1930, 1½¢ Warren G. Harding, Brown, United States (Scott #684)

This stamp is part of the Fourth Bureau Definitive Issue of 1922–1935, a long-running series created to supply the rapidly expanding postal system of the United States during the interwar period. In 1930 the Post Office Department introduced a new full-face portrait of President Warren G. Harding, replacing the earlier profile design used on previous 1½-cent Harding stamps. The 1½-cent denomination was primarily intended for third-class and printed-matter postal rates, which explains its extremely heavy production and widespread postal use.

Scott #684 is a common definitive stamp, printed in very large quantities and found almost exclusively in used condition. Its collector value is determined mainly by centering, clarity of the design, and the state of the perforations rather than rarity.

Technical Specifications

• Catalog Number: Scott #684

• Denomination: 1½ Cents (1½¢)

• Release Date: December 1, 1930

• Printing Method: Rotary Press

• Perforation: 11 × 10½

• Color: Brown

• Subject: Portrait of President Warren G. Harding, 29th President of the United States

Condition Analysis

• Status: Used. The stamp bears bold vertical machine-applied cancellation lines that pass through the portrait and central design area.

• Centering: Fine (F). The design is reasonably centered within the perforations, though the margins are not perfectly even.

• Reverse Side: The original gum is absent, as expected for a used stamp. The back shows light paper aging and faint surface discoloration consistent with postal soaking and handling.

• Perforations: Generally intact around the stamp, with minor wear and slight roughness to some teeth, typical of stamps separated from sheets in post-office use.

This example represents a genuine Scott #684 Warren G. Harding definitive, a standard but historically representative U.S. stamp from the early 1930s postal era.