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  • 2c carmine Abraham Lincoln Centenary of Birth plate proof
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2c carmine Abraham Lincoln Centenary of Birth plate proof

Object Details

Description
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing printed its third U.S. definitive stamp series in 1908. Every stamp in the series pictured either George Washington or Benjamin Franklin, and the public protested that Lincoln had been slighted on the eve of his 100th birthday. In response, this commemorative stamp was created from a bust of Lincoln by the great sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens and issued on the centenary date. Two cents paid the domestic first class letter rate at the time. Like the 5¢ blue Lincoln of 1903, this stamp was later reissued in imperforate and coil formats.
Data Source
National Postal Museum
Date
February 12, 1909
Object number
0.242263.5428
Printer
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Type
Bureau Plate Proofs
Medium
paper; ink (carmine) / engraving
Dimensions
Height x Width: 20 1/4 x 47 in. (51.44 x 119.38 cm)
Place
United States of America
See more items in
National Postal Museum Collection
Title
Scott Catalogue USA 367
Scott Catalogue USA 368
Scott Catalogue USA 369
Topic
The Gilded Age (1877-1920)
Record ID
npm_0.242263.5428
Usage
CC0
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/hm897893d6a-5da0-4a21-ab1a-f199c6b758c3
This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Open Access page.
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TEMPORARILY CLOSED
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10:00 am to 5:30 pm

Admission is always free!

2 Massachusetts Ave., N.E.
Washington, DC 20002

street map of Postal museum

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