The Liberty Series was originally planned to honor six presidents, six famous Americans, and six historic national shrines. So many famous quotations are attributed to Franklin, including “Fear to do ill, and you need fear nought else.”
He is remembered as “The Father of the American Postal Service,” and his omnipresence on our definitive stamps is therefore most appropriate. When it was issued, there were numerous third- and fourth- class postage rates that required a half-cent denomination (e.g., 1.5, 2.5, 4.5 etc), and this stamp was issued to be used to 'make-up' the rate along with another of the Liberty definitives.įranklin’s portrait has appeared on U.S. Although the USPS did not use the term 'make-up rate stamp' until the 1990’s, the half-cent Franklin is truly a make-up rate stamp. As with all of the other half-cent stamps, there was no specific rate for which this denomination could be used as a single stamp to pay the rate. Issued on October 20, 1955, this was the last of the half-cent postage stamps issued by the United States Post Office since 1922. Duplessis in the book entitled “The Pictorial Life of Benjamin Franklin, Printer” inspired the stamp's vignette. The first American-born postmaster general of the American colonies, Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) is honored on the half-cent Liberty stamp. The final stamp in the Liberty Series was issued on February 25, 1965, in Boston, the 25-cent coil featuring Paul Revere, and remained on sale officially until April 30, 1987, a remarkable 22-year run.Įncyclopedia of United States Stamps and Stamp Collecting The coils were initially issued with normal size (large holes) perforation holes and then appeared with small holes, even though they were of the same perforation gauge. Two perforation varieties are found on the Liberty series coil stamps. The first Liberty series stamp to be tagged was the 4-cent Lincoln stamp (1036b), issued November 2, 1963. The Liberties have many tagged varieties. The advent of tagged versions of a stamp unintentionally produced new varieties even though they appear to be identical to the naked eye. The phosphor tagging of stamps, applied to facilitate automatic mail handling, was a process pioneered in 1963 and adopted for regular use by 1968. Fourteen denominations were printed on both wet and dry paper.
The new process required a thicker, stiffer paper, special types of inks and greater pressure to force the paper into the recessed plates producing designs that stood out more clearly. The 5-dollar Hamilton was printed only on the flat plate press.Īs a result of experiments begun at the Bureau in 1953, the series introduced a new 'dry' paper (moisture content 5-10 percent) in previous 'Wet' printings, the paper had a moisture content of 15-35 per cent. A third version of the 8-cent Liberty as well as the 11-cent Liberty was also printed on the new Giori Press. The 8-cent Statue of Liberty was printed on both the flat plate and the Stickney rotary presses. The premiere of this stamp was actually broadcast on national television with President Dwight David Eisenhower presiding! The series was in general use from 1954 through 1973, though some stamps in the series remained on sale through the 1980s.Īll stamps were produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and most were printed by the rotary press. The 8-cent red, white, and blue Statue of Liberty stamp, issued on April 9, 1954, was the first of the series. Famous portrait artists and photographers' works were used as the basis for the designs, such as the work of Rembrandt Peale for the 5-cent James Monroe and the 15-cent John Marshall The series differed radically from the Presidential series, featuring 'warm portraits' of its subjects as compared to 'hard profile busts' of the earlier series. Over time, eight denominations were added to the original plan (1.25-cent, 2.5-cent, 4.5-cent, 8-cent Pershing, 11-cent, 12-cent, 15-cent, and 25-cent). Unlike the thirty-two different values of the Presidential Series, many of which saw very little service, the eighteen denominations for the Liberties were selected to ensure no more than two stamps were necessary to pay up to sixty cents in postage, nor more than three for up to $1.60. The series started out as a set of seventeen different subjects with eighteen denominations, printed in formats of sheet panes, booklet panes, and coils. The Liberty Series takes its name from the 3-cent, 8-cent, and 11-cent values picturing the Statue of Liberty.
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