Franklin was dismissed as Deputy Postmaster for the American Colonies in 1774, yet he founded the postal infrastructure that became the U.S. Post Office. Fifty years later, his face was on the 1¢ coil stamp moving through the machines he helped make possible.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Catalog Number: Scott #597

• Denomination: 1 cent (1¢)

• Date of Issue: July 18, 1923

• Printing Method: Rotary Press, Engraved (Intaglio)

• Perforation: 10 Vertically (Coil — straight edges top and bottom)

• Color: Green

• Subject: Portrait of Benjamin Franklin

CONDITION ANALYSIS (Seller-Assessed)

• Status: Used

• Grading: Fine

• Postmark: Bold black machine cancellation consisting of horizontal wavy and linear lines, crossing the portrait and lower design area.

• Obverse: Design is reasonably well-centered with no intrusion of the frame into the portrait. Margins are not perfectly even, but all design elements remain identifiable throughout.

• Reverse: No original gum present, as expected for a used stamp. Paper shows light postal handling and faint surface discoloration consistent with removal from envelope paper. No obvious tears or major thins visible.

• Centering / Margins: Fine. Margins uneven, but perforations clear of the design frame.

• Perforations: Left and right coil perforations intact with some minor wear and slightly blunt teeth from postal handling. Top and bottom edges clean and straight, confirming genuine coil format.

HISTORY

The Series of 1922-1925 replaced the complex Washington-Franklin Issues with a modernized set of definitives produced entirely by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on rotary presses. The transition to rotary production allowed for dramatically higher output volumes, essential for a postal system handling hundreds of millions of pieces of mail daily. Benjamin Franklin appeared on the 1¢ denomination, continuing a pattern that stretched back to the earliest U.S. federal stamps.

Scott #597 is the coil version of the 1¢ Franklin, issued July 18, 1923, with vertical perforations only and straight-cut top and bottom edges. It was produced in continuous rolls for vending machines and automated affixing equipment. The coil format distinguishes it from the flat plate sheet stamp Scott #552 and the booklet single Scott #552a, which share the same design but different formats and catalog numbers.

Franklin's presence on the 1¢ denomination reflected his founding role in American postal history. Appointed by the Continental Congress as the first Postmaster General in 1775, he established the route structure and operating principles that defined American mail service for generations. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing had been producing U.S. stamps since 1894, and by 1923 the rotary press was the foundation of its entire definitive production.

STEVEN SAYS

Franklin got fired as the colonial postmaster in 1774, then built the American postal system from scratch a year later. The 1¢ coil was his rate for fifty years. The coil format is the key detail here — straight edges top and bottom, perfs on the sides only.