The Failed Experiment of Grills

Beginningin the 1860s fears began to spread about the cleaning and reuse of cancelled postage stamps. Charles F. Steel, an employee of the National Bank Note Company, created and patented a device which would break the paper fibers of a stamp prior to use, thereby allowing cancelation ink to seep into the paper and discouraging criminal behavior. The embossed pattern produced by such a device is known as a “grill”. Beginning in 1867 and continuing for the next few years a number of different grilling devices were used, all of which have been classified by philatelists according to their size and orientation. By the early 1870s the practice was deemed to be more trouble than it was worth—but not before collectors were left with some of the rarest and most expensive varieties of American postage stamps.

The short lifespan of grilled stamps means that some higher denominations, such as this 90c on a cover to Peru (right), are exceedingly rare. More common grilled stamps can be found with fancy cancellations, such as this tombstone marking the impeachment of Andrew Johnson (left).