The Founding Father who built the nation's financial system, shown beside Federal Hall on his two hundredth birthday.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Catalog Number: Scott #1086

• Denomination: 3 cents (3¢)

• Date of Issue: January 11, 1957

• Printing Method: Rotary Press, Engraved (Intaglio)

• Perforation: 11 × 10½

• Color: Rose Red

• Subject: Portrait of Alexander Hamilton and Federal Hall, New York City

• Format: Commemorative single

CONDITION ANALYSIS (Seller-Assessed)

• Status: Used

• Grading: Very Fine

• Postmark: No postmark present.

• Obverse: The Hamilton portrait, the dates and other inscriptions are all sharp and clearly identifiable.

• Reverse: Original gum appears present. The paper shows light toning and faint reddish surface marks, with no tears or thinning visible.

• Centering / Margins: The design is nicely balanced within the frame, with a subtle shift upward.

• Perforations: Intact on all four sides.

HISTORY

Alexander Hamilton did more than almost anyone to build the machinery of the new American government, and he did it without ever becoming president. Born in the West Indies, orphaned young, and largely self-made, he rose through the Revolution as George Washington's trusted aide, then became the first Secretary of the Treasury when the new government took shape.

In that role he essentially invented American public finance. He argued for the federal government to assume the states' war debts, established the nation's credit, founded the first national bank, and set the young country on a path toward becoming a commercial and industrial power. His vision of an energetic central government, funded by sound credit and tied to business and manufacturing, clashed sharply with Thomas Jefferson's agrarian ideals, and that argument shaped the first party system. Hamilton's life ended in 1804 in a duel with Aaron Burr, a dramatic close to a career spent in fierce debate.

This stamp, issued January 11, 1957, in rose red, marked the two hundredth anniversary of his birth, pairing his portrait with Federal Hall in New York, where the first Congress met and Washington took the oath of office. It honors the founder whose fingerprints are still on every dollar the country prints.

STEVEN SAYS

Hamilton is the Founding Father who built the whole financial system, national bank, public credit, the works, and he was never president. Orphaned in the West Indies and completely self-made. The stamp pairs him with Federal Hall in New York, where the first Congress met. This one is unused, with gum still present.