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50-cent Jefferson
The 50-cent First Bureau issue represents the first marked change from the designs of the 1890 Issue. The 30-cent black of the 1890 issue featured the vignette of Thomas Jefferson that had been used for twenty years prior, in the Banknote printings of 1870-1888. The Bureau design encompasses that vignette on the new 50-cent issue and changes the color to orange.
The watermarked printings were issued in a quantity of about 175,000 stamps, the watermarked printings in about one million. Both printings can be found in many shades of orange, but the watermarked printings can be found in a distinct red orange shade also.
This stamp was used for multiple rate payments, both foreign and domestic.
