Like their name implies, documentary tax stamps were intended for use on documents representing financial transactions. Our nation’s first adhesive revenues (Scott R1 - 102) were for the most part issued for paying the taxes on financial transactions. Only the eight proprietary and six playing card stamps (excise tax stamps) were not valid for paying the various documentary taxes. After August 1, 1864 all checks payable at sight were subject to a tax of two cents. Beginning October 1, 1862 stock certificates of incorporated companies were subject to a tax of 25 cents (share certificates for unincorporated companies were only taxed five cents). The tax on promisory notes was five cents per $100 or fraction thereof. These are but a few examples from the long list of taxes in Schedule B of the Civil War documentary taxes effective October 1, 1862 and modified frequently until the last of these documentary taxes was abolished June 30, 1883.

There were other times that general documentary taxes were enacted. They were resurrected to help pay for the Spanish-American War. Beginning December 1, 1914 documentary taxes were a constant feature of the U.S. tax landscape until all documentary taxes were abolished December 31, 1967.

However, the general documentary stamps (Scott R1 - 734) are not the only documentary stamps that have been used. Several other special purpose categories of Scott-listed revenues were also used for paying documentary taxes. For example, the future delivery stamps (Scott RC1 - 28) were used to pay the taxes on transactions on the commodity exchanges. All varieties of the future delivery tax stamps are the general documentary tax stamps with the words "Future Delivery" overprinted on them by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

The stock transfer tax stamps (Scott RD1 - 372) were used to pay the taxes on the transfer of ownership of company shares that were cleared through stock exchanges. If the transfer did not take place through the stock exchange, general documentary stamps were used to pay the taxes.

The pre-1940 issues of the stock transfer stamps, like the future delivery stamps, were overprinted general documentary stamps.

The silver tax stamps (Scott RG) are another type of a special purpose documentary tax stamp. Like so many of the special documentary tax stamps, the first examples were overprinted general documentary tax stamps. This tax was initiated during the Depression as a way of cooling speculation in silver bullion. Like so many taxes, it lasted far longer than fulfilling its original hard times purpose and was only abolished in 1963.

The tobacco sale tax stamps (Scott RJ) were another Depression measure aimed to help the farmers. Part of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA), the tax ended because a portion of the act was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. Like the other special purpose documentary tax stamps mentioned, these are overprinted general documentary tax stamps.

The firearms transfer tax stamps (Scott RY) are one of the few categories of revenues still in use today. They are applied to the transfer document when certain types of firearms (e.g., semi-automatic rifles) are sold.

The last type of printed documentary tax stamps listed in the Scott catalog is revenue stamped paper (Scott RN). These stamps are directly imprinted onto the documents and bear the same relationship to adhesive revenue stamps as postal stationary items bear to adhesive postage stamps. These were produced for the convenience of the tax payer (hard to forget to pay the tax when the stamp is already imprinted on the document!).

Also included among the documentary tax stamps of our country are most of the early embossed revenues (Scott RM).

That completes our admittedly brief survey of the documentary tax stamps of the United States, just eight of the 28 categories (the RFV category is omitted in this count because these stamps were used in the U.S. Virgin Islands) listed in the Scott catalog.