Prominent Americans series

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Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., 15¢
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., 15¢

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It superseded the Liberty issue of 1954, which by the mid-1960s had become somewhat dated, for instance in its focus on political figures.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 coil and booklet version of the 15¢ were issued in 1978 in response to a first-class rate change.

Original 5¢ Washington design, 1966
Original 5¢ Washington design, 1966

The 5¢ 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 Originally appearing in February 1966, it was superseded by a lightened version in November 1967.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:

Washington gets a shave, 1967
Washington gets a shave, 1967

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:

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