1 Cent New York; Cigarette Tax

New York's cigarette tax stamps occupy an odd corner of notaphily — they're revenue instruments, not currency, but they circulate through collector hands with the same seriousness as Depression-era scrip. The 1948 New York series reflects a state system that taxed cigarettes at the point of sale rather than manufacture, meaning these stamps were purchased by retailers in bulk and affixed individually to packs, which accounts for the heavy adhesive residue and torn perforations that plague most surviving examples.