Scarce #RS178e, 1¢ Black on Experimental Silk Paper.

Only the thirteeth (13) known example of Merchant's Gargling Oil, Lockport, N.Y. #RS178e, 1¢ Black on Experimental Silk Paper. 

Hallmarks: Paper is whiter, brighter, more fibrous then old paper, with embedded short blue silk fibers (on obverse & reverse). See my montage with/without contrast to highlight embedded fibers. 

Nearly all copies are faulty, this being Fine and extremely rare.

History: Manufactured in Lockport, NY beginning in 1833. The first liniment derivative was intended to cure almost any illness that could befall a domestic animal. The human form introduced in 1875. George W. Merchant sold business to M.H. Tucker ~1855. J. Hodge joined company as teenager; elected Secretary when Tucker & Co. incorporated 1858. Hodge married a Tucker daughter and gained control when Tucker died in 1865. Had two private die proprietary stamps made for use on their products:

#RS178: 1¢Black, central image of Arabian Horse having its legs massaged with liniment at an Oasis. Issued May 1869 to Feb. 1883: 853,270 printed on old paper; 1,378,458 on silk paper; 1,873,195 on pink & watermarked papers; and scant few on experimental silk paper.

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Note: Private Die Proprietary Revenue stamps were usually torn in opening the container. Values quoted in Scott are for F/VF examples that may be somewhat faulty, but reasonably attractive, with faults usually not readily apparent on the face.

See images and good luck!