The Albemarle Pippin was Thomas Jefferson's favorite apple at Monticello and George Washington's preferred variety for making cider. The USPS chose it for the opening stamp of the Fruits coil series in 2016.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Catalog Number: Scott #5037 / Michel #5164

• Denomination: 1 cent (1¢)

• Date of Issue: August 12, 2016

• Printing Method: Offset Lithography with Microprinting

• Perforation: Serpentine Die Cut 11 Vertically (Coil)

• Color: Multicolor

• Subject: Albemarle Pippin Apples, botanical illustration by John Burgoyne

CONDITION ANALYSIS (Seller-Assessed)

• Status: Used

• Grading: Very Good

• Postmark: None. No signs of postmark.

• Obverse: Surface is clean and well-preserved. Printing is sharp with consistent colors and no visible fading or scuffing.

• Reverse: Clean and uniform, as typical for a self-adhesive coil stamp partially removed from its liner. No visible tears.

• Centering / Margins: Very Fine. Design is well-centered horizontally between the serpentine die-cuts. Straight top and bottom edges are clean and consistent with genuine coil format.

• Perforations: Vertical die-cut perforations intact on both sides. No evidence of trimming, repairs, or artificial alteration.

HISTORY

The Albemarle Pippin is one of the oldest American apple varieties still in commercial cultivation, with documented cultivation in Virginia dating to at least the 18th century. It was grown at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, where Jefferson maintained an extensive orchard and recorded the variety in his garden book. George Washington favored it for cider production at Mount Vernon. The apple is also known as the Yellow Newtown Pippin and remains prized for its tart, complex flavor and exceptional keeping quality.

The USPS Fruits coil series, launched August 12, 2016, featured botanical illustrations of American fruits by artist John Burgoyne across a range of low denominations. The series was designed for everyday postal use, primarily as makeup rate stamps in a period of frequent rate adjustments. The 1¢ Albemarle Pippin opened the series, its colonial-era associations giving the stamp a historical depth unusual for a one-cent definitive.

Coil stamps are produced in continuous rolls for use in vending and affixing machines, perforated on the vertical sides only with straight top and bottom edges. The self-adhesive format replaced gummed issues for most USPS coil production beginning in the 1990s.

STEVEN SAYS

Jefferson grew these at Monticello. Washington used them for cider at Mount Vernon. The USPS put that on a 1¢ makeup rate stamp in 2016. The Burgoyne illustration is worth a close look, it's better botanical art than most definitives get.