Military Postal History Society
War Savings Stamps and Liberty Bonds:
Funding
the Great War
Harry K. Charles, Jr., Ph. D.
May 25, 2017
Military Postal History Symposium
ROMPEX
Background
The Need for War Savings Stamps
War Savings Stamps & Collection Booklets
The Role of the Post Office
Libery Bonds
The National Fund Raising Drives
Summary
As the United States became embroiled in World War I and the U.S. troops began preparing to enter combat, Congress anticipated an immediate need for extra revenue (beyond normal Treasury receipts) to execute the war.
The only way to raise the large amounts of needed money was through borrowing (to cover the required deficit spending).
Thomas Jefferson is often quoted as saying “It is incumbent upon every generation to pay its own debts.” He further went on to say “Such a principle, if acted upon, would save one-half the wars of the world.”
Congress knew that in order to borrow the needed money, the citizens of the United States had to fully support the war and be willing to pay for it, as the war was being fought.
The War Savings Stamp program and Liberty Loan/Bond Drives of World War I were developed to fund the war by spreading the cost as widely as possible, while at the same time increasing public support and patriotism.
The War Savings Stamp program and Liberty Loan drives literally reached every citizen with the message that everyone needed “To do their part!” by investing in War Savings Stamps (W.S.S.) and Liberty Bonds.
The Treasury Department established the War Savings Organization to promote and carry out the stamp sales program.
War Savings stamps were needed to allow most citizens to accumulate the money necessary to purchase a bond over time-the “installment plan.”
Governmental, financial, business, service and fraternal committees were organized at every level from national to neighborhood to promote the sale of War Savings Stamps.
Post carriers became mobile sales agents and the Boy Scouts canvassed almost every neighbor for sales.
The school children were heavily recruited to buy stamps as their patriotic duty. Every household was targeted to buy War Savings stamps and bonds.
The three letters W.S.S. (standing for War Savings Stamps) became the main logo of the stamp sales campaigns. The W.S.S. logo pervaded American life, appearing everywhere from pay envelops to placards in windows
Hand Entered Plate Numbers
Design Size: 28 mm wide x 18½ mm high
Issued December 1, 1917
The 25¢ Thrift stamp was printed in sheets of 300. The 300-subject sheet was
divided into 6 panes of 50. Only 3 panes had plate numbers (TL, TR, B-
center). From plate pieces it is clear that sometimes whole or half sheets were
distributed-see block of 8 below.
The 25¢ Thrift stamp was printed from a series of 29 plates with numbers in the
range from 56800-61210.
Collection Album-Large Thrift Card
Bi-fold Exterior
Bi-fold Interior
Collection Album-Large Thrift Card
Collection Album-Small Thrift Card
Both are FORM WS 1A
[illustrations]
Only one plate block and Plate Strip of 3 known
Issued November 17, 1917
The $5.00 War Savings Certificate stamp Series 1918 was printed from a series of 89 plates with numbers in the range from 56941-61502. The 80-subject sheet was divided into 8 panes of 10. Four plate numbers exist (two top and two bottom.)
Design Size: 39 mm wide by 55 mm high.
Tri-fold Exterior Tri-fold Interior
[illustrations]
Registration Card (W. S. 110)
Post Office and Registration Number
Certificate Serial Number
Perforated Rouletted
Some 308,000 imperforate sheets were shipped to the American Bank Note Company for rouletting
101. Refusal noted on certificates.—In any such case when payment of an unregistered war savings certificate is refused and the person presenting it demands its return, the postmaster shall, before returning the certificate, stamp or write on the certificate and on each stamp affixed thereto the words “Payment refused for cause.” or erased certificate information, and other indicators of fraud. Stamps on valid certificates (as shown below) were cancelled usually in pen or crayon with the office number and/or registration number (of the certificate) written on each one…………
[illustration]
[illustration]
Issued July 3, 1919
The $5.00 War Savings Certificate stamp Series 1919 150-subject sheet was divided
into 6 panes of 25. All 6 panes had plate numbers (top on upper panes, bottom on
lower panes).
The 1919 stamps were printed from a series of 20 plates with numbers in the range
from 61852 - 62013. At least four of the plates had inverted plate numbers.
Design Size: 27 mm wide by 36 mm high
Bi-fold Exterior Bi-fold Interior
| Genuine | Counterfeit |
| White | vs. Beige Paper |
| More | vs. Less Hair Detail |
| More | vs. Less Sharpness in Printing |
Issued December 11, 1919 after the great War was over!
The $5.00 War Savings Certificate stamp Series 1920 100-subject sheet was divided into 4 panes of 25. All 4 panes had plate numbers (top on upper panes, bottom on lower panes).
The 1920 stamps were printed from a series of 20 plates with numbers in the range from 67594 to 69829. All the plates had an F prefix on the top right plate number except plate number 67594 which had it on the top left.
Design Size: 36 mm wide by 41½ mm high
Tri-fold Exterior Tri-fold Interior
Issued December 21, 1920 after the great War was over!
The $5.00 War Savings Certificate stamp Series 1921 100-subject sheet was divided into 4 panes of 25. All 4 panes had plate numbers (top on upper panes, bottom on lower panes).
The Series 1921 stamps were printed from a series of 8 plates with numbers 73129 to 73136. The plates 73129-73132 had an F prefix on the top right plate number. Plate number 73133 had the F prefix on the top left, while plates with numbers
73134-73136 had F prefixes on both the top left and the top right.
Design Size: 39½ mm wide by 42 mm high
[illustrations]
W. S. S. logo was ubiquitous:
Bill Envelope
Stamp Holder
Pay Envelope Inset
W. S. S. logo was ubiquitous:
Mobile Sales Agent
National Day of Savings
W. S. S. logo was ubiquitous:
Household Solicitation Card
Boy Scout Post Card
W. S. S. logo was ubiquitous:
War savings Dinner Look a Like
W. S. S. logo was ubiquitous:
Ohio Award Stamps & Certificate
As mentioned, it was clear that the United States would not be able to fund participation in the war with the Government’s current sources of revenue.
Thus, money to support the U. S. troops as they were deployed to Europe would need to be raised.
A plan developed by the then Secretary of the Treasury, William Gibbs McAdoo , called for raising the needed money through new taxes (⅓ of the money) and borrowing (2/3 of the money).
The borrowing effort was called the “Liberty Loan.”
Securities were to be issued by the Treasury, but the newly created Federal Reserve System (1914) and its member banks would conduct the sales.
The Federal Reserve System divided the United States into twelve districts .
There were 5 Liberty Loan Campaigns or Drives (First through Fourth, and a Fifth called the Victory Liberty Loan
|
Loan Drive |
Start Date |
End Date |
Approved Limit, $B (Term) |
Subscribe, $Billions (Accepted, $B) |
Interest Rate, % Initial(a) |
Subscribers x 10**6 |
|
1st Liberty Loan |
05/14/1917 (b) |
06/15/1917 |
5 (30 years) |
2 (2) |
3.5 |
5.5 |
|
2nd Liberty Loan |
10/01/1917 |
10/27/1917 |
3 (25 Years) |
3.8 (3) |
4.0 |
9.4 |
|
3rd Liberty Loan |
04/05/1918 |
04/27/1918 |
3 (10 Years) |
4.2 (3) |
4.5 |
18.4 |
|
4th Liberty Loan |
09/28/1918 |
10/19/1918 |
6 (20 years) |
7 (6) |
4.25 |
22.8 |
|
Victory Loan (5th Liberty Loan) |
04/21/1919 |
05/12/1919 |
4.5 (4 years) |
5.3 (4.5) |
4.75 |
11.8 |
a) Initial rates approved in the Congressional Liberty Bond Acts for the various loans. Subsequent interest rates variations and terms were given in later bonds of a given drive to promote sales, etc. b) The United States entered WWI on April 6, 1917.
|
Federal Reserve District |
States Represented |
First Liberty Loan |
Second Liberty Loan |
Third Liberty Loan |
Fourth Liberty Loan |
Fifth or Victory Liberty Loan |
|
Boston |
MA, RI, CT, VT, NH, ME |
$332,447,600 |
$476,950,050 |
$354,537,250 |
$632,124,850 |
$425,159,950 |
|
New York |
NY, NJ (a), Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands |
$1,186,788,400 |
$1,550,453,450 |
$1,115,243,650 |
$2,044,931,750 |
$1,762,684,900 |
|
Philadelphia |
PA (b), NJ (c), DE |
$232,309,250 |
$380,350,250 |
$361,963,500 |
$598,763,650 |
$422,756,100 |
|
Cleveland |
PA (d), OH, KY (e), WV (f) |
$286,148,700 |
$486,106,800 |
$405,051,150 |
$701,909,800 |
$496,750,650 |
|
Richmond |
VA, MD, NC, SC, WV (g) |
$109,737,100 |
$201,212,500 |
$186,259,050 |
$352,685,200 |
$225,146,850 |
|
Atlanta |
GA, AL, FL, MS (h), LA (i), TN (j) |
$57,878,550 |
$90,695,750 |
$137,649,450 |
$217,885,200 |
$143,062,050 |
|
Chicago |
IL, IA, MI, IN(k), WI (l) |
$357,195,950 |
$585,853,350 |
$608,878,600 |
$969,209,000 |
$772,046,550 |
|
St. Louis |
AR, MS (m), MO (n), TN (o), KY (p) , IN (q), IL (r) |
$86,134,700 |
$184,280,750 |
$199,835,900 |
$295,340,250 |
$210,431,950 |
|
Minneapolis |
MN, ND, SD, MT, WI(s) |
$70,255,500 |
$140,932,650 |
$180,892,100 |
$242,046,050 |
$176,114,850 |
|
Kansas City |
KS, OK, NE, CO, WY, MO(t), NM (u) |
$91,758,850 |
$150,125,750 |
$204,092,800 |
$295,951,450 |
$197,989,100 |
|
Dallas |
TX, NM (v), LA (w) |
$48,948,350 |
$77,899,850 |
$161,220,650 |
$146,090,500 |
$87,504,250 |
|
San Francisco |
AZ, UT, NV, ID, CA, OR, WA, AK, HI, U. S. Trust Territories in the Pacific |
$175,623,900 |
$292,671,150 |
$287,975,000 |
$462,250,000 |
$319,120,800 |
|
Treasury Subscriptions |
$17,917,750 |
$33,885,550 |
$11,140,300 |
|||
|
TOTALS |
Pledged |
$3,035,226,850 |
$4,617,532,300 |
$4,176,516,850 |
$6,993,073,250 |
$5,249,908,300 |
|
Totals |
Accepted |
$2,000,000,000 |
$3,000,000,000 |
$3,000,000,000 |
$6,000,000,000 |
$4,500,000,000 |
a)Northern NJ; b) Central and Eastern PA; c) Southern NJ; d) Western PA; e) Eastern KY; f) Small tip of WA adjacent to PA-OH line; g) All of WA except for small tip (See note f); h)Southern MS; i) Southern LA; j) East and Central TN; k) North and Central IN; l) Lower WI; m) Northern MS; n) East and Central MO; o) Western TN; p) Western KY; q) Southern IN; r) Southern IL; s) Northern WI; t) Western MO; u) Northern NM; v) Southern NM; w) Northern LA
$50.00 Liberty Bond
Gold Bond Coupon Bond $100.00 Liberty Bond
Liberty Bonds were issued in many denominations with the lowest being $50.00. The next lowest was $100.00.
These two denominations together accounted for approximately 80% of the total number of bonds sold during the Liberty Loan drives or campaigns.
But even the $50.00 bond was a large sum of money for the average worker, who typically made less than 40¢ an hour. Thus, $50.00 represented about a month’s pay.
Recognizing this McAdoo introduced an installment plan arrangement using the 25¢ War Thrift stamps as described above.
Thrift stamps bore no interest, but when 16 were accumulated on a Thrift Card they could be exchanged for a $5.00 face value, interest bearing War Savings Certificate stamp.
These were purchased at discount of $4.00 plus a few cents depending on the sales month-but if held to maturity in five years they paid a full $5.00-the face value.
These War Savings Certificate stamps were placed on a certificate registered to an owner and they could only be cashed by the owner-hence the War Savings Certificate stamps were non-negotiable.
Liberty Bonds which were negotiable bearer bonds.
Each Liberty Loan drive had a vast array of associated advertising and propaganda.
These items took the form of posters, labels or stickers, banners, postcards, blotters, hang tags, etc.
For example over 9 million posters, 5 million window stickers and 10 million buttons were produced. Since the loans (and bonds) were called “Liberty”, a large portion of the advertising and propaganda used the Statue of Liberty or the Liberty Bell as a theme.
Liberty Loan Stickers on Envelopes Private Mail Commercial Mail
Popular Miss Liberty Sticker Fourth Liberty Loan Magazine Advertisement Stickers for Sale
Typical Propaganda Advertisement or Poster
3rd Liberty Loan Window Sticker and Door Hang
Posters and Post Cards
Window Cards/Stickers for the 4th and 3rd Liberty Loans
Window Stickers for the 5th or Victory Liberty Loan
Liberty Loan Hand Stamps Used on Mail-Commercial and Private Postmarks promoting bond sales
Certificate given in lieu of a bond when supplies were low
Official Government (Army) Post Cards With Liberty Loan Messages
“Liberty Bonds will keep this howitzer thundering at the Huns”
“Bolster the Lines with Liberty Bonds”
In several large cities, e.g. New York and Baltimore, the Liberty Loan Association issued a series of coupon stamps to allow the average citizen to accumulate the necessary money to purchase a Liberty Bond ($50.00 minimum).
These coupon stamps were both Liberty Loan specific and bond value specific.
These stamps were pasted in coupon books and upon filling the book were turned in for a bond.
These coupon stamps are very rare and the author has not seen a collection booklet in over 35 years of collecting.
New York
Baltimore
New York Liberty Loan Coupon Stamp Proofs/Essays (Fourth Liberty Loan) from the American Bank Note Company Archives.
New York Liberty Loan Coupon Stamp Proofs/Essays (Victory Liberty Loan) from the American Bank Note Company Archives.
New York Liberty Loan Coupon Stamp Proofs/Essays (Victory Liberty Loan) from the American Bank Note Company Archives.
Baltimore Liberty Loan Coupon Stamp Proofs/Essays (Fourth and Victory Liberty Loans) from the American Bank Note Company Archives.
The United States could not fund participation in the Great War without additional sources of revenue.
The Secretary of the Treasury, William Gibbs McAdoo , called for raising the needed money through new taxes (⅓ of the money) and borrowing (2/3 of the money).
The borrowing effort was called the “Liberty Loan.”
Americans participated in the Liberty Loans by purchasing Liberty Bonds. There were five massive liberty Loan drives.
The minimum value Liberty Bond was $50.00-a large sum of money for most Americans-McAdoo introduced the installment plan-Thrift (25¢) and War Savings Certificate ($5.00) stamps.
Thrift stamps paid no interest and when 16 were accumulated they could be used to acquire an interest bearing War Savings Certificate stamp. When 10 or 20 of these stamps were collected they could be exchanged for a Liberty Bond.
The installment plan worked and allowed the average American to participate in the bond program. Over $20 Billion dollars was raised from the stamp and bond campaigns.