The 24-cent gray lilac Washington was the first stamp issued without an imperforate release; all the stamps of this issue were perforated. In 1857, in conjunction with the renewal of their contract, Toppan, Carpenter & Co. designed and produced a plate for this 24-cent denomination. This was the fourth stamp produced by Toppan, Carpenter that depicted the first president, and as with the 10-cent and 12-cent denominations, the Gilbert Stuart portrait inspired the 24-cent design. Though Toppan, Carpenter & Co. created the plate in 1857, its stamps were not released to the public until mid-1860. As a single stamp, the 24-cent Washington paid the half-ounce weight rate to England. It was also used in combination with other denominations to pay more expensive multiple weight or foreign destination rates. Toppan, Carpenter & Co. printed approximately 736,000 stamps of the 24-cent issue.
Glossary
