This stamp was issued November 23, 1962 - one day after the naval quarantine of Cuba was formally lifted, ending thirteen days that had brought the United States and Soviet Union closer to nuclear conflict than at any other point in the Cold War.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Catalog Number: Scott #1229

• Denomination: 5 cents (5¢)

• Date of Issue: November 23, 1962

• Printing Method: Rotary Press, Engraved (Intaglio)

• Perforation: 10 Vertically (Coil — straight edges top and bottom)

• Color: Dark Blue Gray

• Subject: Portrait of George Washington, after the marble bust by Jean-Antoine Houdon (1785)

CONDITION ANALYSIS (Seller-Assessed)

• Status: Used

• Grading: Fine

• Postmark: Minimal, falling cleanly without obscuring the portrait or principal design elements.

• Obverse: Image is clear with no surface abrasions. Design intact throughout.

• Reverse: Clean with no original gum present, as expected for a used coil stamp. No signs of thinning or significant paper damage.

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

• Perforations: Intact on left and right sides only, consistent with coil format. No tears or creases observed.

HISTORY

Scott #1229 is the coil version of the 5¢ George Washington definitive issued in 1962, identifiable by its vertical perforations and straight-cut top and bottom edges. It served the domestic first-class letter rate from 1962 until the rate increased to 5¢ under the Prominent Americans Series in 1966, making it a widely used stamp across a period of significant national events.

The date of issue, November 23, 1962, places this stamp in the immediate aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The naval quarantine of Cuba had been lifted the day before, on November 22, following the Soviet agreement to remove missiles from the island. The stamp entered circulation at the moment the country was exhaling after thirteen days of sustained nuclear tension - an unremarkable postal act at a historically charged moment.

The portrait follows the Houdon bust, the same source used across many Washington definitives of the 20th century. Houdon completed the original marble at Mount Vernon in 1785 after traveling from Paris specifically to render Washington's likeness from life. The bust remains one of the most authoritative representations of Washington ever produced, and its adaptation across decades of U.S. stamps reflects how thoroughly it came to define his public image.

STEVEN SAYS

November 23, 1962. The quarantine lifts on the 22nd, this stamp goes to press on the 23rd. The postal system kept moving regardless. That's one of the things I find interesting about used stamps, the dates always land somewhere.