2 cents, metallic red.
Four Cents. Bust of Andrew Jackson, in profile to left, after Powers, in an oval disk, horizontally lined, very closely at the top, and doubly diagonally bordered by a colorless line, twice as wide as that in the last two cents, surrounded by a solid colored band, ornamented with pearls below, and broadened above into a label, bordered above and at the ends by a colorless line, and inscribed "United States Postage," just as in the two cents, the whole resting on a rectangular tablet, with horizontally lined ground, crossed by vertical lines below the oval, and bordered by a vertical colorless line on the right and above the oval on the left, with mitered or bevelled edge, represented by five colored lines parallel with the top, bottom and sides, the right, upper third of the left, and bottom bevel crossed by short colored lines at right angles. On the ground below the oval, which is nearly solid color, in colorless capitals, "Four Cents," between colored five pointed stars. Large colorless numeral "4" on each side, above the stars and end letters of the value.
Plate impression, 19½ by 25 mm., in color, on white paper, slightly surfaced with green, perforated 12.
4 cents, blue green.
The arrangement of the plates, printer's imprint, plate number, etc., is the same as before, for both of the new stamps.
The report of 1883 also proposed that the 3 and 6 cent stamps should be called in, redeemed and destroyed. Nothing seems to have been done about it however, until Frank Hatton, Postmaster General, issued an order, dated December 1st, 1884, that the three and six cents of all issues with the exceptions following, should be exchanged by postmasters for other values.
"Especial care must be taken not to redeem postage stamps issued prior to 1861, as such stamps were long since declared obsolete and valueless for postage. No six cent stamps were issued prior to 1861. The three cent issued before that time bears the head of Washington, and is printed in red. In a straight line at the top are the words "U. S. Postage," and at the bottom, the words "Three Cents." The figure 3 does not appear on the stamps, as it does upon all subsequent issues of that denomination. Stamps answering to this description, must in all cases be refused."
On the 14th of January, 1885, Postmaster General Frank Hatton, by order No. 75, appointed a committee of three to proceed among other things to the stamp manufactory at New York, and effectually cancel all the plates, except one working plate of each denomination, of the issues of 1847, of 1851, including the two carrier stamps, of 1861, of 1865 newspaper and periodicals, of 1869, of the 3, 5, Taylor, 7, 12 and 24 cents of 1870, 3 and 9 cent newspaper and periodical of 1874, and of all the Department stamps.
"One plate of each kind and denomination of postage stamp reserved as above, and the dies and rolls from which they have been produced, together with all the cancelled plates, to be inventoried, waxed and carefully boxed and sealed, and placed in the vault of the stamp manufactory, in the custody and under the control of the agent."