The land-grant college system was created by the Morrill Act of 1862, signed by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War - a law that opened university education to farmers, mechanics, and working-class Americans for the first time.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Catalog Number: Scott #1065

• Denomination: 3 cents (3¢)

• Date of Issue: February 12, 1955

• Printing Method: Rotary Press, Engraved (Intaglio)

• Perforation: 11 × 10½

• Color: Green

• Subject: Centennial of the first land-grant colleges — Michigan State College and Pennsylvania State University

CONDITION ANALYSIS (Seller-Assessed)

• Status: Used

• Grading: Fine

• Postmark: Fragment of a black circular date stamp visible in the lower left corner. The postmark does not obscure principal design elements.

• Obverse: All major design features and inscriptions remain clearly identifiable. No visible tears or creases observed.

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

• Centering / Margins: Good. Perforations remain intact and do not cut into the design frame.

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

HISTORY

The Morrill Land-Grant Act, signed by Abraham Lincoln on July 2, 1862, was one of the most consequential education laws in American history. It granted each state federal land to sell, with proceeds used to establish colleges focused on agriculture, engineering, and the mechanic arts - practical disciplines that had been largely excluded from the classical curriculum of existing universities. The intent was explicit: to make higher education accessible to the working and farming classes who could not attend traditional colleges.

Michigan State College and Pennsylvania State University were established as the first institutions under the land-grant model in 1855, seven years before the Morrill Act formalized the system nationally. Their centennial in 1955 prompted this commemorative, issued on February 12 (Lincoln's birthday) a date that may reflect a deliberate acknowledgment of the president who signed the Morrill Act into law.

The design centers on an open book overlaid with symbols of agriculture, industry, and science — a visual summary of the land-grant mission. The 3¢ denomination served the domestic first-class rate, giving this commemorative wide circulation during its centennial year.

STEVEN SAYS

Lincoln signed the Morrill Act in 1862 to give farmers and working-class Americans access to university education. This stamp was issued on his birthday in 1955. That connection may be deliberate … and it's worth knowing either way.