4c Abraham Lincoln plate proof

Bureau of Engraving and Printing · June 4, 1959

The layout of this printing plate is markedly different from the two previous specimens, although the stamp image is the same. This printing plate was used to create coil stamps, which are stamps sold in long, rolled up strips of 100, 500, or 1,000. Coil stamps first appeared in the early twentieth century and were designed to be used both in vending machines and on equipment that automated the stamping of large quantities of mail (such as for advertising purposes). Unlike sheet stamps, which were perforated on all four sides, the Lincoln coils had straightedges at the top and bottom of each stamp when they were finished.