Prominent Americans series
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Stamp_US_1968_15c_Holmes.jpg
The Prominent Americans series is a set of definitive stamps issued by the United States Post Office Department (and later the United States Postal Service) between 1965 and 1978.
It superseded the Liberty series of 1954, which by the mid-1960s had become somewhat dated, for instance in its focus on political figures. The values of the new series included figures from all walks of life, each depicted in a different style by a different designer. The stamps appeared one by one from 1965 on, and the basic designs had all been issued by 1968; tagged versions made their first appearances gradually through 1973, and a booklet version of the 15c was issued in response to a first-class rate change.
Stamp_US_1966_5c_Washington.jpg
The 5c Washington was originally excessively shaded around the lower part of the face, so much so that it has come to be known as the "dirty face" or "unshaven" Washington. Originally appearing in February 1966, it was superseded by a lightened version in November 1967.
The $1 Eugene O'Neill stamp was made (in)famous by Theodore Kaczynski, who habitually used them on his mail bombs.
Stamps of the series:
- 1c green - Thomas Jefferson
- 1 1/4c light green - Albert Gallatin
- 2c dark blue gray - Frank Lloyd Wright with Guggenheim Museum
- 3c violet - Francis Parkman
- 4c black - Abraham Lincoln
Stamp_US_1967_5c_Washington.jpg
- 5c blue - George Washington
- 6c gray brown - Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- 8c violet - Albert Einstein
- 10c lilac - Andrew Jackson
- 12c black - Henry Ford with Model T
- 13c brown - John F. Kennedy
- 15c claret - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
- 20c olive - George C. Marshall
- 25c lake - Frederick Douglass
- 30c reddish lilac - John Dewey
- 40c bluish black - Thomas Paine
- 50c magenta - Lucy Stone
- $1 dull purple - Eugene O'Neill
- $5 gray black - John Bassett Moore
A number of later stamps, issued between 1970 and 1974 are sometimes considered part of the series; they have similarities of style, and are mostly in denominations between the original series:
- 6c dark blue gray - Dwight Eisenhower
- 7c bright blue - Benjamin Franklin
- 8c blk, red and blue gray or claret - Dwight Eisenhower
- 14c gray brown - Fiorello LaGuardia
- 16c brown - Ernie Pyle
- 18c violet - Elizabeth Blackwell
- 21c green - Amadeo Giannini