The Colorful Past of US Tax

April 15, 2003 9:52 AM

The Colorful Past of US Tax Finished your return? Then spend a few minutes contemplating historical revenue stamps for a wide variety of consumer goods (my favorite stamp scans are for beer, matches, medicine bottles, and motor vehicles). A separate page offers the history of the subset of proprietary die or "match and medicine" stamps, and provides scans of stamps for canned fruit, playing cards, and perfume. Finish up with a look at "taxpaids" like cotton, oleomargarine, and ale.
posted by clever sheep (5 comments total)

Please be kind...first post.
posted by clever sheep at 9:53 AM on April 15, 2003

Other, slightly more unusual tax stamps. (And, yes, you can be charged with tax evasion if your products don't carry the proper stamp.)
posted by fnord23 at 11:31 AM on April 15, 2003

Great post, clever sheep. Cool visuals and neat history. Thanks.
posted by mediareport at 4:05 PM on April 15, 2003

I think they're more beautiful than even (the old) dollar notes.

Echoing mediareport: great post, clever sheep! Welcome to multi-linky heaven!
posted by MiguelCardoso at 4:12 PM on April 15, 2003

Bravo, clever sheep - a wonderful first post indeed. These are really neat looking - I particularly like the medicine bottle one you pointed out - the wax seal adds a neat touch.

The text says stamps were sometimes used as a way to send small amounts of money - I've had that happen once or twice. I overpaid a bill once by a matter of nine cents and the company mailed me three 3 cent stamps.
posted by madamjujujive at 8:41 PM on April 15, 2003