1800s Stamps: What 19th-Century US Stamps Are Worth

Yes, almost every genuine 1800s stamp has some collector value, but the range runs from 30 cents to millions of dollars, and most stamps from the second half of the century sit at the bottom of it. Age alone does not make a stamp valuable. What matters is how many were printed, the denomination, and the condition.

Here is what one US dealer, allstamp.net, was asking for used examples in September 2026. These are retail prices; a dealer buying from you pays less.

• 1893 2c Columbian, Landing of Columbus (Scott 231), Very Fine: $0.30
• 1883 2c Washington (Scott 210) and 1890 2c carmine (Scott 220), Very Fine: $0.50 each
• 1861 3c Washington (Scott 65), Very Fine: $2.65
• 1869 3c Locomotive (Scott 114): $5.00 average to $17.10 Very Fine to Extremely Fine
• 1851 3c Washington, imperforate (Scott 11): $9.50 Fine to $45.00 with a PSE grade-85 certificate
• 1888 90c Commodore Perry (Scott 218): $99.50 Fine to $197.50 Very Fine
• 1869 1c Franklin (Scott 112): $45.00 average to $250.00 Extremely Fine
• 1847 5c Franklin (Scott 1): $155.00 for a Fine copy with a surface scuff to $495.00 Very Fine
• 1847 10c Washington (Scott 2): $495.00 to $775.00
• 1869 15c Columbus, type I (Scott 118): $595.00 to $750.00

The pattern is consistent. The 2c and 3c values paid the ordinary letter rate and were printed in huge numbers: more than a billion 2c Columbians were printed, over 70 per cent of the whole Columbian issue (Wikipedia). High denominations, the first issue of 1847, and short-lived series such as the 1869 pictorials are where the money is.

Knowing which issue a stamp belongs to is the first step to pricing it. The dates below are from Wikipedia's history of US postage stamps and its articles on individual issues.

• 1842, City Despatch Post. A private carrier in New York City issued a 3c Washington stamp on 1 February 1842, the first adhesive postage stamp in the western hemisphere.
• 1845 to 1847, postmasters' provisionals. After the 1845 postal act set uniform rates, postmasters in eleven cities printed their own stamps.
• 1847, the first national issue. 5c Franklin and 10c Washington, on sale from 1 July 1847. Both were declared invalid from 1 July 1851.
• 1851 to 1857. New 1c, 3c and 12c values after the letter rate fell to 3 cents. Perforations were introduced in 1857.
• 1861. At the start of the Civil War the Union invalidated every earlier stamp so that stocks held in the South could not be sold, and issued new designs from August 1861.
• 1867 to about 1871, grills. A pattern of small dents pressed into the paper so that cancellation ink soaked in and could not be washed off. Eleven grill types are recognised.
• 1869, the Pictorial Issue. Small square stamps showing a post rider, a locomotive, a steamship and historical paintings. It was the first US issue printed in two colours, which produced the first US inverted centres. Public criticism was so strong that replacements went on sale in April 1870, less than thirteen months later.
• 1870 to 1888, the Bank Note issues. Printed in turn by the National, Continental and American Bank Note companies. Continental added small secret marks to the lower values in 1873, which is how collectors tell its printings from National's.
• 1893, the Columbian Issue. Sixteen stamps from 1c to $5 showing the life of Columbus, often called the first commemorative stamps of any country. Of the $5, 27,350 were printed and 21,844 sold.
• 1894 and 1895. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing took over printing in 1894. After counterfeits of the 2c were found in 1895, stamps were printed on paper watermarked with the double-lined letters USPS.
• 1898, Trans-Mississippi Issue. Nine single-colour stamps for the exposition in Omaha, Nebraska.

You can place most 1800s US stamps in the right decade with a magnifier and a dark tray, before you open a catalogue.

• Perforations. A stamp cut from the sheet with no perforations on any side is most likely from before 1857. Make sure the margins are wide enough that perforations could not simply have been trimmed off a later stamp. Our guide to perforations and watermarks shows how to measure them.
• A grill on the back. A grid of tiny raised or sunken points means 1867 to about 1871. Look at the back in light coming from the side; the cancellation ink often shows the grid too.
• Shape and subject. A small, nearly square stamp showing a locomotive, a steamship, a post rider or a painting is from the 1869 Pictorial Issue.
• Columbus. Wide horizontal stamps with scenes from Columbus's voyages are the 1893 Columbians.
• A watermark. The double-lined letters USPS in the paper mean 1895 or later.

Then match the design and colour to a catalogue number; Scott catalog numbers explains how to read the listing. Photograph a stamp and the app identifies the design and suggests the issue, which gives you the starting number to check against.

Of the twelve most expensive philatelic items in Wikipedia's list, eleven were issued in the 1800s. The exception is a 1918 Inverted Jenny block of four. Prices below are what was paid at the time.

• China Red Revenue block and sheet (1878/1897): $17,400,000, 2009
• Mauritius "Ball Cover" (1847): $11,200,000, Christoph Gärtner, 2021
• British Guiana 1c magenta (1856): $9,480,000, Sotheby's New York, 2014
• Japan 500 mon inverted centre (1871): $5,570,760, David Feldman, Geneva, 2023
• US 1c Z grill (1868): about $4.4 million in June 2024 (Wikipedia, Z Grill); it had sold for $935,000 in 1998
• Hawaii "Missionary cover" (1852): $1,900,000, Robert A. Siegel, 1995
• US "Rush 1847 Cover": $1,900,000, Robert A. Siegel, 2006

Other 1800s US stamps have also reached six and seven figures. A 3c B grill sold for about $85,000 in 1993 and for over a million dollars by 2008 (Wikipedia, Grill). Used copies of the three 1869 inverts, the 15c, 24c and 30c, made about a quarter of a million dollars together at an auction in early 2011 (Wikipedia). A complete set of the 1893 Columbians in top condition was valued at $100,000 or more as of 2006 (Wikipedia).

What these share is a tiny surviving population: two known 1c Z grills, one British Guiana 1c magenta. An ordinary stamp of the same year that survives in the millions is priced like the list in the first section. Most valuable US stamps covers the American record holders in more detail.

Within one catalogue number, the spread is wide. The same dealer listing puts a used 1847 5c Franklin at $155 with a scuff on the face and at $495 in Very Fine condition. The difference comes from a short list of things.

• Margins and centring. Imperforate stamps were cut apart with scissors, so four clear margins are the first thing buyers look for. On perforated stamps, a design centred inside the perforations lifts the price.
• The cancellation. A light or neat cancel that leaves the portrait clear is worth more than a heavy smudge. Distinctive cancels count too: dealers list colour and shape, such as a red grid or a blue circular date stamp, and allstamp.net priced a used 1869 10c with a Japan cancel at $325 against $150 for another Very Fine to Extremely Fine copy.
• Faults. Thins, creases, tears and reperforated edges cut the price sharply; the Inverted Jenny census records these faults for every stamp for exactly that reason.
• A certificate. An expert certificate, from the Philatelic Foundation or Professional Stamp Experts, for example, is what lets a better stamp sell at a better price, and it is expected for anything expensive.
• On cover or off. An 1800s stamp still on its envelope carries the postmark, rate and route. Do not soak it off before someone has looked at the whole envelope.

Our guide to stamp grading explains the grade names used above, from Fine to Extremely Fine.

Only if it was issued in 1861 or later. Every US stamp from the 1861 issue onward remains valid for postage at its face value, except stamps for services that no longer exist, such as special delivery (Wikipedia). The 1847 stamps were invalidated in 1851, and everything issued before 1861 was withdrawn at the start of the Civil War.

In practice this rarely matters. A used stamp cannot be used again, and a mint 1800s stamp is almost always worth more to a collector than its 2c or 3c face value. Current letter postage is 82 cents; postage stamp price has the full price list.

Research and drafting were assisted by AI, and every price, date and number was checked against the sources listed below. Dealer prices are retail asking prices seen in September 2026, not what a dealer would pay you; auction results name the house and the date. Scott numbers are the catalogue numbers the dealer used in its listings.