Liberty Issue

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The Liberty issue was a definitive series of postage stamps issued by the United States. It consisted of a number of definitive stamps, ranging from a half cent issue showing Benjamin Franklin to a five dollar issue depicting Alexander Hamilton. While most depicted well-known historic Americans, some depicted well-known landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty or Mount Vernon.

The stamps began to be issued in 1954. While they were generally replaced by the Prominent Americans series, issued starting in 1965, in several cases the stamps remained on sale for a considerable period of time afterwards. Most notably, the two cent coil stamp showing Thomas Jefferson and the 25 cent coil stamp showing Paul Revere were repeatedly reprinted and remained on sale well into the 1980s. Remaining stocks of the 12 cent Benjamin Harrison stamp were sold at some post offices in 1981 to meet the new post card rate as the United States Postal Service was not able to issue a new 12 cent stamp prior to the implementation of the rate increase.[1]

The 1/2 cent stamp was the last issued of that denomination for use as postage, although a postage due stamp of that denomination was issued in 1959.

[edit] Stamps of the Liberty issue, their first day of issue sites and dates

Sheet format:

1/2¢ Benjamin Franklin, Washington, D.C. - Oct. 20, 1955

1¢ George Washington, Chicago, IL - Aug. 26, 1954

1¼¢ Palace of the Governors, Santa Fe, NM - June 17, 1960

1½¢ Mount Vernon, Mount Vernon, VA - Feb. 22, 1956

2¢ Thomas Jefferson, San Francisco, CA - Sep. 15, 1954

2½¢ Bunker Hill Monument, Boston, MA - June 17, 1959

3¢ Statue of Liberty, Albany, NY - June 24, 1954

4¢ Abraham Lincoln, New York, NY - Nov. 19, 1954

4½¢ Hermitage, Hermitage, TN - Mar. 16, 1959

5¢ James Monroe, Fredericksburg, VA - Dec. 2, 1954

6¢ Theodore Roosevelt, New York, NY - Nov. 18, 1955

7¢ Woodrow Wilson, Staunton, VA - Jan. 10, 1956

8¢ Statue of Liberty - (Rotary Press-Flat Plate), Washington, D.C. - April 9, 1954

8¢ Statue of Liberty - (Giori Press),Cleveland, OH - Mar. 22, 1958

8¢ John J. Pershing, New York, NY - Nov. 17, 1961

9¢ Alamo, San Antonio, TX - June 14, 1956

10¢ Independence Hall, Philadelphia, PA - July 4, 1956

11¢ Statue of Liberty, Washington, D.C. - June 15, 1961

12¢ Benjamin Harrison, Oxford, OH - June 6, 1959

15¢ John Jay, Washington, D.C. - Dec. 12, 1958

20¢ Monticello, Charlottesville, VA - Apr. 13, 1956

25¢ Paul Revere, Boston, MA - Apr. 18, 1958

30¢ Robert E. Lee, Norfolk, VA - Sep. 21, 1955

40¢ John Marshall, Richmond, VA - Sep. 24, 1955

50¢ Susan B. Anthony, Louisville, KY - Aug. 25, 1955

$1 Patrick Henry, Joplin, MO - Oct. 7, 1955

$5 Alexander Hamilton, Paterson, NJ - Mar. 19, 1956

Coil stamps:

1¢ George Washington, Baltimore, MD - Oct. 8, 1954

1¼¢ Palace of the Governors, Santa Fe, NM - June 17, 1960

2¢ Thomas Jefferson, St. Louis, MO - Oct. 22, 1954

2½¢ Bunker Hill, Los Angeles, CA - Sept. 9, 1959

3¢ Statue of Liberty, Washington, D.C. - July 20, 1954

4¢ Abraham Lincoln, Mandan, ND - July 31, 1958

4½¢ The Hermitage, Denver, CO - May 1, 1959

25¢ Paul Revere, Wheaton, MD - Feb. 25, 1965