4c Abraham Lincoln plate proof

Bureau of Engraving and Printing · August 23, 1894

The definitive stamps of 1894 were the first to be printed for the Post Office Department by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP). They were engraved by the American Bank Note Company, which held the printing contract before BEP, and American's designs were reused with the addition of triangles in the upper corners. The 4¢ denomination in the series, depicting Abraham Lincoln, was intended for use on first-class domestic letters that weighed more than one ounce but less than two ounces.