John Quincy Adams is the only former U.S. president to serve in Congress after leaving the White House, elected to the House of Representatives at age 63 and serving there for seventeen years until his death at his desk in 1848.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Catalog Number: Scott #811

• Denomination: 6 cents (6¢)

• Date of Issue: July 28, 1938

• Printing Method: Rotary Press, Engraved (Intaglio)

• Perforation: 11 × 10½

• Color: Red Orange

• Subject: Portrait of John Quincy Adams, 6th President of the United States (1825–1829)

CONDITION ANALYSIS (Seller-Assessed)

• Status: Used

• Grading: Very Fine

• Postmark: Black postmark consisting of curved and horizontal elements. The postmark falls without obscuring the portrait or principal design elements.

• Obverse: All major design features and text remain clearly identifiable throughout. No significant fading or surface damage observed.

• Reverse: No original gum present, as expected for a used stamp. Reverse is clean with no visible tears, thinning, or repairs.

• Centering / Margins: Good, with perforations clear of the design frame on all sides.

• Perforations: Intact on all four sides. No evidence of trimming, reperforation, or artificial alteration observed.

HISTORY

John Quincy Adams served as the sixth president from 1825 to 1829, a single term he considered largely unsuccessful due to persistent opposition in Congress. His father, John Adams, had been the second president - making them the first father-son pair to hold the office, a distinction not repeated until the Bushes over 160 years later. But Adams's most remarkable chapter came after the White House. At age 63, he ran for a seat in the House of Representatives and won, going on to serve seventeen terms until collapsing at his desk on the House floor in 1848 at age 80. He died two days later in the Capitol building.

In the Presidential Series of 1938, Adams appears on the 6¢ denomination, issued July 28, 1938. The red orange color was distinctive within the Prexies series and made the 6¢ rate visually recognizable. The denomination served registered mail and heavier domestic correspondence in the late 1930s, giving this stamp a different circulation pattern than the lower-rate definitives in the series.

The engraved portrait follows the restrained style consistent across the Presidential Series, rendered by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing with the intaglio process used throughout.

STEVEN SAYS

Adams served in Congress for seventeen years after the presidency. He died at his desk in the Capitol. That's quite a political career. One of the more underrated lives in American political history.