USA // Kansas Overprints // Philately // Computer Software Services

The Story Behind

The western terminal of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and the end of the Chisholm Trail were located in Kansas, giving the state a crucial role in America's westward expansion. Spurred by the Homestead Act, thousands of acres in Kansas were claimed by settlers. Out of this rough and tumble pilgrimage came some of our nation's most colorful characters - among them Wild Bill Hickok, Bat Masterson, and Wyatt Earp.

Although frontier towns in Kansas would turn out a number of distinguished Americans - including 34th US President Dwight "Ike" David Eisenhower and aviation pioneers Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart - the lure of the West was tempting for some criminals. By the 1920s, machine gun-toting gangsters had replaced gunslingers, and small post offices in isolated communities were among their targets. Losses in one year alone totaled more than $200,000 (equal to nearly $7 million today). To make it difficult for thieves to sell stolen postage stamps, Postal Inspector Louis Johnson proposed stamps be overprinted with the name of the specific state where they would be sold.

In February 1929, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing was authorized to apply special state overprints to the 1¢ through 10¢ denominations of the current regular issues, in an effort to put an end to the interstate sale of stolen postage stamps. Once the stamp had been produced, the name of the state where the stamps were to be used would be imprinted over the design. Such a move had been under consideration for some time, and it was hoped that the overprints would make it difficult to sell or use stamps from another state.

The idea of overprinting US stamps to prevent theft was not a new one - it had been suggested nearly 30 years earlier - but the newly invented rotary press now made the idea possible and affordable. As one of the states victimized by postage stamp theft, Kansas was selected for the experiment. If successful, authorities planned to distribute overprinted postage stamps to each US state within one year.

Early on in the experiment, the idea was abandoned due to the ineffectiveness of the overprint issue. Consequently, not many of these stamps were produced. As early as June 1929, collectors were eagerly seeking this new and scarce variety. Various types surfaced, including the shifted overprints, which resulted in strips containing one stamp completely lacking the overprint. Because there were so few stamps and such a great demand for them, these issues became a prime target for counterfeiters. The most common forgeries were known as the "California Fakes", since they were first discovered in San Francisco. Since the genuine overprints were printed using electrotype plates and the forgeries were done using a typewriter, the difference between the two is easy to distinguish. On a genuine overprint, the image was printed on the surface rather than impressed into the stamp. Thus, the ink lies flat on the surface and almost appears raised. Most importantly, if one turns the stamp over, the image does not appear impressed, and it never breaks the gum.

Although it had seen rapid growth, the population of Kansas was relatively small in 1929. Based on projected needs, postal officials distributed relatively low numbers of Kansas overprints. In fact, less than one 9¢ stamp (Thomas Jefferson) was issued for each person living in the state.

The Kansas Overprints were released in the cities of Newton and Colby - and were met with immediate criticism and confusion. Some postmasters refused to honor them, believing the "Kans." overprint meant the stamps had been precancelled. In an era when postage stamps were often used to pay for merchandise, mail order giant Montgomery Ward protested that post offices outside Kansas refused to accept the overprinted stamps.

Others argued the stamp overprint program was only intended to save money. They pointed out that small post offices were required to purchase an entire year's supply of stamps at once under the plan, which cut government distribution costs by more than half. Those critics claimed the overprints were a method to discourage would-be thieves from stealing the huge stockpiles of stamps that would be stored in poorly defended small towns as a result of the cost-cutting program. In the wake of such widespread criticism, officials halted the experiment in less than a year and let the existing supply of Kansas overprint stamps exhaust itself.

To create the Kansas overprints, postal officials overprinted the Series of 1926-1928 rotary stamps. Described by noted philatelic author Gary Griffith, the series features a blend of art and technology. Officials began with the engraved designs of the Series of 1922, which had been printed on flat plate presses and perforated 11. The introduction of the rotary press made it possible to print the Series of 1926-1928 in high volumes at low cost. A slight change in perforation - 11x10.5 - also made them easier to separate. In fact, the 1926-1928 stamp series was such a success that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing used the format for another 10 years.

As you can see, a number of compelling events are represented by the Kansas overprints - the marriage of traditionally engraved stamps with modern technology, the settlement of America's West and the history of the state of Kansas.

Source: Mystic Stamp Company


#658 // May 1, 1929 // Newton, KS (overprint on original stamp #632 // June 10, 1927)	#659 // April 16, 1929 // Colby, KS (overprint on original stamp #633 // May 17, 1927, first fractional US stamp)	#660 // May 1, 1929 // Colby, KS; Dodge City, KS; Liberal, KS (overprint on original stamp #634 // December 10, 1926)
Benjamin Franklin (* 1706, MA, † 1790, PA), one of the US Founding Fathers and first US Postmaster, in office 1775 - 1776	Warren G. Harding (* 1865, OH, † 1923, CA) 29th US President, in office 1921 - 1923	George Washington (* 1732, VA, † 1799, VA), one of the US Founding Fathers and first US President, in office 1789 - 1797


#661 // May 1, 1929 // Colby, KS (overprint on original stamp #635 // February 3, 1927)	#662 // April 16, 1929 // Colby, KS (overprint on original stamp #636 // May 17, 1927)	#663 // May 1, 1929 // Colby, KS (overprint on original stamp #637 // March 24, 1927)
Abraham Lincoln (* 1809, KY, † 1865, DC), 16th US President, in office 1861 - 1865, assassinated	Martha "Lady" Washington (* 1731, VA, † 1802, VA), wife of George Washington, First Lady 1789 - 1797	Theodore Roosevelt (* 1858, NY, † 1919, NY), 26th US President, in office 1901 - 1909


#664 // May 1, 1929 // Newton, KS (overprint on original stamp #638 // July 27, 1927)	#665 // May 1, 1929 // Colby, KS (overprint on original stamp #639 // March 27, 1927)	#666 // May 1, 1929 // Newton, KS (overprint on original stamp #640 // June 10, 1927)
James A. Garfield (* 1831, OH, † 1881, NJ), 20th US President, in office March 4, 1881 - Sept. 19, 1881, assassinated	William McKinley (* 1843, OH, † 1901, NY), 25th US President, in office 1897 - 1901, assassinated	Ulysses S. Grant (* 1822, OH, † 1885, NY), General of the Union Army in the American Civil War (1861 - 1865), 18th US President, in office 1869 - 1877


#667 // May 1, 1929 // Colby, KS (overprint on original stamp #641 // May 17, 1927)	#668 // May 1, 1929 // Colby, KS (overprint on original stamp #642 // February 3, 1927)
Thomas Jefferson (* 1743, VA, † 1826, VA), one of the US Founding Fathers and third US President, in office 1801 - 1809	James Monroe (* 1758, VA, † 1831, NY), fifth US President, in office 1817 - 1825