Did you ever wonder why R223 is so rare?

R223 is the inscribed 1914 revenue series of 1914, $50.00 value.

The report of Bureau of Engraving & Printing shows a printing of 600,000. No other printing report for this R223.

When this stamp was current, the Internal Revenue Office at Chicago had a large quantity were stolen (no report how many stolen).

This R223 were recalled (that was on hand and not used yet nation wide), and destroyed. (Unkown how many destroyed).

1914 Series Revenues were first issued November 1914.

So I wonder, how many were actually used properly (not the stolen ones), suppose we will never know for sure.

If you decide to get one, make sure it is a cut cancel, and is dated Nov or Dec 1914, or early Jan 1915. That's the only way I know for sure it was a legal usage.

I would be interested in see what members have for the R223 (with clear readable Month and Year cancels)?

Does any member have a used example without a cut cancel? Let's see it?

 
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Harvey

re: Why R223 is so Rare

There are ten of them here at this Siegel Auction and most are used and none of them appear to be cut cancel. Are these all illegally used or fake? Just curious!
https://siegelauctions.com/lot_grd.php?m ...
The ones with readable dates seem to fall in the right time period.

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Harvey

re: Why R223 is so Rare

I just realized what the numbers on the right meant. They were the estimated prices and the prices that they got. They brought a fair bit of money!! and several of them were certified as well and that costs about $50 to have done, I think.
Thanks for showing all this stuff and the stories that go with them, it's appreciated.

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Harvey

re: Why R223 is so Rare

I didn't even notice that, very odd! I guess the lower bid would win and the higher bid wouldn't get the item! Unless there was a reserve for the lower one that wasn't met and they had to re-offer the item. Most of the antique auctions here, pre-Covid, didn't have reserves. But a lot of them now have gone on-line and they have a starting bid you have to meet, so essentially a reserve!

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re: Why R223 is so Rare

That's too bad!

Maybe you will get one for X-Mass.

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re: Why R223 is so Rare

Good luck, hope you get it.

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