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December
1863 Egypt, via England and Boston, to Long Meadow, Massachusetts,
double 33c rate
3 February, 1864 Boston arrival and rated 66c if paid in silver coin or
$1.00 in U.S. Notes
Effective
May 1, 1863 the Postmaster General directed that all postage due mail
arriving from abroad could be paid in coin at the stated rate, or be
paid in paper currency at a rate that fluctuated with the actual value
of currency against silver. This was necessitated because the postal
contracts in effect required payment in coin. Value of the depreciated
currency fluctuated greatly and the value on the day the cover entered
the U.S. mails was used.
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$1.00
Legal Tender, first series, August 1, 1862
The
first national currency was authorized by the Legal Tender Acts of 1862.
The issuance of "green backs" was in response to the lack of
circulating coins and the need to finance the Civil War. These notes
were not redeemable in coin. This issue was printed privately and the
red seal added by Bureau of Printing and Engraving.
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