U.S. TAX STAMPS

In August 1864 the US government placed a tax on carte-de-visite photographs, a Tax Stamp was to be stuck on the back of the carte and cancelled with the date or studio name when it was used. The tax depended on the cost of the carte: up to 25 cents = 2 cents tax, between 25 cents and 50 cents = 3 cents tax.
A rare blue Playing Card stamp was only used during the summer of 1866.
The money raised was to used to help pay for the Civil War. The tax ended in August 1866.