1 Cent Iowa; Cigarette Tax

Iowa was among the first U.S. states to impose a dedicated excise on cigarettes, and these stamps-cum-fiscal notes were issued as proof of tax compliance rather than as circulating currency — though they occupy an interesting gray zone in notaphilic collecting. The 1922 series preceded federal standardization of cigarette tax mechanisms, leaving individual states to devise their own revenue instruments, Iowa included.

At 25 x 22 mm, this is among the smallest fiscals in American state-level revenue collecting. Survivors tend to show horizontal fold lines from being tucked into cigarette packaging at point of sale.