United States Postage Due, 1931, 1/2c Carmine Rose

United States · 1931 · 1/2¢

This stamp is a postage due issue, designed to indicate the amount of postage that was underpaid on a piece of mail. The design is purely functional, featuring a large numeral '1/2' in the center, flanked by the word 'CENTS', with 'UNITED STATES POSTAGE' above and 'DUE' below, all enclosed in an ornate, engraved frame. The carmine rose color is typical for this series.

Issued during the Great Depression, this fractional-cent postage due stamp was necessary for precise accounting of underpaid postage on various classes of mail, reflecting the economic realities of the time.