This was Nathan Hale's first appearance on a U.S. postage stamp. The portrait comes not from a painting but from a bronze statue at Yale, the university Hale attended before the Revolution.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Catalog Number: Scott #653

• Denomination: ½ cent (½¢)

• Date of Issue: May 25, 1929

• Printing Method: Rotary Press

• Perforation: 11 x 10½

• Color: Olive Brown

• Subject: Portrait of Nathan Hale, after the bronze statue by Bela Lyon Pratt at Yale University

CONDITION ANALYSIS (Seller-Assessed)

• Status: Used

• Grading: Fair

• Postmark: Bold black postmark present, falling across the stamp with a strong ink impression.

• Obverse: Color remains distinct. The portrait and design elements are legible despite the heavy postmark.

• Reverse: Paper is light and clean of hinge marks. A horizontal crease is present.

• Centering / Margins: Perforations clear of the design frame on all sides.

• Perforations: Intact throughout.

HISTORY

Nathan Hale has one of the more unusual stories of any figure on a U.S. postage stamp. A schoolteacher from Connecticut who volunteered for a spy mission behind British lines in 1776, he was captured and executed at age 21, reportedly saying before his death that he regretted having only one life to give for his country. He had no known portraits made during his lifetime. Every image of Hale that exists is interpretive, made after his death based on descriptions from those who knew him.

The portrait on Scott #653 comes from a bronze statue sculpted by Bela Lyon Pratt, installed at Yale University, where Hale graduated in 1773. Pratt's statue was among the most recognized likenesses of Hale by the time the stamp was issued in 1929, and its selection gave the design an indirect connection to Hale's own institution. This was Hale's first appearance on a U.S. postage stamp, and the ½¢ denomination was designed to serve third-class mail rates for circulars and advertising — a workhorse rate that gave the stamp wide circulation despite the modest face value.

The Fourth Bureau Issue, of which this stamp is a part, ran from 1922 to 1938 and represents one of the most collected definitive series in American philately.

STEVEN SAYS

No portrait of Hale was made while he was alive. The image on this stamp comes from a statue at Yale. Every likeness of him is someone's best guess, which makes the engraving here more interesting than it looks at first glance.

Technical Specifications

• Catalog Number: Scott #653.

• Denomination: ½ cent (½¢).

• Date of Issue: May 25, 1929.

• Printing Method: Rotary Press.

• Perforation: 11 x 10½.

• Color: Olive Brown.

• Mintage: Standard definitive issue.

• Subject: Portrait of Nathan Hale. The engraving is based on a photograph of the bronze statue designed by Bela Lyon Pratt, located at Yale University.

Condition Analysis

Status: 

Used and Uncertified. 

Sellers Grading: 

Fair

Obverse: 

The color remains distinct. Heavy black postmark.

Reverse: 

The paper appears light and clean of hinge marks. There is a horizontal crease.

Centering / Margins: 

Good

Postmark: 

Bold

Other Findings: 

The perforations are intact.