1898 Trans-Mississippi Issue

The Trans-Mississippi Issue was released in 1898 to coincide with the Trans-Mississippi International Exposition in Omaha. The McKinley-appointed Postmaster General James A. Gary authorized the release of the commemorative set, which originally comprised eight stamps and was expanded to nine with the addition of the $2.00 value. This was the second set of commemorative stamps released by the Post Office, following the 1893 Columbians.

The Trans-Mississippi set was originally intended to be printed in two colors and exists as essays in this state. Johl notes that the bicolor printing scheme was abandoned due to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War. The Bureau’s postage stamp production was reduced to provide additional capacity for revenue stamps needed to finance the war effort.

The stamp-collecting community protested strongly against the new issue. With the Columbian issue still available at a few branches, many felt that the Post Office Dept. was taking advantage of collectors by forcing them to purchase the new issue. This sentiment was further reinforced when the $2.00 denomination was added to the set.

The full set was placed on sale at post offices on June 17, 1898. This was almost three weeks after the start of the Exposition on June 1. At the end of 1898, deliveries to post offices of the Trans-Mississippi issue were discontinued. Post offices with remaining stocks of the issue on hand returned them for credit, and most remaining stocks were destroyed. Unfortunately, records were not kept of the quantity of each denomination destroyed, and so the number sold is not known.

The Trans-Mississippi stamps represent the pinnacle of the engraver’s art. The $1.00 Trans-Mississippi, depicting “Cattle in a Storm”, has often been called the most beautiful United States stamp ever produced. Below is a listing of design sources and the names of the engravers responsible for the issue.