brooks remained in office only until November 20, 1861; by then relatively few of the new small Insurance stamps had been delivered, issued or sold. His handstamp is known only on stamps on thin white or thin bluish papers, proving that these preceded the issues on medium and laid papers. This 30¢, a little-used value, evidently languished in the company’s stock for two and a half years before finding its way onto this receipt.

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Figure Insurance-27. Policy of Occidental Insurance Co., July 23, 1871, amount $800, stamped with two 50¢ olive yellow (D12) and U.S. 10¢ Bill of Lading (R32c).

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Figure Insurance-28. Policy of Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Co. Pacific Department, July 6, 1872, amount $1000, stamped on reverse with die-cut $1 yellow (D23) and U.S.10¢ Bill of Lading (R32c). Left, close view of the stamps.

The 40¢ here is also on thin paper, based not on its control, but on the fact that the ornamental border of the receipt can be seen quite clearly through the paper.9. Renewal receipt #1024 for policy #6033 of Phoenix Insurance Co., Sacramento Agency, November 28, 1864, to D. Hardy for $600, premium $30, stamped with 70¢ Insurance (DIN66) and U.S. 25¢ Power of Attorney (R48c) (Figure Insurance-23). The only recorded example of the 70¢ Insurance on document.10. Renewal receipt #1109 for policy #6168 of Phoenix Insurance Co., Oakland Agency, February 21, 1868, to Robert McCutcheon for $600, premium $4.50, stamped with 70¢ yellow orange (D16) and U.S. 10¢ Bill of Lading (R32c) (Figure Insurance-24). Renewal receipt #1271 for the same policy for the following year has also survived, dated February 21, 1869, again for $600, premium now $5.10, stamped with 30¢ and 40¢ rose carmine (D7, 8) and U.S. 10¢ Bill of Lading (R32c). The 30¢, 40¢ and 70¢ Rectangulars are all rare on Insurance

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Figure Insurance-29. Policy of City Fire Insurance Co. of Hartford, November 21, 1863, amount $1500, stamped with $1.50 Insurance (DIN34) and U.S. Inland Exchange 5¢ and 20¢ part perforate (R27c, 42b).

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Figure Insurance-30. Policy of Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Co. New York Department, August 19, 1867, amount $1500, stamped with $1.50 yellow green (D27) and U.S. R48c.

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Figure Insurance-31. Policy of Phoenix Insurance Co. Pacific Department, April 27, 1872, $1200 on printing equipment in Printing House Square, San Diego, stamped with 50¢ & $1 orange yellow (D13, 24) and two U.S. 10¢ Bill of Lading (R32c). The only recorded usage of the 50¢ orange yellow on document.

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(Figure Insurance-32). Renewal receipt of Hartford Fire Insurance Co., Eureka Agency, September 2, 1872, amount $1500, stamped with 50¢ olive yellow and $1 yellow (D12, 23) and U.S. Second Issue 25¢ (R112). Relatively few U.S. Second Issue stamps were used in the West.

documents, no more than three of each having been recorded.12. Policy #1,635,103 of Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Co. Pacific Department, January 23, 1872, to Perry Fitzhugh, $600 for one year on furniture in a dwelling in San Francisco, premium $2, stamped on reverse with 70¢ orange (D15) and U.S. 10¢ Bill of Lading (R32c) (Figure Insurance-25). The state stamp is die-cut—separated by a punch, or die, rather than more laboriously with scissors—but using a die designed for the old circular stamps! Even with perfect placement, this was guaranteed to cut into the design of the stamp, but the overall effect is striking. Forbin (1915) listed these die-cut Rectangulars, with prices generally about three times those for normal stamps. Four more have been recorded on policies of this company, all dated January 1872 and later; on others as late as October 1871 the stamps are cut square. The Liverpool and London was not the only company to employ this device; an 1869 policy of the Phoenix Insurance Co. bearing a die-cut $1 violet, and two policies and a renewal of the Pacific Insurance Co. bearing die-cut $3 blue, $4 carmine and $5 carmine have also been recorded (Examples 25, 28). As on the policy described in Example 2, here too the U.S. stamp is cancelled by a dated herringbone, and the state stamp by a company datestamp.

$1 Rate (above $750 to $1000)13. Policy #1,283,334 of Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Co. New York Dept., July 12, 1870, to Timothy Fogg, $1000 for one year on a dwelling and belongings in Oroville, Butte County, “on Oak street between Miner’s Alley and Montgomery Street,” premium $15, stamped on reverse with $1 yellow rouletted (D23a) and U.S. 25¢ Power of Attorney (R48c), executed and stamped in San Francisco (Figure Insurance-26). The only recorded example of the $1 yellow roulette on document.14. Policy #26,504 of Occidental Insurance Co., July 23, 1871, to J. McMann, $800 on furniture, clothing and a piano in a house in San Francisco, premium $8, stamped with two 50¢ olive yellow (D12) and U.S. 10¢ Bill of Lading (R32c) (Figure Insurance-27). The company had previously used policies printed locally featuring a striking vignette of the Golden Gate lithographed by Britton and Rey of San Francisco (Figure Insurance-21). This one, inscribed “Edition of 1870,” was printed by the American Bank Note Co., now engraved, with an even more impressive vignette of the Golden Gate showing an imposing Fort Point.

As on the policies of the Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Co. described above, here too the U.S. stamp is cancelled by a dated herringbone, and the state stamp by a company datestamp.

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15. Policy #1,637,311 of Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Co. Pacific Department, July 6, 1872, to L. W. Boyer, $1000 for one year on belongings in a dwelling in San Francisco, premium $8, stamped on reverse with die-cut $1 yellow (D23) and U.S. 10¢ Bill of Lading (R32c) (Figure Insurance-28).

$1.50 Rate (above $1000 to $1500)16. Policy #960 of City Fire Insurance Co. of Hartford, Conn., November 21, 1863, to John Kentfield, $1500 on dwelling in San Francisco, premium $20, stamped with $1.50 Insurance (DIN68) and U.S. 5¢ Inland Exchange and 20¢ Inland Exchange part perforate (R27c, 42b), all tied by h.s. cancel of John Fowler, Agent (Figure Insurance-29).17. Policy #565,121 of Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Co. New York Department, August 19, 1867, to B. McDougall, $1500 for one year on a dwelling in San Francisco, premium $22.50, stamped with $1.50 yellow green (D27) and U.S. 25¢ Power of Attorney (R48c) (Figure Insurance-30).18. Policy #6141 of Phoenix Insurance Co. Pacific Department, April 27, 1872, to San Diego Publishing Co., $1200 for one year on printing equipment in a building on Printing House Square, San Diego, premium $45, stamped with 50¢ and $1 orange yellow (D13, 24) and two U.S. 10¢ Bill of Lading (R32c) (Figure Insurance-31). The only recorded document bearing the orange yellow 50¢, and one of three with the $1. The policy was signed by company’s agent in San Diego and the stamps are cancelled with matching initials and date. Only a handful of documents have been recorded from San Diego bearing U.S. stamps of the Civil War era, and this is the only recorded usage of California stamps there. The U.S. 25¢ tax was underpaid by 5¢; ghost images of the four stamps show there are no stamps missing. 19. Renewal receipt #472 on policy #4716 of Hartford Fire Insurance Co., Eureka Agency, September 2, 1872, to John Striker, $1500 for one year, premium $11.25, stamped with 50¢ olive yellow and $1 yellow (D12, 23) and U.S. Second Issue 25¢ (R112), the state stamps on the back (Figure Insurance-32). Counter-signed at San Francisco and presumably stamped there, not at Eureka. Relatively few U.S. Second Issue stamps, and even fewer Third Issues, were used in the West.

$2 Rate (above $1500 to $2000)20. Renewal receipt of Imperial Fire Insurance Co. San Francisco Agency for policy #294,617 of their Californian Agency, to F. J. Huggins of

Stockton, $2000 for one year, June 21, 1862, stamped with $2 small Insurance (DIN69), affixed to the original policy which is dated June 18, 1861 (Figure Insurance-11). The stamp has “GRW” monogram handstamp and a manuscript cancel as newly mandated by the Act of April 10, 1862. Until then there had been no requirement to cancel the state stamps; now it was required “to write upon the face of every stamp used the date at which the same is placed upon [the instrument]; and such stamp shall not be used again.” Re-using a stamp was declared a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not less than $200 nor more than $1000. This is the earliest recorded cancel on an Insurance document, but cancels as early as May 21, 1862, have been seen on bills of exchange.21. Policy #6763 of San Francisco Insurance Co., March 24, 1867, to Henry Duffy, $2000 for one year on a dwelling in San Francisco, premium $15, stamped with $2 purple (D207)and U.S. 25¢ Power of Attorney (R48c), with spectacular vignette of firefighting scenes (Figure Insurance-33).

$3 Rate (above $2000 to $3000)22. Policy #455,882 of Liverpool and London Fire and Life Insurance Co., October 18, 1861, to Wm. Pierce, $3000 for one year on a dwelling in Sacramento “20 feet from wood,” stamped with $1 and $2 Insurance in thin white paper (DIN67A, 69A) (Figure Insurance-34). The earliest recorded use of small red Insurance stamps.

The stamps are die-cut, making them also perforce the earliest recorded red Insurance die-cuts. (Blue Insurance die-cuts exist, but none on document.) The die used here had diameter 25mm, slightly less than that of the stamps, which is about 25.5mm; this guanteed that even with perfect placement the design would be a bit cut into. 23. Policy #443 of California Mutual Life Insurance Co., September 27, 1869, $2500 on the life of Charles Bigelow Cutting of Chinese Camp, executed at Stockton, stamped with $3 blue (D34) and U.S. 50¢ Life Insurance (R58c) (Figure Insurance-35). Both stamps cut to shape. One of five recorded life policies bearing California stamps. The U.S. tax was based on the amount of coverage, as follows:

Rate Amount25¢ To $1000 50¢ Above $1000 to $5000$1 Above $5000

24. Policy #1,631,734 of Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Co. Pacific Department, February 14, 1872, to Thomas Gardner,

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Figure Insurance-33. Policy of San Francisco Insurance Co., March 24, 1867, amount $2000, stamped with $2 purple (D30) and U.S. R48c, with spectacular engraved vignette of firefighting scenes.

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Figure Insurance-34. Policy of Liverpool & London Fire & Life Insurance Co., October 18, 1861, amount $3000, stamped with $1 & $2 Insurance on thin white paper (DIN67A, 69A), both die-cut. The earliest recorded use of small red Insurance stamps.

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Figure Insurance-36. Policy of Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Co. Pacific Dept., February 14, 1872, amount $2800, stamped on reverse with die-cut $3 green (D35) and U.S. R44c. The only recorded example of the $3 green on document.

During 1868-72 several companies separated the Rectangular stamps with dies first employed for the Circulars.

Figure Insurance-34B. Close view of the stamps, the earliest recorded Insurance die-cuts.

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Figure Insurance-35. Policy of California Mutual Life Insurance Co., September 27, 1869, $2500 on the life a resident of Chinese Camp, Tuolomne County, executed at Stockton, stamped with $3 blue (D34) and U.S. 50¢ Life Insurance (R58c), both cut to shape. One of five recorded life policies bearing California stamps.

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executor of J. Haman, $2800 for one year on a dwelling and stable in Sacramento, premium $22.05, stamped on reverse with die-cut $3 green (D35) and U.S. 25¢ Certificate (R44c), executed and stamped in San Francisco (Figure Insurance-36). The only recorded example of the $3 green on document.

The $3 was issued first in red, then blue, then green! The change to blue was made in 1868, perhaps to eliminate resemblance to the $4 and $5, which were both initially printed in carmine. The $4 was changed to green in 1869, perhaps for the same reason; but if so, why was the $3 changed to green at the same time?

$4 Rate (above $3000 to $4000)25. Policy #20,378 of Pacific Insurance Co., April 10, 1868, to Edward Barnes, $3200 for one year on three dwellings in Petaluma, Sonoma County, premium $27, stamped with die-cut $4 carmine (D36) overlapping U.S.

25¢ stamp. Another of the three companies for which die-cut Rectangulars have been recorded on document.26. Policy #1,320,103 of Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Co., July 7, 1871, to John Sime, $3500 for one year on the San Lorenzo Paper Mill , on the San Lorenzo River two miles from Santa Cruz, premium $22.50, stamped on reverse with $4 carmine (D36) and U.S. 50¢ Original Process (R60c) (Figure Insurance-37). One of two recorded examples of the $4 carmine on document.

John Sime & Co. was a San Francisco banking house opened in 1858. It would fail in November 1871, mere months after this policy was executed. Its failure was coupled with that of the banking house B. F. Hastings & Co. of Sacramento; Hastings had been a partner in Sime & Co. According to Cross (1927), Sime & Co. failed “as a consequence of the operations of the manager of its agency

Figure Insurance-37. Policy of Liverpool & London & Globe Insurance Co., July 7, 1871, for $3500 on the San Lorenzo Paper Mill near Santa Cruz, stamped on reverse with $4 carmine (D36) and U.S. R60c. Made to John Sime, whose San Francisco banking house would fail mere months later.

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$1.50 Rate (above $1000 to $1500), cont.Date Company Amt. Stamp(s) Location Comments11/9/1871 Northwestern $1500 $1.50 yellow green (D27) S. Francisco Policy #64250 on James B. Cargin, M.D., Mutual Life Ins. Co. U.S. R115 of Fisk Well, Sonora Co. 2/28/1872 Union Ins. Co. $1500 $1.50 green (D27/5) S. Francisco #30,293 U.S. R32c4/27/1872 Phoenix Ins. Co. $1200 50¢ orange yellow (D12) San Diego #6141; to San Diego Publishing Co. on $1 orange yellow (D23) printing equipment; U.S. 25¢ tax U.S. R32c (x2) underpaid9/28/1872 Hartford Fire Ins. Co. $1500 50¢ olive yellow (D12) Eureka Renewal of policy #4716; countersigned $1 yellow (D 201) S.F.; Calif. stamps on back U.S.R112

$2 Rate (above $1500 to $2000)11/1/1861 Connecticut Fire Ins. $2000 12 Mo./$2 (DIN54) Stockton To Wm. Pierce Co. of Hartford12/2/1861 Phoenix Ins. Co. $2000 $2 Insurance (DIN69A) S. Francisco #1953; to Mrs. F. R. Cheever; stamp die- cut (31mm)6/21/1862 ImperialIns.Co., $2000 $2Insurance(DIN69) Stockton Renewalaffixedtopolicy#294,617; California Agency “GRW” monogam; early ms. cancel12/27/1866 Imperial Fire Ins. Co. $2000 $2 dark purple (D30) S. Francisco #392,110 California Agency U.S. R47c3/24/1867 SanFranciscoIns.Co.$2000 $2purple(D30) S.Francisco #6763;engravingof firefightingscenes U.S. R48c4/12/1868 Builder’s Ins. Co. $1600 $1 dark violet (x2, D20) ??? Renewal #13,490 on policy #2484 U.S. R48c12/1/1868 Union Ins. Co. $2000 $2 grayish purple (D30) Marysville Renewal #8560 of policy #5227, R47c countersigned Marysville Nov. 3, executed and stamped in S.F. Dec. 112/ 21/1869 Fireman’s Ins. Co. $2000 $2 purple (D30) (Concord) #23,373, on dwelling, barn, harness, U.S. R44c wagons, situated one mile E. of Willow Pass road, two miles from Concord, Contra Costa County10/24/1870 New England Mutual $2000 $1 yellow (x2, D23) Poverty Hill Illustrated in Castenholz (1990; v. 5, p. 74) Life Ins. Co. U.S. RN-V64/20/1872 Liverpool & London $2000 $2 rose lilac (D31) Sacramento #1,633,190; stamps on back, $2 die-cut & Globe Ins. Co. U.S. R1127/30/1872 Fireman’s Fund Ins. $1600 $2 rose lilac (D31) Sacramento #105,399 Co. U.S. R112

$3 Rate (above $2000 to $3000)10/18/1861 Liverpool & London $3000 $1 Insurance (DIN67A) Sacramento #455,882, to Wm. Pierce; earliest Fire & Life Ins. Co. $2 Insurance (DIN69A recorded use of small red Insurance stamps11/1/1861 Liverpool & London $3000 $1 Insurance (DIN67A) Sacramento #457,636 Fire & Life Ins. Co. $2 Insurance (DIN69A)11/1/1861 AtlanticFireIns.Co. $3000 6Mo./$2.50(DIN37F) SuisunCity Renewal#122affixedto6mo.policy 12 Mo./50¢ (DIN52F) #67 of 5/1/1861 (see above)7/16/1862 Continental Ins. Co. $3000 $3 Insurance (DIN70) ???2/13/1863 Hartford Ins. Co. $2250 $3 Insurance (DIN70) Folsom #5319; stamp tied by Bigelow Bros. h.s.8/22/1864 Liverpool & London $3000 $1 Insurance (DIN67) ??? & Globe Ins. Co. $2 Insurance (DIN69) U.S. R48c7/13/1866 Liverpool & London $3000 $1.50 Insurance (x2, DIN68) S. Francisco & Globe Ins. Co. U.S. R57a12/12/1867 Fireman’s Fund Ins. $2900 $1.50 yellow green (x2, D27) Oakland #13,523 Co. U.S. 25¢ stamp9/27/1869 California Mutual Life $2500 $3 blue (D34) Chinese Camp #443; Stockton Agency; stamps cut to Ins. Co. U.S. R58c shape

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$3 Rate (above $2000 to $3000), cont.Date Company Amt. Stamp(s) Location Comments4/17/1870 Phoenix Ins. Co. $2500 $3 blue (D34) Oakland Renewal #1577 on policy #6383 U.S. R48c2/14/1872 Liverpool & London $2800 $3 green (D35) Sacramento #1,631,734; stamps on back, $3 die-cut & Globe Ins. Co. U.S. R44c

$4 Rate (above $3000 to $4000)12/2/1861 Metropolitan Fire Ins. $4000 $2 Insurance (x2, DIN69) S. Francisco #33,356; to Mrs. F. R. Cheever; stamps die-cut (31 mm)1/8/1863 Metropolitan Fire Ins. $4000 $1 Insurance (DIN68) S. Francisco #33,861; to Mrs. F. R. Cheever; same $3 Insurance (DIN70) property as #33,356 of 12/2/1861

4/10/1868 PacificIns.Co. $3200 $4carmine(D36) Petaluma #20,378;$4die-cut U.S. 25¢ stamp7/7/1871 Liverpool & London $3500 $4 carmine (D36) Santa Cruz #1,320,103; on San Lorenzo Paper Mill; & Globe Ins. Co. U.S. R60c stamps on back5/13/1872 State Investment $3500 $2 rose lilac (x2, D31) S. Francisco #588 Ins. Co. U.S. R112

$5 Rate (above $4000 to $5000)4/14/1862 California Mutual $4375 $5 Insurance (DIN72) S. Francisco #301; for account of U.S. Branch Mint, Marine Ins. Co. on “mint sweepings” shipped to N.Y. on sloop Prima Donna; bluish paper, monogram “GRW”3/16/1868 PacificIns.Co. $4500 $5carmine(D38) Placerville Renewalreceipt;$5die-cut;stampson U.S. R48c back, tied by shield-shaped h.s. cancels3/23/1869 Equitable Life $5000 $2 purple (D30) S. Francisco #40,976 Assurance Soc. $3 blue (D34) of the U.S. U.S. R54c11/25/1870 Union Ins. Co. $5000 $2 purple (D30) Eureka #15,831; on building under construction; $3 blue (D34) ms. notation authorizes rent of portion U.S. R58c as candy manufactory; stamps on back3/14/1871 Union Ins. Co. $5000 $5 carmine (D38) Eureka #16,740; as #15,831, but now a “store U.S. R60c building occupied by reliable tenants”8/21/1872 Guardian National $5000 $1 yellow (D23) San Francisco #32,472 Life Ins. Co. of $4 green (D37) New York U.S. R112

$7 Rate (above $5000 to $7000)10/23/1861 Liverpool & London $7000 $2 Insurance (DIN69) Marysville #455,926; on Presbyterian Church; early & Globe Ins. Co. $5 Insurance (DIN72) use of small Insurance stamps10/10/1862 (Wells, Fargo & Co.) $6311 $1 Second Exchange S. Francisco Duplicate express receipt #677, on $6 Second Exchange shipment of $6311.04 “Nevada Relief (D86, 91) Coin” to N.Y.; only recorded mismatching usage of Calif. stamps of any type; denomination of Exchange stamps was cost of both 1st & 2nd; insurance actually carried by four London companies named on reverse11/26/1862 Imperial Ins. Co. $6000 $3 Insurance (DIN70) S. Francisco Renewal of policy #301,510 $4 Insurance (DIN71)1/8/1864 Phoenix Ins. Co. $6000 $1 Insurance (DIN67), S. Francisco #6201; to Mrs. F. R. Cheever $3 Insurance (x2, DIN70) U.S. R48c3/17/1865 Liverpool & London $6000 $7 Insurance (DIN73) Columbia #561,621, to Wm. Daegner (Wells Fargo Fire & Life Ins. Co. U.S. R62c Agent) on quartz mill2/7/1868 Liverpool & London $7000 $2 (D29/31) Mariposa & Globe Ins. Co. $5 carmine (D38) U.S. R61c

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Figure Insurance-38. Policy of State Investment Insurance Co., May 13, 1872, amount $3500, stamped with two $2 rose lilac (D31) and U.S. Second Issue 25¢ (R112).

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in Virginia City.” This is curious, as the very detailed chapter on Nevada banking in Davis (1913), written by W. H. Blauvelt, longtime banker in Virginia City and Gold Hill from the early 1860s, makes no mention of an agency of Sime & Co. there. B. F. Hastings & Co., though, did have an agency in Virginia City, established in 1863; this is probably where the problems leading to the downfall of John Sime & Co. originated. It cannot have been helpful that John Sime had died October 13, 1871. 27. Policy #588 of State Investment Insurance Co., May 13, 1872, to James Martel, $3500 on dwellings and furniture in San Francisco, premium $26.25, stamped with two $2 rose lilac (D38) and U.S. Second Issue 25¢ (R112) (Figure Insurance-38).

Figure Insurance-39. Renewal receipt on policy of Pacific Insurance Co., March 16, 1868, amount $4500 on a dwelling in Placerville, premium $45, stamped on reverse with die-cut $5 carmine (D38) and U.S. 25¢ Power of Attorney (R48c), tied by shield-shaped handstamp cancels

$5 Rate (above $4000 to $5000)28. Renewal receipt #20081 on policy #14927 of Pacific Insurance Co., March 16, 1868, to George Swan, $4500 on a dwelling and furniture in Placerville, El Dorado County, premium $45, stamped on reverse with die-cut $5 carmine (D38) and U.S. 25¢ Power of Attorney (R48c), tied by shield-shaped handstamp cancels (Figure Insurance-39).

Placerville, originally Dry Diggings, was one of the very earliest mining camps to spring up around Coloma, the site of James Marshall’s famous discovery of gold in January 1848. It soon became known as Hangtown after a celebrated instance of vigilante justice dispensed there early in 1849. The first post office, established in April 1850, was named Placerville, supposedly because the streets of the town were almost impassable due to

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Figure Insurance-40. Policy of Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, March 23, 1869, amount $5000, stamped with $2 purple, $3 blue (D30, 34) and U.S. 50¢ Conveyance (R54c). Another of the five recorded life policies bearing California stamps.

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Figure Insurance-41. Policy of Union Insurance Co., March 14, 1871, amount $5000, stamped on reverse with $5 carmine (D38) and U.S. R60c, countersigned at “Eureka, H. Bay” and evidently stamped there.

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Figure Insurance-42. Policy of Guardian National Life Insurance Co. of New York, July 30, 1872, amount $5000, stamped with $1 orange yellow, $4 green (D24, 37) and U.S. 25¢ Second Issue (R112). One of two recorded documents bearing the $4 green.

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numerous placer holes. In common parlance, though, the name Hangtown persisted. By the mid-1850s, by virtue of its location as a gateway to the Mother Lode region, the town had become the third-largest in California. Respectable elements craved a more dignified town name, and upon incorporation in 1854 Hangtown was formally renamed Placerville.29. Policy #40,976 of Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, March 23, 1869, for $5000 on the life of James Cills of San Francisco, stamped with $2 purple, $3 blue (D30, 34) and U.S. 50¢ Conveyance (R54c), all tied by “MILLER & GARLAND SAN FRANCISCO” handstamps (Figure Insurance-40). Another of the five recorded life policies bearing California stamps. This relative frequency—some 4%—is actually higher than that seen nationally. Life insurance in the 1860s was a fledgling industry, and for every life policy that has survived, there are a hundred or more fire policies.

The rare usage, striking engraved vignette and golden company seal, bicolored printing and custom calligraphy, and colorful stamps and cancels make this one of the premier classic state revenue documents extant, certainly one of the most attractive. I cannot resist pointing out that in a walk-through

Figure Insurance-43. Duplicate receipt of Wells, Fargo & Co.’s Express, San Francisco, October 10, 1862, for $6311.04 “Nevada Relief Coin” to be shipped to the U.S. Sanitary Commission in New York, stamped with $1 and $6 Second Exchange (DEX60, 65), the only recorded Circulars on a “mismatching” document type.

lecture on judging revenue exhibits at Pacific97, a Finnish judge used the display of this piece as a prime example of what not to do; in his opinion it should only have been shown either folded or layered with other documents.30. Policy #15,831 of Union Insurance Co., November 25, 1870, to A. Monroe, $5000 for one year on a building under construction in Eureka, Humboldt County, stamped on reverse with $2 purple, $3 blue (D30, 34) and U.S. 50¢ Life Insurance (R58c). A ms. notation authorizes rent of a portion of the building as a candy manufactory.

Policy #16,740, dated March 14, 1871, has also survived, with identical terms except that the property is now described as a “store building occupied by reliable tenants,” premium $93.75, stamped on reverse with $5 carmine (D38) and U.S. 50¢ Original Process (R60c), countersigned at “Eureka, H. Bay” and evidently stamped there (Figure Insurance-41). 31. Policy #32,472 of Guardian National Life Insurance Co. of New York, July 30, 1872, for $5000 on the life of Albert Snyder of San Francisco, stamped with $1 orange yellow, $4 green (D24, 37) and U.S. 25¢ Second Issue (R112), all tied by “JAS. R. GARNISS SAN FRANCISCO” agent’s handstamps dated

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August 21, 1872 (Figure Insurance-42). One of five recorded insurance documents bearing a U.S. Second Issue, and one of two with the $4 green.

$7 Rate (above $5000 to $7000)32. Duplicate receipt #677 of Wells, Fargo & Co.’s Express, San Francisco, October 10, 1862, for $6311.04 “Nevada Relief Coin,” inscribed “INSURED BY WELLS, FARGO &

CO. FOR THAT AMOUNT,” to be shipped to H. W. Bellows in New York, stamped with $1 and $6 Second Exchange (DEX60, 65) (Figure Insurance-43). The $6 has the rarely seen double-circle “GRW” control handstamp. The fee of $189 for “State Tax, Freight and Premium” amounted to 3% of the value of the shipment. Ex-Morton Dean Joyce.

Henry W. Bellows was President of the U.S. Sanitary Commission. By the latter

Figure Insurance-44. Renewal receipt of Imperial Insurance Co., November 26, 1862,amount $6000, stamped with $3 and $4 Insurance (DIN70A, 71A). The only recorded example of the $4 Insurance on document, showing an unusual incomplete printing. The ornamental border of the receipt can be seen through the thin white paper of the stamps.

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Figure Insurance-45. Policy of Liverpool & London Fire & Life Insurance Co., March 17, 1865, for $6000 on quartz mill on Sugar Pine Creek, near Columbia, to Wm. Daegner, Wells Fargo Agent at Columbia, stamped with die-cut $7 Insurance (DIN73) and U.S. 50¢ Probate of Will (R62c.) The only recorded example of the $7 Insurance on document.

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half of 1862 the Sanitary Commission was virtually bankrupt at a time of fierce fighting and great need for its services. A sudden outpouring of patriotic generosity on the Pacific Coast saved the day: the Golden Age departed San Francisco September 1 with $100,000 in contributions, and the Sonora on October 1 with a second $100,000; by the end of 1862 the West had contributed over $400,000, more than twice the amount raised in the East. As shown by this document, this wave of support for the Sanitary Commission in the fall of 1862 reached even the silver

Figure Insurance-46. Policy of Liverpool & London & Globe Insurance Co. Pacific Dept., January 15, 1872, amount $7000 stamped on reverse with die-cut $7 puce (D216) and U.S. 25¢ Certificate (R44c).

mines of Nevada Territory. An important historical piece.

Exchange stamps were used here to pay the $7 Insurance rate for amounts above $5000 to $7000. There was no $7 Exchange rate. This receipt is inscribed “Duplicate”; presumably the Original bore the corresponding First Exchange $6 and $1. Wells Fargo, who were certainly familiar with the use of Exchange stamps, evidently used them on insured express receipts precisely because, like bills of exchange, they were made in sets of two. The denomination of

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$7 Rate (above $5000 to $7000) (cont.)1/15/1872 Liverpool & London $7000 $7 puce (D40) S. Francisco #1,631,497; stamps on back, $7 die-cut; & Globe Ins. Co. U.S. R44c to H.A. Cheever, same property as above

$10 Rate (above $7000 to $10,000)Date Company Amt. Stamp(s) Location Comments 11/25/1863PacificIns.Co. $9000 $5Insurance(x2,DIN72) S.Francisco Shield-shapedcompanycancels U.S. R44c1/7/1865 PacificIns.Co. $8000 $3Insurance(DIN70) S.Francisco #3232,toMrs.F.R.Cheever;stamps $5Insurance(DIN72) sufficientfor$8000,buttaxactually$10 U.S. R63b 2/10/1868 Imperial Fire Ins. Co. $10,000 $10 dark purple (D45) Carson River, #434,922; on Santiago Mill, Nevada, U.S. R58c Nevada eight miles from Carson City 1/8/1870 PacificIns.Co. $8000 $1yellow(D23) S.Francisco #72,205,toF.R.Cheever;stampson $7 puce (D40) back, Calif. tax underpaid U.S. stamp 9/9/1870 Merchants Mutual $9000 $10 brown (D46) S. Francisco Time Policy #892, on cargo of schooner Marine Ins. Co. U.S. R60c Dashing Wave, for one year1/8/1871 PacificIns.Co. $8000 $2roselilac(x2,D31) S.Francisco #78,152;toF.R.Cheever;stampson $3 blue (D34), back, Calif. tax underpaid U.S. R44c 10/20/1871 Liverpool & London $7500 $3 blue (D34) S. Francisco #1,322,818, on estate of banker John & Globe Ins. Co. $5 carmine (D38) Sime; Calif. tax underpaid U.S. R44c

$15 Rate (above $10,000 to $15,000)No examples recorded

$19 Rate (above $15,000 to $20,000)12/18/1869 Hamburg-Bremen $20,000 $4 green (x3, D37) Sonoma Valley Renewal #115,406 on policy #112,502 Fire Ins. Co. $7 puce (D40) U.S. R60c

$28 Rate (above $20,000 to $30,000)$45 Rate (above $30,000 to $50,000)

$87.50 Rate (above $50,000 to $100,000)No examples recorded

$100 Rate (above $100,000)12/16/1871PacificIns.Co. ??? $10brown(blkof ten,D46) ??? Onpageformerlyattachedto U.S. R55c multipage document

Term less than Nine Months (April 10, 1862, to December 31, 1872)

Six to Nine MonthsNo examples recorded

Three to Six Months

15¢ Rate (above $200 to $300)Date Company Term Amt. Stamp(s) Location Comments2/1/1865 Columbia Fire 3 mos. $250 15¢ Insurance (DIN61) Marysville #443; on hay, Linda Township; only Ins. Co. U.S. R33c 7½¢ need have been paid

50¢ Rate (above $750 to $1000)5/23/1864 S. Francisco Ins. Co. 6 mos. $1000 50¢ Insurance (DIN65) S. Francisco Renewal #2423 on policy #1951 U.S. R42b, 27b

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Figure Insurance-47. Policy of Pacific Insurance Co., January 7, 1865, amount $8000, stamped with $3 and $5 Insurance (DIN70, 72) and U.S. R63b. The tax was $10, but only $8 was paid. The stamps were sufficient for amounts to $3000 and $5000; it did not follow that together they were sufficient for $8000!

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Exchange stamps was cost of both First & Second; here a total of $7, the correct tax, was paid for two Firsts and two Seconds. The same effect could have been achieved by stamping both receipts with $3.50 in Insurance stamps. The only recorded California Circulars on a “mismatching” document type. The actual insurance was provided, not by Wells Fargo, but for them by four London companies named on the reverse.32. Renewal receipt for policy #301,510 of Imperial Insurance Co., November 26, 1862, to Chas. Barroilet, $6000 for one year, stamped with $3 and $4 Insurance (DIN70, 71) (Figure Insurance-44). The only recorded example of the $4 Insurance on document, showing a most unusual incomplete printing.33. Policy #561,621 of Liverpool and London Fire and Life Insurance Co., March 17, 1865, to Wm. Daegner, $6000 for one year on a quartz mill on Sugar Pine Creek, 16 miles East of Columbia, Tuolumne County, 500 yards from the Excelsior Quartz Mill, premium $240, stamped with die-cut $7 Insurance (DIN73) and U.S. 50¢ Probate of Will (R62c) (Figure Insurance-45). The only recorded example of the $7 Insurance on document. Daegner was the Wells Fargo Agent at Columbia. 34. Policy #1,631,497 of Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Co. Pacific Department, January 15, 1872, to H. A. Cheever, $7000 for one year on a dwelling and furniture in San Francisco, premium $45.50, stamped on reverse with die-cut $7 puce (D40) and U.S. 25¢ Certificate (R44c) (Figure Insurance-46).

$10 Rate (above $7000 to $10,000)35. Policy #3232 of Pacific Insurance Co., January 7, 1865, to Mrs. F. R. Cheever, $8000 for one year on a dwelling in San Francisco and contents including a piano forte, premium $120, stamped with $3 Insurance and $5 Insurance (DIN70, 72) and U.S. 50¢ Surety Bond part perforate (R63b), all tied by shield-shaped handstamp cancels (Figure Insurance-47). The $3 Insurance is die-cut, the $5 hand-cut to shape.

The tax on an $8000 policy was $10, but only $8 was paid here. The stamps themselves provide some justification for this: their value tablets state that they were sufficient for amounts to $3000 and $5000; it did not follow, though, that together they were sufficient for $8000! This justification, though, was absent on two more policies providing identical coverage—same parties, same property, same amount—again with only $8 paid, but now by Rectangulars,

which have no misleading value tablets. One policy dated January 8, 1870, bears the $7 puce and $1 yellow; the other, made exactly a year later, bears two $3 blue and a $2 rose lilac. Perhaps, lacking a rate table, agents were assessing 0.1% tax, which was a good rule of thumb but not accurate in all cases. A similar underpayment has been recorded on a Liverpool and London and Globe policy made October 20, 1871, to the estate of banker John Sime, $7500 for one year on property in San Francisco, bearing $5 carmine and $3 blue; it has nothing in common with the three aforementioned Pacific policies except the payment of $8 when $10 was due. 36. Policy #434,922 of Imperial Fire Insurance Co., February 10, 1868, to the Santiago Mining Co., $10,000 for one year on the Santiago Mill, on the Carson River in Nevada, eight miles from Carson City, premium $300, stamped with $10 dark purple (D45) and U.S. 50¢ Life Insurance (R58c) (Figure Insurance-48). The Santiago Mining Co. was headquartered in San Francisco, hence the California tax. The only recorded example on document of the $10 dark purple. $10 is the highest Rectangular denomination recorded on document; the $10 brown is known on an attorney’s license and two insurance policies described herein. All higher denominations were unpriced by Cabot, and all but one by Hubbard and the SRS.

A manuscipt notation on the reverse by President Solomon Heydenfeldt dated January 26, 1869, assigns this policy to the Union Mill and Mining Co. It was approved four days later by Agents Falkner, Bell & Co. and stamped with another U.S. 50¢ Life Insurance. Heydenfeldt was one of the incorporators of the legendary Consolidated Virginia Mining Co., formed in 1867. In late 1871 the “Four Irishmen,” John Mackay, James Fair, James Flood, and William O’Brien, acquired control, but Heydenfeldt, alone of the original incorporators, was retained as a trustee. In February 1873 the Con Virginia and adjoining California mine would strike the fabled “Big Bonanza” of the Comstock Lode that yielded over $100 million in silver and gold.

The Union Mill and Mining Co. was the notorious holding company of the Bank of California, which maintained a virtual stranglehold on the Comstock from 1865 until 1868, and remained a major force thereafter. The Bank made large loans at favorable rates to numerous Comstock mills, then acquired them when they defaulted under the depressed conditions on the Lode during the middle 1860s; at one point no fewer

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Figure Insurance-48. Policy of Imperial Fire Insurance Co., February 10, 1868, to the Santiago Mining Co., $10,000 for one year on the Santiago Mill on the Carson River in Nevada,stamped with $10 dark purple (D45) and U.S. 50¢ Life Insurance (R58c}. The only recorded example of the $10 purple on document.

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Figure Insurance-49. Time Policy of Merchants Mutual Marine Insurance Co., September 9, 1870, amount $9000 on cargo of the schooner “Dashing Wave” for one year, stamped with $10 brown (D46) and U.S. 50¢ Original Process (R60c). $10 is the highest-denomination Rectangular recorded on document.

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than 17 mills were under the control of the Union Mill and Mining Co. It simultaneously acquired controlling interests in some of the major mines. If production of the Lode had not revived, this would have been a losing gamble, but to the Bank’s credit and in large part to its infusion of capital, one mine after another uncovered rich deposits. The achitect of this success was William Sharon, General Agent of the Bank of California’s Virginia City Agency and “cock of the walk” on the Comstock during the late 1860s. This policy on the Santiago mill was part of the “Newlands Find” of Comstock documents, preserved in the family archives of longtime Nevada Senator Francis Newlands, who was Sharon’s son-in-law (Mahler, 1997a,b).37. Time Policy #892 of Merchants Mutual Marine Insurance Co., September 9, 1870, to John Loug of San Francisco, for $9000 on the cargo of the schooner Dashing Wave for one year, premium $900, stamped with $10 brown (D46) and U.S. 50¢ Original Process (R60c) (Figure Insurance-49). As with all marine policies, this one has an interesting

Figure Insurance-50. Renewal receipt of Hamburg-Bremen Fire Insurance Co., December 18, 1869, amount $20,000, stamped with three $4 green, $7 puce (D37, 40) and U.S. R60c. The only recorded $19 rate.

array of conditions and restrictions, including an enumeration of approved ports (San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Pedro, Monterey, San Francisco, Humboldt and Coos Bays (the two last with steam tugs), Columbia River (with pilot) and ports inside the Straits of Fuca, Alberni and Sitka; not to use the Colorado River nor Torres Straits).

$19 Rate (above $15,000 to $20,000)38. Renewal receipt #115,406 on policy #112,502 of Hamburg-Bremen Fire Insurance Co., December 18, 1869, to Dresel & Co. of Sonoma Valley, amount $20,000 for one year, stamped with three $4 green, $7 puce (D37, 40) and U.S. 50¢ Original Process (R60c) (Figure Insurance-50). The only recorded $19 rate; only two examples of the $4 green, and three of the $7 puce, have been recorded on document.

$100 Rate (above $100,000)39. Page formerly attached to policy of Pacific Insurance Co., December 16, 1871, stamped with $10 brown block of ten (D46) and U.S. 50¢ Entry of Goods (R55c). It is a pity that the entire document has not survived, for

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Figure Insurance-51. Policy of Columbia Fire Insurance Co., February 1, 1865, amount $250 for three months on hay in Linda Township, taxed at 50% of the one-year 30¢ rate, stamped with 15¢ Insurance (DIN61) and U.S.10¢ Contract (R33c). The only recorded example of this rate and the only recorded 15¢ Insurance on document.

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the page is otherwise blank. Multiples of the Rectangulars are rare, and blocks exceedingly so. Vanderhoof (1949) concluded that “blocks greater than four can be numbered on one’s fingers”; he listed just five, all of denominations of 4¢ to 15¢, this is a sixth.

Third Period Short-Term RatesThe Act of April 10, 1862, established the

following short-term rates: Term Rate6 to 9 months 75% of one year rate3 to 6 months 50% of one year rate3 months or less 25% of one year rate

For similar rates during the 1858–1861 Second Period, 9 Mo., 6 Mo., and 3 Mo. stamps were created. This time, though, no new stamps were issued, and until now these short-term rates have flown under the philatelic radar. Only eight documents taxed at these rates have been recorded.

Three to Six Months15¢ Rate (above $200 to $300)

40. Policy #443 of Columbia Fire Insurance Co., February 1, 1865, to Edward Hooper, $250 for three months on hay stored in a barn in Linda Township, two miles east of Marysville, Yuba County, premium $5, stamped with 15¢ Insurance (DIN61) and U.S. 10¢ Contract (R33c) (Figure Insurance-51).The only recorded example of this rate, and the only recorded 15¢ Insurance on document.

This policy illustrates an ambiguity in the short-term rates. For three months or less the tax was 25% of the one-year rate; and for three to six months, 50% of the one-year rate. For policies of exactly three months, both

Figure Insurance-52. Renewal receipt of San Francisco Insurance Co., May 23, 1864, $1000 for six months, tax 50% of one-year $1 rate, stamped with 50¢ Insurance (DIN65) plus U.S. R42b and 27b. The only recorded example of this rate.

rates applied! Similar ambiguities existed for policies of exactly six or nine months. Usually the lower of the two possible taxes was paid, as in the following two examples. Here, though, the higher rate was paid, 15¢ instead of 7½¢. It may be simply that no stamps suitable for the 7½¢ rate were available. It of course could not have been paid exactly; two 4¢ stamps would have come close, or failing that a 10¢ stamp would have saved 5¢; as it was, the overpayment of 7¢ was negligible.

50¢ Rate (above $750 to $100)41. Renewal receipt #2423 on policy #1951 of San Francisco Insurance Co., May 23, 1864, $1000 for six months, tax 50% of the one-year $1 rate, stamped with 50¢ Insurance (DIN65) plus U.S. Inland Exchange 5¢ and 20¢ part perforates (R27b, 42b) (Figure Insurance-52). The only recorded example of this rate.

$3.50 Rate (above $5000 to $7000)42. Policy #1307 of Aetna Insurance Co., September 12, 1862, to Wm. Pierce, $6000 for six months on grain in a warehouse in Suisun City, tax 50% of the one-year $7 rate, stamped with Insurance 50¢ and $3 (DIN65, 70) (Figure Insurance-53). The stamps have “Sept 12 1862” ms. cancels as newly required by the Act of April 10, 1862. The only recorded example of this rate.

Two similar policies to William Pierce on grain stored for six months have also survived, both made September 30, 1862, for $5000 and correctly taxed at $2.50, stamped with Insurance 50¢ and $2 (DIN65, 69). One is policy #554 of the Merchants Insurance Co., the other of the San Francisco Insurance Co.

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Figure Insurance-53. Policy of Aetna Insurance Co., September 12, 1862, amount $6000 for six months on grain in a warehouse in Suisun City, tax 50% of the one-year $7 rate, stamped with 50¢ and $3 Insurance (DIN65, 70). The only recorded example of this rate.

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Figure Insurance-54. Cargo Policy of Merchants Mutual Insurance Co., February 19, 1864, amount $3200 on cargo of lumber from Humboldt to Honolulu, tax 25% of the one-year $4 rate, stamped with $1 Insurance (DIN67) and U.S. 25¢ Power of Attorney (R48c). The only recorded example of the three-month $1 rate.

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Up to Three Months$1 Rate (above $3000 to $4000)

43. Cargo Policy #162 of Merchants Mutual Insurance Co., February 19, 1864, to Dolbeer and Carson, $3200 on lumber to be carried on the bark Cambridge from Humboldt to Honolulu. The duration of the policy is not stated, but implicitly was three months or less, the tax thus 25% of the one-year $4 rate, paid by $1 Insurance (DIN67). The only recorded example of this rate. Premium $48 with U.S. tax paid by 25¢ Power of Attorney (R48c) (Figure Insurance-54).

John Dolbeer and William Carson were pioneering California redwood lumbermen, who remained for decades at the forefront in overcoming the unique problems of transporting and milling the red giants. Dolbeer’s invention of the logging “steam donkey” in 1881 revolutionized log retrieval in difficult terrain and remained in common use well into the 20th Century. The Dolbeer and Carson Lumber Company, formed in 1864, survived until 1950. It maintained its own fleet to transport its products throughout the Pacific region; even so, shipments to Hawaii as early as 1864, as covered in this policy, cannot have been common. The Carson Mansion in Eureka still stands, and is has been described as the most-photographed residence in America.

$25 Rate (above $100,000)44. Generic Marine Insurance Policy #4711, July 11, 1865, to Parrott & Co. for $125,000 on 695,000 lb. coffee to be carried on the Bark Speedwell from Punta Arenas (Costa Rica) to San Francisco, premium $1875, stamped with Insurance $5 (x3) and $10 (DIN72, 74) and U.S. 50¢ Probate of Will (R62c) (Figure Insurance-55). The duration of the policy is not stated, but it is implicit that it was three months or less. As the maximum one-year rate was $100 for amounts over $100,000, $25 was the maximum possible three-month rate. This is the only recorded example of this rate, also the only recorded $10 Insurance on document.

Parrot & Co., to whom the policy was made, was a San Francisco banking house. No insurance company was involved; the cargo was self-insured by a consortium of San Francisco investors, the $125,000 coverage divided equally among 14 parties each responsible for $8928.57 (and two for $8928.58!). All were San Francisco movers and shakers, including banker John Parrott of Parrott & Co.; Nicholas Luning, banker and representative of the Crocker and Flood families in their rail and land dealings; J. B.

Haggin, mining magnate who left an estate of $20 million; J. A. Donahoe of the banking house Donahoe, Kelly & Co. (recently betrayed by William C. Ralston, his partner in Donahoe, Ralston & Co., in the secret forming of the rival Bank of California); Thomas H. Selby, merchant and San Francisco Mayor 1869–71; James Otis, merchant and San Francisco Mayor 1873–5; James Phelan, merchant and banker (whose son James D. Phelan would become Mayor of San Francisco, then U.S. Senator, and namesake of Phelan, California); J. Mora Moss, merchant and member of the first Board of Regents of the University of California; George C. Johnson, importer and General Consul for Norway and Sweden; William E. Barron, merchant who owned Santa Cruz Island; J. G. Kittle, merchant and Ross Valley pioneer; merchants J. Y. Halleck and C. L. Low; and L. Maynard. Signed by Luning and Haggin, and for the others by their attorney in fact Gustave Touchard.

One Policy, 21 Three-Month Rates!45. Marine Open Policy #2090 of Union Insurance Co., San Francisco, to G. Hestres, February 21, 1867, eventually covering 21 different voyages, between San Francisco and Mexican ports in the Gulf of California, made between February 21, 1867, and October 22, 1870, with California tax paid for each voyage, the periods implicitly less than three months and taxes thus 25% of the one-year rates, amounts $100 to $4000 taxed at nine different rates: 2½¢, 10¢, 12½¢, 17½¢, 25¢, 37½¢, 50¢, 75¢ and $1, all but the last recorded on no other policies, paid by a total of 35 state stamps (Figure Insurance-56). The 12½¢, 17½¢ and 37½¢ rates were paid with 15¢, 20¢ and 40¢ stamps, as exact payment was impossible; the single 2½¢ tax was combined with that for another voyage made the same day. At right, fifth from the bottom is a (scissors-cut!) rouletted 10¢ used November 22, 1869, one of only seven recorded roulettes on document, this the earliest recorded. A single U.S. 50¢ Passage Ticket (R61c) was the first stamp affixed, cancelled by partial February 1867 datestamp. The policy was countersigned by Gustave Touchard, who signed the generic policy described in the preceding example as attorney-in-fact for 12 of the 14 insurers, identified here as Marine Director for the Union Insurance Co.

The voyages were mostly between San Francisco and Mazatlan, but touching also at La Paz, Guaymas and Carmen Island; complete details, including the ships involved, are furnished in the census.

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Figure Insurance-55. Generic Marine Insurance policy, July 11, 1865, amount $125,000 on 695,000 lb. coffee to be carried on Bark “Speedwell” from Punta Arenas, Costa Rica to San Francisco, tax 25% of one-year $100 rate, stamped with Insurance $5 (x3) and $10 (DIN72, 74) and U.S. 50¢ Probate of Will (R62c). The only recorded example of this rate, and the only recorded $10 Insurance on document.

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Figure Insurance-56. Marine Open Policy of Union Insurance Co., February 21, 1867, eventually covering 21 different voyages between San Francisco and Mexican ports, with California tax paid for each at 25% of the one-year rates, showing nine different rates from 2½¢ to $1, all but one recorded on no other policies, paid by a total of 35 stamps, also stamped initially with U.S. 50¢ Passage Ticket (R61c).

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$1 Rate (above $1500 to $2000) 4/6/1865 London & Lancashire 6 mos. $1600 $2 Insurance (R134) Not stated Renewal #3771 on policy #33,781; Fire Ins. Co. U.S. R48c one-year rate paid!

$2.50 Rate (above $4000 to $5000)Date Company Term Amt. Stamp(s) Location Comments9/30/1862 Merchants’ Ins. Co. 6 mos. $5000 50¢ Insurance (DIN65) Suisun City #554; to Wm. Pierce, on grain in $2 Insurance (DIN69) warehouse; monogram “GRW” h.s.; “Sept 30 1862”ms. cancels (required on Calif. stamps as of 4/10/1862)9/30/1862 S. Francisco Ins. Co. 6 mos. $5000 50¢ Insurance (DIN65) Suisun City To Wm. Pierce, on grain in $2 Insurance (DIN69) warehouse; monogram “GRW”; “Sept 30 1862” ms. cancels

$3.50 Rate (above $5000 to $7000)9/12/1862 Aetna Ins. Co. 6 mos. $6000 50¢ Insurance (DIN65) Suisun City #1307; to Wm. Pierce, on grain in $3 Insurance (DIN70) warehouse; “Sept 12 1862” ms. cancels

Up to Three Months

$1 Rate (above $3000 to $4000)2/19/1864 Merchants Mutual Not $3200 $1 Insurance (DIN67) (voyage) Cargo Policy #162, on lumber carried Marine Ins. Co. stated U.S. R48c on bark Cambridge, Humboldt to Honolulu

$25 Rate (above $100,000)7/11/1865 Generic Marine Not $125,000 $5 Insurance (x3, DIN72) (voyage) #4711; on 695,000 lb. coffee carried on Insurance Policy stated $10 Insurance (DIN74) Bark Speedwell, Punta Arenas to of Parrott & Co. U.S. R62c San Francisco; $125,000 insurance divided equally among 14 parties

The following 21 usages all occur on the same marine Open Policy of the Union Ins. Co., San Francisco, to G. Hestres.

2½¢ Rate (above $50 to $100)Date Company Term Amt. Stamp(s) Location Comments10/22/1870 Union Ins. Co. (voyage) $100 [10¢, 15¢ blue (D4, 5)]8 S. Francisco To Mazatlan, steamer Idaho

10¢ Rate (above $300 to $400)5/1/1869 Union Ins. Co. (voyage) $400 10¢ blue (D4) S. Francisco To Mazatlan, steamer Montana

12½¢ Rate (above $400 to $500)9/(1)/1868 Union Ins. Co. (voyage) $500 15¢ blue (D5) S. Francisco To Mazatlan, steamer Continental9/27/1870 Union Ins. Co. (voyage) $500 15¢ blue (D5) Mazatlan To S. Francisco, Continental6/11/1870 Union Ins. Co. (voyage) $500 15¢ blue (D5) S. Francisco Coal oil to Mazatlan, steamer Montana

17½¢ Rate (above $500 to $750)4/20/1868 Union Ins. Co. (voyage) $700 20¢ brown (D185) S. Francisco To La Paz, M. L. Richardson11/7/1868 Union Ins. Co. (voyage) $600 20¢ brown (D185) S. Francisco To Mazatlan, steamer Sierra Nevada10/22/1870 Union Ins. Co. (voyage) $700 [10¢, 15¢ blue (D4, 5)]6 S. Francisco To Mazatlan, steamer Montana

25¢ Rate (above $750 to $1000)2/21/1867 Union Ins. Co. (voyage) $1000 10¢, 15¢ blue (D4, 5) S. Francisco To Mazatlan, steamer Oriflamme U.S. R61a8/7/1867 Union Ins. Co. (voyage) $800 10¢, 15¢ blue (D4, 5) S. Francisco To Mazatlan, steamer Hermina9/17/1867 Union Ins. Co. (voyage) $800 10¢, 15¢ blue (D4, 5) S. Francisco To La Paz, steamer Continental4/23/1868 Union Ins. Co. (voyage) $800 10¢, 15¢ blue (D4, 5) S. Francisco To Mazatlan or Guaymas, steamer Sierra Nevada

8. The taxes on the two voyages of 10/22/1870 were 2½¢ and 17½¢ on amounts of $100 and $700. 15¢ and 10¢ stamps were affixed.If paidtogetherratherthanseparately,two10¢wouldhavebeensufficient,orasingle20¢.Possiblyitwasconsideredthatthe combined amount, $800, called for a tax of 25¢.

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37½¢ Rate (above $1000 to $1500)Date Company Term Amt. Stamp(s) Location Comments12/17/1868 Union Ins. Co. (voyage) $1200 40¢ rose carmine (D8) S. Francisco To Mazatlan, B. H. Ramsdell1/28/1869 Union Ins. Co. (voyage) $1250 40¢ rose carmine (D8) S. Francisco 20 tons rice to Mazatlan, bark Moneta

50¢ Rate (above $1500 to $2000)10/25/1867 Union Ins. Co. (voyage) $2000 50¢ lilac (D11) S. Francisco To Mazatlan, steamer Continental3/29/1869 UnionIns.Co. (voyage) $2000 50¢oliveyellow(D12) S.Francisco 600sacksflourtoMazatlan,steamer Montana

75¢ Rate (above $2000 to $3000)2/21/1868 Union Ins. Co. (voyage) $2200 10¢, 15¢ blue, 50¢ lilac S. Francisco To La Paz via Mazatlan and Guaymas, (D4, 5, 11) steamer Montana11/11/1869 Union Ins. Co. (voyage) $2500 10¢, 15¢ blue, 50¢ olive Carmen I. To S. Francisco, steamer Montana yellow (D4, 5, 12)11/22/1869 Union Ins. Co. (voyage) $3000 10¢ blue rouletted, S. Francisco To Mazatlan, schr. Colima; one of 15¢ blue, 50¢ olive yellow three recorded examples of 10¢ (D4a, 5, 12) roulette on document4/27/1870 Union Ins. Co. (voyage) $3000 10¢, 15¢ blue, 50¢ olive S. Francisco 189 bags coffee to Mazatlan, steamer yellow (D4, 5, 12) Continental

$1 Rate (above $3000 to $4000)9/2/1870 Union Ins. Co. (voyage) $4000 $1 yellow (D23) S. Francisco To Mazatlan, steamer Continental

Summaries of CensusClassification by Rates

First Period, 1857–1858Amount Tax #

Second Period, 1858–1861 One Year or More 9 to 12 Months 6 to 9 Months 3 to 6 Months

Third Period, 1861–1872 9 to 12 Months 6 to 9 Months 3 to 6 Months Up to 3 MonthsAmount Tax # Tax # Tax # Tax #Above $20 to $50 4¢ 0 (75%) 0 (50%) 0 (25%) 0Above $50 to $100 10¢ 0 (75%) 0 (50%) 0 2.5¢ 1Above $100 to $150 15¢ 0 (75%) 0 (50%) 0 (25%) 0Above $150 to $200 20¢ 2 (75%) 0 (50%) 0 (25%) 0Above $200 to $300 30¢ 1 (75%) 0 15¢ 1 (25%) 0Above $300 to $400 40¢ 2 (75%) 0 (50%) 0 10¢ 1Above $400 to $500 50¢ 4 (75%) 0 (50%) 0 12.5¢ 3Above $500 to $750 70¢ 9 (75%) 0 (50%) 0 17.5¢ 3Above $750 to $1000 $1 10 (75%) 0 50¢ 1 25¢ 4Above $1000 to $1500 $1.50 14 (75%) 0 (50%) 0 37.5¢ 2Above $1500 to $2000 $2 11 (75%) 0 $1 (1) 50¢ 2Above $2000 to $3000 $3 11 (75%) 0 (50%) 0 75¢ 4Above $3000 to $4000 $4 5 (75%) 0 (50%) 0 $1 2Above $4000 to $5000 $5 6 (75%) 0 $2.50 2 (25%) 0

DONE TO HERE!

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Third Period, 1861–1872 (cont.) 9 to 12 Months 6 to 9 Months 3 to 6 Months Up to 3 Months

9.Numberslistedarethenumberof documentsbearingthespecifiedstamp.Whendocumentsbearingmultiplecopiesof agiven stamp are known, the total number of that stamp recorded on all documents is given in parentheses.

Classification by Stamps9

Blue Insurance# Denomination NumberD132B $1.00 tax on $750 to $1000 2

Large Red Insurance

3 Months# Denomination Bluish WhiteD146 3¾¢ tax on $100 1D148 12½¢ tax on $500 2D149 25¢ tax on $1000 2 (3)D152 $2.50 tax on $10,000 2

6 Months# Denomination Bluish WhiteD156 25¢ tax on $500 3D157 50¢ tax on $1000 1D158 $1.00 tax on $2000 2 (3)D159 $2.50 tax on $5000 4

9 Months# Denomination Bluish WhiteD163 75¢ tax on $1000 1 (2)

12 Months# Denomination Bluish WhiteD168 20¢ tax on $200 1 (2)D169 50¢ tax on $500 6 1D170 $1.00 tax on $1000 8 (9) 1

12 Months (cont.)

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1866–69 State Revenue# Denomination Imperf RoulettedD183 10¢ blue (shades) 1 (8) 1D184 15¢ blue 1 (12)D185 20¢ brown (shades) 2 (4) 1D186 30¢ rose carmine (shades) 1D187 40¢ rose carmine (shades) 4D189 50¢ dark violet (shades) 1D190 50¢ lilac (shades) 1 (2)D191 50¢ olive yellow (1869) 4 (8) 1D192 50¢ orange yellow (1869) 1D195 70¢ yellow orange 1D198 $1.00 puce D199 $1.00 dark violet (shades) 3 (4)D200 $1.00 lilac (shades) 1 (2)D198/200 ($1.00 puce/violet) 1D201 $1.00 yellow (1869) 6 1 quadrisect 1D202 $1.00 orange yellow (1869) 1D201/2 ($1 yellow) 2 (3)D204 $1.50 yellow green 4 (5)D205 $1.50 gray green 1D204/5 ($1.50 green) 1D207 $2.00 purple (shades) 6D208 $2.00 rose lilac (shades) 4 (5)D206/8 $2.00 1D210 $3.00 blue (shades) 6 (7)D211 $3.00 green (shades) 1D212 $4.00 carmine (shades) 2D213 $4.00 green (shades, 1869) 1 (3)D214 $5.00 carmine (shades) 4D216 $7.00 puce (shades) 3D220 $10.00 dark purple 1

# Denomination Bluish WhiteD171 $2.00 tax on $2000 2 1D172 $5.00 tax on $5000 3 D173 $10.00 tax on $10,000 1

Small Red Insurance# Denomination White BlueD124 10¢ tax on $50 to $100 3D125 15¢ tax on $100 to $150 2D126 20¢ tax on $50 to $100 (error) 2D127 20¢ tax on $150 to $200 5 (6)D128 30¢ tax on $200 to $300 1D129 40¢ tax on $300 to $400 1D130 50¢ tax on $400 to $500 9 (11) 1D131 70¢ tax on $500 to $750 1D132 $1.00 tax on $750 to $1000 9D133 $1.50 tax on $1000 to $1500 6 (7)D134 $2.00 tax on $1500 to $2000 10 (11)D135 $3.00 tax on $2000 to $3000 6)D136 $4.00 tax on $3000 to $4000 1D137 $5.00 tax on $4000 to $5000 4 (7) 1D138 $7.00 tax on $5000 to $7000 1D139 $10.00 tax on $7000 to $10,000 1

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D221 $10.00 brown (1869) 2 (11)Red Exchange

# Denomination NumberD86 $1 Second 1D91 $6 Second 1

Classification by Companies Policies RenewalsCompany/Location # Date(s) Company/Location # Date(s)Aetna Ins. Co. 2 1860, 1862 Stockton 1 1860 Suisun City 1 1862 Atlantic Fire Ins. Co. Atlantic Ins. Co. Suisun City 1 1861 Suisun City 1 1861 Builder’s Ins. Co. ??? 1 1868 California Mutual Life Ins. Co. Chinese Camp 1 1869California Mutual Marine Ins. Co. Cargo Policy, San Francisco 1 1862Charter Oak Ins. Co. Forest Hill 1 1860City Fire Ins. Co. of Hartford. 2 1860, 1863 Forest Hill 1 1860 San Francisco 1 1863Columbia Fire Ins. Co. Marysville 1 1865Connecticut Fire Ins. Co. of Hartford Stockton 1 1861Continental Ins. Co. 3 1859, 1862 Sacramento 2 1859 ??? 1 1862Equitable Life Assurance of the U.S. San Francisco 1 1869Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co. 3 1867–8, 1872 Oakland 1 1867 Sacramento 1 1872 San Francisco 1 1868Fireman’s Ins. Co. (Concord) 1 1869Guardian Natl. Life Ins. Co. of N.Y San Francisco 1 1872 Hamburg-Bremen Fire Ins. Co. Sonoma Valley 1 1869Hartford Fire Ins. Co. 5 1860–1 Hartford Fire Ins. Co. 2 1862, 1872 Folsom 1 1861 Eureka 1 1872 Forest Hill 1 1860 Folsom 1 1862 Healdsburg 1 1860 Marysville 1 1861 Sacramento 1 1861

This is another classificationwhereby every usage is rare.Eighteen Insurance stampshavebeen recordedononly onedocument, and eight more on just two; none has been recorded on more than ten. Of the Rectangulars, which were also used to pay the Attorney, Exchange and Passenger taxes, 15 have been recorded on only one Insurance document; of these, seven are known on no other documents. No Rectangular has been recorded on more than six Insurance usages. The usage of Exchange stamps to pay an Insurance tax is so far unique.

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Policies RenewalsCompany/Location # Date(s) Company/Location # Date(s)Hartford Ins. Co. Hartford Ins. Co. Folsom 1 1863 San Francisco 1 1865R. S. Haven, Broker ??? 1 1858Home Ins. Co. Home Ins. Co. San Francisco 5 1857–8, 1860, 1862 San Francisco 4 1862–3, 1865Home Mutual Ins. Co. Home Mutual Ins. Co. Chinese Camp 1 1867 Oakland 1 1872Humboldt Fire Ins. Co. San Francisco 2 1859Imperial Fire Ins. Co. Imperial [Fire] Ins. Co. 8 1861–6 (larger vignette) 3 1860–1, 1866 San Francisco 1 1862 Forest Hill 1 1860 Stockton 7 1861–6 San Francisco 1 1866 Stockton 1 1861 Imperial Fire Ins. Co. (cont.) (smaller vignette) Carson River, Nevada 1 1868Liverpool & London & Globe Ins. Co. 15 1861–2, 1864, 1866–7, 1870–2 Columbia 1 1862 Mariposa 1 1868 Marysville 1 1861 Oroville 1 1870 Sacramento 2 1872 San Francisco 7 1866–7, 1871–2 Santa Cruz 1 1871 ??? 1 1864Liverpool & London Fire & Life Ins. Co. 5 1859, 1861, 1865 Columbia 2 1861, 1865 Sacramento 2 1861 San Francisco 1 1859 London & Lancashire Fire Ins. Co. Not stated 1 1865Merchants’ Ins. Co. 2 1860, 1862 San Francisco 1 1860 Suisun City 1 1862Merchants Mutual Marine Ins. Co. 2 1864, 1870 San Francisco Time Policy (cargo) 1 1870 Cargo Policy (cargo) 1 1864Metropolitan Fire Ins. Co. Metropolitan Fire Ins. Co. San Francisco 2 1861, 1863 San Francisco 1 1863Neptune Ins. Co. (cargo) 1 1860New England Mutual Life Ins. Co. Poverty Hill 1 1870Niagara Fire Ins. Co. San Francisco 2 1857–8Northwestern Mutual Life Ins. Co. San Francisco 1 1871Occidental Ins. Co. 2 1870–1 (smaller vignette) San Francisco 1 1870 (larger vignette)

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San Francisco 1 1871 Policies RenewalsCompany/Location # Date(s) Company/Location # Date(s)PacificIns.Co. 6 1863,1865,1869–71 PacificIns.Co. Petaluma 1 1868 Placerville 1 1868 San Francisco 4 1863, 1865, 1870–71 ??? 1 1871Phoenix Ins. Co. 9 1861, 1864–7, 1869, 1872 Phoenix Ins. Co. 5 1864, 1868–70 Long Bar 1 1867 Oakland 4 1868–70 Marysville 2 1865–6 Sacramento 1 1864 Salinas 1 1869 San Bernardino 1 1872 San Diego 1 1872 San Francisco 3 1861, 1864, 1869Quaker City Ins. Co. (large, multivignetted) Forest Hill 1 1860 (marine policy, plain) San Francisco 1 1860San Francisco Ins. Co. San Francisco Ins. Co. (vignetted) San Francisco 1 1864 San Francisco 2 1866–7 (plain) Suisun City 1 1862 Security Fire Ins. Co. Not stated 1 1861State Investment Ins. Co. San Francisco 1 1872Union Ins. Co. 4 1867–1872 Union Ins. Co. Eureka 2 1870–1 Marysville 1 1868 San Francisco 1 1872 Open Policy (cargo) San Francisco 1 1867–1870Generic marine ins. policy San Francisco (cargo) 1 1865

Totals 97 30

Express ReceiptsWells, Fargo & Co. San Francisco 1 1862

Grand total 128

Byanalogywithpostalhistory,theofficesof insurancecompaniesortheiragentswereafiscalequivalentof postoffices,ormoreaccuratelysuboffices,sincetherecouldbeseveralwithinacity,andtherewerecertainlymanywithinSanFrancisco.With apologies to Willie Sutton,7 “that’s where the stamps were.” Anyone was free to purchase Insurance stamps, but normally they were bought and stocked only by insurance companies. When a person purchased insurance, the company sold him the necessarystamp(s)atthesametime.Manyissuedrelativelyfewpolicies,andsurvivingexamplesarethefiscalequivalentof coversfromaremotepostoffice.Of the41companiesforwhichstampedpoliciesorrenewalshavebeenrecorded,18arerepresented by a single example, and 11 more by just two. The “commonest” survivors are those of the Liverpool & London & Globe, Phoenix, and Imperial companies, for which 15, 14 and 12 usages, respectively, have been seen. Moreover, the distinctiveinstrumentsof thevariouscompaniescanbeconsideredfiscalanalogsof postmarks.Onacover,thepostmarkshows where and when a stamp was used; on an insurance document, it is the document itself that furnishes this information; revenue cancels do not provide it. Cancellation of California stamps was not even required until April 1862, and thereafter was required only to specify the date. Cancels were often omitted, incomplete, or indistinct. Before 1863, and often thereafter, the only reliable way to tell how (or even if !) a California stamp was used is to observe its intact document.7. When asked why he robbed banks, Sutton supposedly replied “because that’s where the money is.”

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Table 7. Proposed Detailed Insurance Listings (II)

1858–1861. 32mm diameter. Orange-vermilion (1858). brick red (1859), carmine-lake (1860), all on bluish paper; vermilion on white paper (1860).

Numbers in parentheses are the best estimates of numbers sold. For the scarcer bluish paper varieties, reliable current prices are not available, and in their absence prices have been extrapolated from the sales figures.

—————————————————Thin bluish paper————————————————— Thin white paper ———orange-vermilion——— —————brick red————— carmine-lake vermilion (June 1, 1858) (July 1, 1859) (March 16, 1860) (Dec. 10, 1860) GWW ARM plain ARM fancy SHB SHB SHB Total A B C D E F Sales3 Months DIN23 3¾¢/$100 (75) — (61) — (58) (16) 0 x 0 x 210DIN24 5¢/$200 (66) — (22) — (145) (240) 160.00 (320) 150.00 0 x 793DIN25 12½¢/$500 (156) — (680) 60.00 (166) (320) 150.00 (277) 160.00 0 x 1599DIN26 25¢/$1,000 (256) 160.00 (284) 150.00 (688) 60.00 (12) (798) 55.00 (330) 150.00 2368DIN27 50¢/$2,000 (282) 150.00 (393) 125.00 (360) 140.00 (114) — (864) 55.00 (131) 2144DIN28 $1.25/$5,000 (95) — (60) — (123) (220) 175.00 (349) 150.00 0 x 847DIN29 $2.50/$10,000 (65) — (50) — (242) 160.00 (135) (191) — (100) — 783DIN30 $5.00/$20,000 (38) 0 x (57) — (30) 0 x 0 x 125DIN31 $12.50/$50,000 0 ** 0 x 0 * 0 * 0 x 0 x 0

6 MonthsDIN32 7½¢/$100 (20) (12) — 0 * 0 * 0 * 0 x 32DIN33 10¢/$200 (300) 150.00 (162) — (211) 175.00 (270) 160.00 (893) 50.00 (435) 100.00 2271DIN34 25¢/$500 (255) 160.00 (114) — (456) 100.00 0 * (1038) 55.00 (25) — 1888DIN35 50¢/$1,000 (272) 160.00 (119) — (400) 125.00 (100) — (1000) 37.50 (544) 75.00 2435DIN36 $1.00/$2,000 (278) 160.00 (384) 125.00 (468) 100.00 (25) (987) 30.00 (488) 90.00 2630DIN37 $2.50/$5,000 (265) 160.00 (152) — (226) 175.00 (253) 160.00 (488) 90.00 (206) 175.00 1590DIN38 $5.00/$10,000 (162) — (31) (188) — (246) 160.00 0 * 0 x 627DIN39 $10.00/$20,000 (11) (3) (10) (20) — 0 * 0 x 44DIN40 $25.00/$50,000 0 ** 0 x 0 * 0 * 0 * 0 x 0

9 MonthsDIN41 11¼¢/$100 0 ** 0 x 0 * 0 * 0 x 0 x 0DIN42 15¢/$200 (50) — (20) — 0 * (470) 250.00 (33) 0 x 573DIN43 37½¢/$500 0 ** 0 x 0 * 0 * 0 x 0 x 0DIN44 75¢/$1,000 (11) (5) (10) (66) — 0 x 0 x 92DIN45 $1.50/$2,000 (21) (3) (10) (95) 0 x 0 x 129DIN46 $3.75/$5,000 (2) (13) 0 * 0 * 0 x 0 x 15DIN47 $7.50/$10,000 (4) 0 x 0 * 0 * 0 x 0 x 4DIN48 $15.00/$20,000 0 ** 0 x 0 * 0 * 0 x 0 x 0DIN49 $37.50/$50,000 0 ** 0 x 0 * 0 * 0 x 0 x 0

12 MonthsDIN50 15¢/$100 (58) — (267) 160.00 (314) 150.00 (130) — (200) 175.00 (428) 100.00 1397DIN51 20¢/$200 (504) 90.00 (82) — (677) 60.00 (23) (1400) 25.00 (1100) 55.00 3786DIN52 50¢/$500 (294) 150.00 (688) 60.00 (1182) 40.00 (18) (2266) 20.00 (1446) 37.50 5894DIN53 $1.00/$1,000 (374) 140.00 (1153) 40.00 (1942) 25.00 (158) — (2600) 15.00 (2341) 30.00 8568DIN54 $2.00/$2,000 (302) 150.00 (995) 50.00 (1714) 25.00 (10) (2634) 20.00 (997) 50.00 6652DIN55 $5.00/$5,000 (283) 150.00 (632) 75.00 (666) 60.00 (373) 140.00 (1269) 45.00 0 x 3223DIN56 $10.00/$10,000 (266) 160.00 (45) — (215) 175.00 (114) — (369) 135.00 (14) 1023DIN57 $20.00/$20,000 (28) (7) (20) 0 * 0 x 0 x 55DIN58 $50.00/$50,000 (2) 0 x 0 * 0 * 0 x 0 x 2

x Never printed/never handstamped.* Never issued or sold. Remainders may exist.** Issued, never sold. Issued in small quantities to San Francisco County Treasurer, but all returned unsold. Remainders may exist.blank Sold in small quantities, none known to exist. Remainders may exist. — Known but unpriced. Remainders may exist.

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Insurance1857–8. 26mm diameter. Blue on thin white wove paper.# Denomination DIN1 4¢ tax on $20 to $50 xDIN2 10¢ tax on $50 to $100 DIN3 15¢ tax on $100 to $150 DIN4 20¢ tax on $150 to $200 DIN4a 20¢ tax on $50 to $100 (error)DIN5 30¢ tax on $200 to $300 —DIN6 40¢ tax on $300 to $400 —DIN7 50¢ tax on $400 to $500 $300.00DIN8 70¢ tax on $500 to $750 —DIN9 $1.00 tax on $750 to $1,000 250.00DIN10 $1.50 tax on $1,000 to $1,500 600.00DIN11 $2.00 tax on $1,500 to $2,000 400.00DIN12 $3.00 tax on $2,000 to $3,000 350.00DIN13 $4.00 tax on $3,000 to $4,000 —DIN14 $5.00 tax on $4,000 to $5,000 250.00DIN15 $7.00 tax on $5,000 to $7,000 —DIN16 $10.00 tax on $7,000 to $10,000 —DIN17 $15.00 tax on $10,000 to $15,000 —DIN18 $19.00 tax on $15,000 to $20,000 DIN19 $28.00 tax on $20,000 to $30,000 DIN20 $45.00 tax on $30,000 to $50,000 DIN21 $87.50 tax on $50,000 to $100,000 DIN22 $100.00 tax on above $100,000 x

1861–6. 26mm diameter. Red on various papers. ——————————paper————————— thin blue thin white medium white white laid# Denomination A B C D DIN59 4¢ tax on $20 to $50 DIN60 10¢ tax on $50 to $100 DIN61 15¢ tax on $100 to $150 DIN62 20¢ tax on $150 to $200 DIN62a 20¢ tax on $50 to $100 (error)DIN63 30¢ tax on $200 to $300 DIN64 40¢ tax on $300 to $400 DIN65 50¢ tax on $400 to $500 DIN66 70¢ tax on $500 to $750 DIN67 $1.00 tax on $750 to $1,000 DIN68 $1.50 tax on $1,000 to $1,500 DIN69 $2.00 tax on $1,500 to $2,000 DIN70 $3.00 tax on $2,000 to $3,000 DIN71 $4.00 tax on $3,000 to $4,000 DIN72 $5.00 tax on $4,000 to $5,000 DIN73 $7.00 tax on $5,000 to $7,000 DIN74 $10.00 tax on $7,000 to $10,000 DIN75 $15.00 tax on $10,000 to $15,000 DIN76 $19.00 tax on $15,000 to $20,000 DIN77 $28.00 tax on $20,000 to $30,000 DIN78 $45.00 tax on $30,000 to $50,000 DIN79 $87.50 tax on $50,000 to $100,000 DIN80 $100.00 tax on above $100,000