State of New York Stock Transfer Tax Stamps

The State of New York Stock Transfer Tax Stamp

304 varieties and counting...

- NAVIGATION LINKS - (Intro) | 1905 (1) | 1905 (2) | 1906 | 1907 | 1908 | 1914 (1) | 1914 (2) | 1914 (3) | 1915 | 1916 (1) | 1916 (2) | 1922 | 1929 | 1930 | 1932 | 1936 | 1943 | 1943 (2) | 1943 (3) | 1975 Bond
- Different Styles of Stamped and Punched cancellations -- Attached Multiples - Mint and Used -- Perfins on Memorandums -- Used on Stock Certificates -
- I’m told some don’t like a page this dark, so CLICK HERE FOR THE WHITE BACKGROUND VERSION if you prefer -
- ALBUM PAGES FOR SALE HERE -

Not all stamps were used for postage. These tax stamps (or revenue stamps or fiscal stamps) were used to pay tax imposed by New York due to the Stock Transfer Stamp Tax of 1905 which taxed the sales of corporate stocks and certificates. This threatened the movement of the Wall Street financial center over to New Jersey, but that never materialized (see image below). This tax lasted until 1981 although the use of the actual stamps ended much earlier. These stamps are considered "State Revenues" so you won't find them listed in a standard Scott Catalog. These were issued by New York State, not by the federal government.

a May 5th, 1906 NY stock purchase memorandum - paid under protest

Most of the main varieties are displayed here. (There are many more sub-varieties.) Some of the differences: 19 denominations, 3 design styles (with more variations than you can imagine), 5 styles of "overprint" ink (in multiple colors), and at least 6 perforation varieties. (Note: Keep in mind that some of the nuances of the slight color varieties may not display easily on these pages due to either the limitations of my scanner or the limitations of your computer monitor.)

This is an ongoing project so there will be constant changes to this page as it evolves. I would like to publicly thank Ken Pruess whose help was invaluable in the making and refining of this page. Make sure to check back again later - Thanks for stopping by!

1905 - no overprint - on smooth hard white paper - (rouletted 12)
black black - imperforate pair - THANKS to Roger Libot for this image red brown brown green light green orange orange - imperforate pair light orange worn plate brown - type I corners deep brown - type I corners a detail of Type I and Type II corners brown - type II corners deep ultramarine dim ultramarine blue carmine rose red carmine - with fine shade line inside the "2" numeral rose red - with fine shade line inside the "2" numeral carmine-POSSIBLY with scratched plate on left - with fine shade line inside the "2" numeral dull purple olive

1905 - no overprint - on yellow rough porous paper - (rouletted 12)
black - Thanks to Ken Pruess for providing this image. green orange blue carmine - grid background behind "2" rose red - grid background behind "2" carmine - solid background behind "2"

1906 - overprint of large hollow numeral of value - (perf. 12) -
1906-1907 issues have a very hard to spot clear, water-soluble diamond shaped overprint (digitally enhanced image) with a clear, water-soluble overprint in a (double) diamond shape of 12mm x 24mm

(Difficult to see on Mint 1906-1907 stamps. Completely washed from soaked, used stamps)

greenish gray black - imperforate block of 4 blue gray brown green yellowish green orange orange - missing overprint (MINT stamp) orange - attached pair - imperforate horizontally orange - imperforate block of 4 brown ultramarine - type I numeral "1" (curvy design) a detail of numeral "1" Type I and Type II ultramarine - type II numeral "1" design (straighter lines) gray blue - type II numeral "1" design (straighter lines) rose orange red w/ green overprint dull purple olive

Over the course of about 40+ years, these revenue tax stamps have changed form many times. Sometime the changes were very obvious to anyone, but other times they were minor enough to need a magnifying glass to see the slight variation. I hope this page is interesting for you and maybe even helps you narrow down or identify several of these state revenue stamps in your own collection. - Many of them are quite common, but a few are much harder to come by.

1907 - new design - overprint of large hollow numeral of value - Watermarked paper used: Watermarked paper of 1907 - 1915

(perf. 12) - with a clear, water-soluble overprint on front in a diamond shape 12mm x 24mm
orange brown lilac ultramarine pale ultramarine blue greenish black orange rose green dark brown olive olive with blue overprint

a 1907 NY stock purchase memorandum with both 1906 and 1907 tax stamps - Thanks to Roger Libot for providing this image.

1908 - overprint of numeral of value in checkered pattern of 8 (or 5) - (perf. 12) - Clear, vertical wavy line overprint: "digitally enhanced" EXAMPLE of the clear overprint
orange brown olive brown with double overprint-Thanks to Ken Pruess for providing this image brown w/ green overprint dark brown w/ green overprint lilac purple ultramarine blue milky blue pale gray blue gray blue w/ violet overprint greenish black black greenish black with green overprint-Thanks to Ken Pruess for providing this image. yellow olive green olive yellow olive with red overprint yellow olive - violet overprint
Notice how these 50-cent denominations are
the only overprint designs in any of the series to use
the ¢ symbol. I have no idea why that is.

orange orange with green overprint orange with violet overprint rose red rose w/ blue overprint red w/ green overprint blue green yellow green yellow green with green overprint dark brown olive - Thanks to Ken Pruess for providing this image.

The stamps shown on this page are in no way the only color varieties available. While some issues (usually the later ones / post-1930) have primarily one color type, there are multiple color variations for many of the early issues. Overprint colors can vary as well.

1914 - overprint numeral of value inside frame - both upper corners hollow (without solid dot) - (perf. 12)
carmine w/ green overprint olive brown dark red brown orange yellow orange red orange dark violet deep violet red lilac w/ green overprint green blue green blue mustard gray

1914 - overprint numeral of value inside frame - upper left corner has solid dot added - (perf. 12)
carmine w/ green overprint red brown yellow orange dark violet red lilac with green overprint red lilac with violet overprint

1914 - overprint numeral of value inside frame - both upper corners have solid dot added - (perf. 12)
carmine w/ green overprint yellow orange dark violet red lilac w/ green overprint green

What are these things? These are referred to as "Memorandums" although, as you can see, they go by many different names on the actual document. (Yes, Memorandums or Memoranda are the correct plural terms, not "memorandi".)
Memorandums w/ tax stamps applied

While most of the time these revenue stamps are found loose, sometimes it can be more interesting (and certainly more challenging) to collect them still attached to these Memorandums as they were originally used.

1915 - same as above but on heavy white paper - (perf. 12)
carmine-heavy white paper - Thanks to Ken Pruess for providing this image. deep olive-heavy white paper - Thanks to Ken Pruess for providing this image. orange-heavy white paper - Thanks to Ken Pruess for providing this image. dark red brown - heavy white paper red lilac-heavy white paper - Thanks to Ken Pruess for providing this image. yellow green-heavy white paper - Thanks to Ken Pruess for providing this image. blue - heavy white paper

This link will show you a close-up of the paper types used from 1907-1914 and the heavy 1915 type

New watermarked paper was used beginning in 1916 with the repeating phrase "State of New York Stock Transfer Tax Stamp" which can be either forwards, reverse, or inverted.

The watermark begins at a different spot on each line, but the entire pattern repeats every five lines.
digitally enhanced photo of watermark: "State of New York Stock Transfer Tax Stamp"

The entire length of the full phrase is about 19.5 cm (or 7.7 inches) in a font which is about 6mm (or .25 inch) tall.
another enhanced photo of the NYSTT watermark: "State of New York Stock Transfer Tax Stamp"

1916 - new design - The vertical hatching above the value numeral panels is incomplete and also the vertical ends of the rectangle panels below "CENTS" have thinner ends for both of these 1916 series - overprint of numeral of value in checkered pattern of 5 - (perf. 12x11)
olive olive brown brown yellow orange olive green deep green black orange yellow olive yellow close-up of the original 1916 design of the "1" Dollar - wide top serif and shade lines that don't fade at the base orange red rose carmine pale red orange light tan deep red with green overprint grey orange brown deep violet brown greyish purple blue green

1916 - same new design as above - overprint of numeral of value in checkered pattern of 5 - (perf. 11)
grey brown orange brown brown orange orange yellow tan orange red orange olive green green pale yellow green black closeup of ST100 with normal vertical and horizontal lines on inner shield border blue black black-mostly horizontal lines on inner shield border - see closeup closeup of previous ST101 with mostly horizontal lines on inner shield border yellow orange orange yellow ochre close-up of the original 1916 design of the "1" Dollar - wide top serif and shade lines that don't fade at the base carmine w/ red violet overprint reddish orange w/ red violet overprint deep red w/ green overprint bright red w/ green overprint orange red w/ green overprint close-up of the original 1916 design of the "2" Dollar - shallow tip in elbow corner and base top shade line not interrupted by curve violet brown deep violet brown dark red brown orange brown dark brown blue dark green gray

1922 - same as above series but the ends of the rectangle panels below "CENTS" have heavy, thicker ends. From 1922 on, the panels below CENTS have thicker vertical lines

The vertical hatching above the value numeral panels is complete - (perf. 11)
brown pale orange brown deep brown orange reddish orange pale yellow green olive deep green black black - DOUBLE TRANSFER - see close-up <--- CLOSE UP OF DOUBLE TRANSFER of previous 112a type - notice the "shadow-like" double impression blue black yellow orange olive orange close-up of the redesigned 1922 "1" Dollar - narrow top, shade lines fade at base carmine claret red carmine - no overprint grey violet - with diagonal cut in rectangle above "RAN" of TRANSFER diagonal cut in engraving above "RAN" of TRANSFER on some ST115/ST115a type stamps grey violet - without usual diagonal cut in rectangle above "RAN" of TRANSFER dark red violet - with diagonal cut in rectangle above "RAN" of TRANSFER dark red violet like previous-except this one has an exceptionally high overprint-nearly off the stamp-quite unusual puce gray brown orange brown deep brown close-up of the 1922-1936 re-designed "2" Dollar - deeper tip in elbow corner and base top shade line interrupted by curve
From this 1922 series on (until the completely re-designed 1943 series), these re-engraved versions of the "1" digit and the "2" digit were used on the 1 and 2 Dollar denominations.

A 1926 stock transfer certificate - containing both Federal tax stamps and State tax stamps

1929 - Only the "One Thousand Dollars" denomination was issued during this year
"One Thousand Dollars"-overprint of "M" on 4 corners with red serial number at bottom

This link will show you a page of attached multiples including a group of 10 of these $1000 denomination above

1930 - same as above series but additionally, the the inner frame line has an added heavy line - close-up of the added inner frame line
(perf. 11 - with a 4 cent "perf. 12" addition)
dark blue brown orange orange - "perf 12", not "11" like the rest of this series dark olive green black yellow orange bright violet - w/ ink spots inside left or right frame line dark green puce

"PRINTING METHODS"
Here are some of the proofs used in the printing process for these stamps. (Proofs are used to inspect a printing plate for defects or for color selection.)
The two outer ones are overprint proofs.
2 cent overprint proof 5 cent plate proof 10 cent overprint proof

These are what the printing plates looked like. These have been purposely defaced to prevent them from being used further (causing the dimples from the hammer strikes on the printing side).
20 cent printing plate $2 printing plate

This is a Plate Proof for a 1943 version "ST158" - Thanks to Roger Libot for providing this image.

From 1932 on, the overprint design changed from the earlier checkered pattern of 5 or 8 digits to a single numeral of value inside a large "C" (cents) or "D" (dollars) - except for the "100" Dollar denomination.

1932 - same design as above - overprint of numeral of value inside large "C" or "D" - (perf. 11)
dark blue orange dark olive bistre orange brown w/ purple overprint orange brown w/ green overprint green black black w/ purple overprint turquoise blue yellow orange blue green color variant-not listed - green blue? red deep violet dark green bright green puce orange

Margin markings found in the selvage area are always interesting to collect. Here are some date markings:

November 1920:

June 1930:

July 1930:

February 1932:

July 1941:

1936 - same as above - (perf. 12.5)
blue brown orange dark olive green black turquoise blue turquoise blue - attached pair, imperforate between yellow orange red red - error - 2 pre-printing vertical paper folds along right edge deep violet dark green bright green bright green-overprint extends over left "4" bright green-not listed-overprint extends nearly to top border puce "100" overprint instead of "D"

"Quayle & Sons" (and then later "Quayle & Son") was the printer for the earlier series of NY Stock Transfer Tax stamps

Printing was done by "Quayle & Sons/Son" for 1905-1941

1943 - new design - ball added at base of shields, triple border line, 3 panels above "stock transfer tax" removed - same overprint - (perf. 12)
blue brown orange olive green black turquoise blue orange red violet olive green green puce royal blue magenta - "100" overprint instead of "D"

"American Bank Note Company" was the printer for the later series of NY Stock Transfer Tax stamps
Printing was done by "American Banknote Company" for 1943 on

Same 1943 series as above as standard SPECIMEN
blue brown orange olive w/ red "SPECIMEN" overprint olive w/ black "SPECIMEN" overprint green black turquoise blue orange red violet w/ red "SPECIMEN" overprint violet w/ black "SPECIMEN" overprint olive green green puce w/ red "SPECIMEN" overprint puce w/ black "SPECIMEN" overprint royal blue magenta - "100" overprint instead of "D"

Same 1943 series as above as Imperforate Specimens

blue brown orange olive green black turquoise blue orange red violet olive green green puce royal blue magenta

1975 - same series as above with "B" Bond tax overprint
blue w/ "B" Bond Tax overprint orange w/ "B" Bond Tax overprint olive w/ "B" Bond Tax overprint red w/ "B" Bond Tax overprint violet w/ "B" Bond Tax overprint olive green w/ "B" Bond Tax overprint 10 dollars - puce - with "B" overprint - "BN8" royal blue w/ "B" Bond Tax overprint

THEY ARE HERE!!! - I am now offering album pages for sale for this series - Read all about them here.

This link will show you a page of attached multiples including blocks and full sheets of New York Stock Transfer Stamps - THANK YOU to all who have contributed their images to share with others.

And a special treat for those of you who are diligent enough to have reached the bottom of the page - If you click here you can see what a full collection of more than 260 different New York Stock Transfer Tax stamps looks like. The image is a bit fuzzy to keep the file size reasonable because there's a screen-full and then some!

How to reach Kurt Lange - send me your thoughts, comments, suggestions, reactions, etc...

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- Different Styles of Stamped and Punched cancellations -- Attached Multiples - Mint and Used -- Perfins on Memorandums -
- I’m told some don’t like a page this dark, so CLICK HERE FOR THE WHITE BACKGROUND VERSION if you prefer -
- ALBUM PAGES FOR SALE HERE -