This stamp was issued in 1971 specifically to meet the new 8¢ first-class domestic letter rate,  and Eisenhower, who had died just two years earlier, was the natural choice for the denomination that would carry millions of pieces of American mail.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Catalog Number: Scott #1394

• Denomination: 8 cents (8¢)

• Date of Issue: May 10, 1971

• Printing Method: Lithographed and Engraved (Rotary Press)

• Perforation: 11 × 10½

• Color: Gray, Red-Brown, and Dark Blue

• Subject: Portrait of Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States

CONDITION ANALYSIS (Seller-Assessed)

• Status: Used

• Grading: Very Fine

• Postmark: Machine postmark present. Heavy ink soak-through from the postmark is visible on the reverse, typical for the paper stock used on this issue.

• Obverse: Printed surface is well-preserved with sharp engraving lines visible in both the portrait and background. Colors remain consistent and true to the original issue.

• Reverse: Reverse shows heavy ink soak-through from the postmark, typical for this paper type. No evidence of thinning, tears, or significant staining present.

• Centering / Margins: Exceptionally well-centered with balanced margins on all four sides.

• Perforations: All perforations intact. No signs of mechanical damage or short perfs observed.

HISTORY

Dwight D. Eisenhower died on March 28, 1969, and within two years the U.S. Post Office Department had placed his portrait on the new 8¢ first-class domestic letter rate stamp, issued May 10, 1971. The rate increase from 6¢ to 8¢ had taken effect earlier that year, and the Eisenhower stamp was issued to meet that new rate. It became one of the most widely used stamps of the early 1970s as a result.

Eisenhower's appearance on the Prominent Americans Series was fitting. He had served as Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe during World War II before being elected the 34th president in 1952, serving two terms through 1961. The Prominent Americans Series, which ran from 1965 to 1978, had been designed to honor figures who had shaped American civic and cultural life, and Eisenhower's dual role as military commander and president gave him a natural place in that roster.

The multicolor printing on this issue, combining lithography and engraving, was a departure from the single-color engraved definitives of earlier decades and reflected the Post Office Department's increasing use of more complex printing methods in the 1970s. The result is a richer tonal range in the portrait than most earlier Prominent Americans stamps achieved.

STEVEN SAYS

Two years after he died, his face was on the first-class stamp. The multicolor printing is worth a close look, it's a different process than the earlier Prominent Americans issues and the portrait shows it.