Goodall Die Proofs

Since there inception in 1865, the second issue bill stamps have been one of the favourite issues of revenue collectors. It is not the stamps but the proofs that are mainly collected for their engraving and splendid colours and there has been an abundance of this material available to collectors compared to the other revenue issues.  Unfortunately, there has been very little written about the bill stamp proofs to properly inform collectors as well as dealers as to the true nature of this material and as a result, some collectors have been paying an enormous premium for proof thought to be true die proofs when in fact they are nothing more than trade samples, or inventory proofs made years after the issuing of the stamps.

One of the most mis-understood of these proofs is the Goodall Die Proofs. These proofs were so named because they were first found in the collection of Albert G. Goodall, President of the ABNCo. when his collection was sold to Hiram E. Dates in 1885. Mr. Goodall had been a travelling sales agent for the company before becoming president. During his time as president (1879) and at his instruction trial colour die proofs were printed as specimens of stamps for the companies agents to show prospective customers. Also during this period the National and Continental banknote companies amalgamated with the ABNCo., and additional die proofs were printed for inventory purposes for the various branches of the company.

 These proofs are easily recognizable and are found in sepia, vermilion, black, pale green and pale blue. How many sets that were made are not known, but a minimum of five sets are known to exist and it is believed there could be as many as ten if not more sets in existance in each of the five colours. These are printed on small pieces of india paper mounted on card with the die number above or below the proof. The die number and sometimes the imprint AMERICAN BANK NOTE CO. is printed on the card stock. These die proofs were a major undertaking by the ABNCo. when you consider that in 1862 when the ABNCo. was in its infancy, they possessed over 20,000 dies, half of these vignettes, portraits, and emblematical figures (as reported by Harper’s Magazine in their article, The American Bank Note Company, 1862).  

Combined with the holdings of the National and Continental Bank Note companies, it must have been a massive undertaking. The India paper was a very specilized paper ideal for the printing of proofs and was imported from China. Measures would have been made to cut the cost as much as possible and accounts for the small and sometimes irreguliar pieces of india paper being used on the proofs.

The Goodall dies were specially made for the printing of these inventory proofs. This can be easily seen on the high values. The original dies for the high values consisted of two dies, the vignette die and the frame die to accomodate printing in two colours. They can be easily recognized by the small white ring separating the vignette from the frame. The inside of the frame in bi-coloured designs was vignetted with concentric rings as a means of disguising inaccurate register of the vignette.

 Printed from 2 separate dies, the vignette and frame dies
Note the concentric rings on the inside of the frame.
 Printed from one die
Goodall proofs
  As more of this material is coming onto the market it is important for collectors to be aware of the true nature of the material and its value. You cannot always rely on dealers being knowledgable in their descriptions of this material or their estimates of its value. There is a big difference between a die made for the production of a stamp and the Goodall proofs made 15 years later for inventory purposes, or for samples for their salesmen.
Spend the time to find out what you are buying. There are some great articles in the Collectors Club Philatelist and the Essay-Proof Journals, as well as some great web sites devoted to Proofs. If you are interested in proofs, check out the "Museum of United States Essays and Proofs", or James E. Lee's Essays and Proofs.

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