Anyone know the U.S. RN-X5 Revenue stamp?

[udoittwo]

I have this piece of railroad ephemera that is what I believe to be a RN-X5 U.S. Revenue stamp? But I was wondering, was Revenue stamps quality so poor compared to the quality of a regular postage stamps?

I'm not a stamp collector but i know that variations can be as simple as and tiny spot that is not on regular example. 

I looked at other RN-X5 stamps and this piece has so many issues, I wonder if it is not a fake?

Again, I don't know stamps so any info would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Karl.

[melda58]

What does the back look like?  Do you see the stamp markings?   It does seem to have age stains on it.  

Rita

[udoittwo]

The back is blank with creases and stains. If you are asking if the image of the stamp came through reverse, it did not. 

What I was wondering, is is common for revenue stamps to be of lesser quality than regular postage stamps?

The 1st picture[lighter colored stamp] is a common example I found.  I included a couple picts of my stamp under different lighting. They almost seem to be 2 different stamps. The borders are different, the stars the #1 and lettering are larger, filled in dark areas on the one with the other being open, ect.  

Unfortunately, I can't find any listings of variations of the RN-x5. I don't collect stamps and am not 100% sure this even is an RN-X5?Maybe no one collects revenue stamps enough to bother with variations?

[udoittwo]

I did find some info on this stamp. I believe it was from the 1898 Spanish American War series and were mostly used on parlor car, and Pullman car tickets.  Apparently, they are more commonly found in pieces once they were used and torn apart.