RO174c Swift & Courtney & Beecher Co.

$6.00

The partnership of Swift & Courtney dates to 1861 in Wilmington, Delaware. The company’s matches were called Diamond State Parlor Matches. The Civil War greatly stimulated demand for matches as high grade foreign matches could not be imported. When the country’s first income tax was imposed, Swift & Courtney were the largest income taxpayers in the state. Demand far exceeded production. This situation led the company to merge in 1870 with a company in New Haven, Connecticut that used machines. This company, A Beecher & Sons, became the Swift and Courtney and Beecher Company of New Haven, Conn in 1875. In 1880 the company became part of the Diamond Match Company. Their plant continued to operate in Wilmington.

Additional information

Scott Number

RO174c

Condition

Used

Denomination

1c

Paper

Pink Paper

Number Issued

all papers: 475,154,123

Issued

December 1875 to March 30, 1883

Cancel

uncanceled

Scott Catalog Value

$5.50

SKU: RO174c-3 Categories: , Tags: ,