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Primary sourceArtifact1765–66

Two Shillings and Six Pence Revenue Stamp

Anonymous, British, 18th century · 1765–66

A British revenue stamp from the 1765 Stamp Act, the law whose protests led a mob to ransack Thomas Hutchinson's Boston house.

Represents the Stamp Act tax whose protests led a mob to destroy Hutchinson's Boston home in 1765.

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Photograph of a blue-gray embossed paper revenue stamp mounted on a pale backing. The embossed design shows a crown above a rose-like central medallion, with the words AMERICA, SOVEREIGN, and HONI SOIT inscribed, and the text 'II SHILLINGS VI PENCE' along the lower edge. A small reddish-brown seal or paper fragment sits over the center.
Two shillings and six pence revenue stamp, Stamp Act period, 1765–66. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

About this source

What it is

This is an embossed revenue stamp worth two shillings and six pence, made by an anonymous British engraver around 1765–66 during the short life of the Stamp Act. It is held today by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Why it matters

The Stamp Act required colonists to buy and attach stamps like this one to legal documents and printed papers, and it provoked fierce resistance across the American colonies. In Boston, anger over the Act boiled over into a riot that destroyed the home of Thomas Hutchinson, then lieutenant governor, even though he had opposed the tax in private. The stamp is a small, physical reminder of the policy that turned colonial anger toward royal officials like Hutchinson.

Look closer

  • What symbols and words appear on the stamp, and what do they tell you about who issued it?
  • Why might ordinary paperwork become a target of political anger?
  • What does this object leave out about the violence it provoked?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Thomas Hutchinson on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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