United States 1c Benjamin Franklin, Z Grill

United States · 1868 · 1c

This stamp features a right-facing profile of Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. It is distinguished by the 'Z' Grill, a very rare experimental grill pattern applied to the back of the stamp to prevent reuse. The grill consists of tiny pyramidal points that break the paper fibers.

Issued in 1868, grills were an attempt by the U.S. Post Office to combat the fraudulent cleaning and reuse of postage stamps. The Z Grill is the rarest and most elusive of all grill types.