FREE: UNITED STATES R164 2c BATTLESHIP 1898 with RARE RAILROAD CANCEL ON OLD COLONY RAILROAD CHECK

The United States War Revenue Act of 1898 took effect July 1 of that year. The Act was passed to raise funds to pay for the Spanish-American war.
It imposed taxes on a host of document classes including checks, licenses, railroad tickets, bills of lading, telegrams, certificates and more. Had the framers of the law thought to include mailed items within the scope of the tax, one of the Battleship revenue stamps might have been listed as U.S. Scott MR1.
The carmine-rose 2¢ Battleship documentary revenue stamp in the series, Scott R164, is shown.. The design choice for the stamp was especially appropriate because the war the stamps were financing began with the sinking of the American battleship USS Maine in Havana harbor. It is interesting to note that the country with which the United States was at war, Spain, was the inventor of the war tax stamp, and Spain used their stamps to help defray expenses in this war. Spain lost the war and its control to the over the remains of its overseas empire -- Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines Islands, Guam, and other islands.

Nice Stamp! And thanks for all the info! Blessings.........

The Old Colony Railroad (OC) was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island. It operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall River, New Bedford, Newport, Providence, Fitchburg, Lowell and Cape Cod. For many years the Old Colony Railroad Company also operated steamboat and ferry lines, including those of the Fall River Line with express train service from Boston to its wharf in Fall River where passengers boarded luxury liners to New York City. The company also briefly operated a railroad line on Martha's Vineyard, as well as the freight-only Union Freight Railroad in Boston. The OC was named after the "Old Colony", the nickname for the Plymouth Colony.

From 1845 to 1893, the OC network grew extensively largely through a series of mergers and acquisitions with other established railroads, until it was itself acquired by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad under lease agreement on March 1, 1893 for its entire 617-mile network.[2] After this date, all trains, lines, and stations became known as the "Old Colony Division" of the huge "New Haven" system. Frpm;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Colony_Railroad

Nice use of this Revenue stamp! I like it very much! Your new friend!!!China Mike

Mine back off michael8888 lol its cool budy!!

great auction i think we will be fighting for this one lol....fanned and watching will defiantly be bidding

it is a very nice stamp and would look nice in my collection thank bob

This one will go big for you! That's if someone out bids me!! I'm going high on it! China Mike

Mine Mine Mine Mine Mine!!!!!