Souvenir cards

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There is another version of the SPMS-IBNS Statue of Liberty card [SO43]. It replaces the society logos with an ABNC logo and text, and has a violet band, rather than orange. In Tiffner, it's called SO43A. The scan is fuzzy because it comes with a tyvec overlay with four lines of text and the "100 Years" over the hologram. I recently came across a variety of SO43A with an orange band - haven't seen one of those before.

 

Thanks for the post, Harry! I haven't seen one of the "100 Years" variety, although I'd heard of it. Do you think the orange band variation you mention was an error or maybe someone at ABN intentionally swapped them in the printing process?

 

Just guessing here, but one possibility is that after doing the the SPMC-IBNS version, someone decided it was a nice design for a promotional piece. Maybe the orange band was an early version of this, and then it was decided to make it more distinctive by changing the color of the band. The "100 years" references are only on the tyvec overlay; maybe this was used on cards that were sent out to an ABNC customer that had been in business since 1886. [Again, just a guess.] And of course, it could have been the other way around: the promotional piece came first, and was adapted to make the SPMC-IBNS card.

 

I've been working on an article for the Souvenir Card Journal on the banner year of 1993 for IPPDS&E Union cards. (Do a search for "union" on this thread for more background.) That year, two union booklets were issued -- the only instance of this that I know of -- as well as four convention proofs and a couple others. One of the booklets was the 100th anniversary celebration book, a set of 12 souvenir cards, bound and distributed to union members. Savvy collectors could also purchase these, but they didn't publicize it so you had to know about them.

I picked one of these booklets up last month. The binding prevents me from scanning it on my flatbed, but not long ago I bought a small portable "wand" scanner and that enabled me to get some nice images without bending the pages. This is one of the nicest books the Union ever put out, imho. Local members from all over the U.S. and Canada contributed their time.

 

Fantastic!

 

Picked this one up not long ago -- an early semi-official souvenir card put out by American Bank Note: SO3. One of three cards issued at the 1976 Interphil stamp show in Philadelphia. Complete with a first day cancel of Scott #1690!

 

One bonus that members of the Souvenir Card Collectors Society receive each year is the annual SCCS souvenir card. They are not sold to the public, only distributed to members in good standing. These are always intaglio, usually with banknote engravings, and have a limited run based on membership levels. In recent years some of these cards have had production runs of 250 or less, so they can be quite scarce. Below is the 2015 card which arrived tucked into my Fall 2015 edition of the Souvenir Card Journal. It's a nice complement to this year's BEP cards, also themed on the Panama Canal centennial.

 

Got an alert today from the BEP about a new stand-alone intaglio card they will be releasing for sale on Dec. 1. The 2016 Intaglio Print Program will still be the "Independence Collection" themed on the Declaration of Independence. But this solo card is called "Ideals in Allegory - Democracy" and it seems to be a lead-in to help promote the new woman on currency being released next year.

In any case, it's a nice looking card and the format is an extension of the design from the 2013 intaglio print program. I'll be adding one to my collection!

 

I'm with gsalexan, I'll be adding one also; looks really nice.

 

Here's a full view of the upper right vignette, "Columbia," from my collection of BEP proofs. She also appears on a taxpaid revenue stamp for distilled spirits for exportation.

 

I was reading some of the background information included with most BEP souvenir cards, either on the backs or on the separate info cards. I noticed a couple interesting factoids on this one.

This card is B170, one of the 1993 series where the Bureau tried putting the featured note off-center on the cards. Whether or not that worked esthetically, the banknote itself is stunning. It is the back of the 1879 $1000 U.S. Note, with some of the most elaborate ornamentation you'll find on any piece of U.S. currency.

But it's not the work of the BEP. In the text on the back, the engraving is generously attributed to the Columbian Bank Note Co. The CBNC did the work for the 1869 series, before turning its printing plates over to the the Bureau (which attached its name to later series notes). I think this is the first time I've read BEP text that acknowledges previous work done by a private bank note company.

Another surprising piece of news was that U.S. Notes were still "circulating" in the form of small size red seal $100 bills! Granted this was in 1993, but it sounded like legislation required that a certain amount of these notes remain in circulation "at least on paper." Any idea what this means? Are banks still moving these red seal $100s around?

 

A new post for the new year on an old thread. This time some cards that haven't gotten much attention -- philatelic souvenir cards. When the BEP was issuing souvenir cards in the peak years of the 1970s, stamp-themed cards vastly outnumbered numismatic cards. These slowly declined in numbers and have largely disappeared since 2005, when the Bureau got out of the stamp printing business.

The three cards here feature an unusual form of postage long since extinct: newspaper and periodical stamps. While most stamp collectors are familiar with these, hardly anyone else is. Newspaper stamps were first issued in 1865 as a way to prepay the bulk postal delivery of newspapers and periodicals. At about 4"x2", the first series are considered the largest individual U.S. postage stamps ever issued. In 1874, the rates were changed and newspaper stamps were reduced in size. From then on they were attached to memorandums of delivery and held by the Post Office. Consequently, legitimately cancelled examples are far scarcer than mint ones.

Not only the largest in size, newspaper stamps also hold the record for the highest postage denominations ever issued, including $36, $48, $50, $60, and $100 stamps. National, Continental, and American Bank Note companies each held the printing contract for these stamps at various times, until the Bureau took on the task in 1895. This form of postage was discontinued in 1898.

Imho, newspaper stamps are some of the most attractive postage stamps ever issued, both for their artful depictions of maidens, statues and goddesses, and the spectrum of ink colors used.

 

As a newby, how can I obtain info on/about BEP SC's? I am cataloging my collection for fast reference. It may eventually go to auction. Thanks...

 

Unfortunately, souvenir card references are a scarce commodity. The best is the "Souvenir Card Collector Society Numbering System" published in 1989 and "Mellone's Photo Encyclopedia of Souvenir Cards" by Howard Tiffner (1997). Both are out of date now, but have a lot of great information. They pop up on eBay on rare occasions, sometimes Amazon, but they can be pricey.

If you just need a visual reference, use Ken Barr's price list. He has links to images for most cards, BEP and others.

 

Thanks for your suggestion and help...
BTW, is Ken Barr still active? I see that his list ends with 2014 cards.

 

Oh yes, still active. But he travels a lot and isn't very good about updating his website. Guess I better bug him about it.

 

I just noticed the BEP has posted their new intaglio prints for 2016. I like the engravings; not sure how I feel about the background. Putting an image on top of text is something most graphic designers try to avoid. Put it won't keep me from placing my order.

Did anyone attend the FUN show in Tampa? Did they sell the limited edition "pulled proof" of the first card? I'd like to see one.

 

I attended FUN on Saturday and visited the BEP exhibition . Lots of old currency and history on display. In the back, roped off area of their exhibition, there was a table with items for sale, but you really couldn't get close enough to see any details like serial numbers and the such. I did not see any Limited Edition pulled proofs Greg.