TEASER

Postmarked May 19, 1947, just two days after the official first day of issue, this stamp was mailed at the very moment America was celebrating a century of postage stamps.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Catalog Number: Scott #947

• Denomination: 3 cents (3¢)

• Date of Issue: May 17, 1947

• Printing Method: Rotary Press

• Perforation: 11 x 10½

• Color: Deep Blue

• Subject: 100th Anniversary of U.S. Postage Stamps

CONDITION ANALYSIS (Seller-Assessed)

Status: Used

Grading: Very Fine

Postmark: A black machine postmark dated "MAY 19 1947" is present, two days after the official first day of issue. The postmark falls across the stamp without obscuring the central portraits of Washington and Franklin.

Obverse: Design is clear and ink remains vibrant throughout. The dual portraits, transportation vignettes, and denomination are all fully legible.

Reverse: Paper appears sound with no visible thinning or staining.

Centering / Margins: Well-centered with perforations clear of the design frame on all sides.

Perforations: Intact throughout. No visible tears, creases, or missing perforations observed.

HISTORY

When the United States issued its first federal postage stamps in 1847, there were two: a 5-cent Benjamin Franklin and a 10-cent George Washington. A century later, the U.S. Post Office Department marked the anniversary with this commemorative, released on May 17, 1947, to coincide with the Centenary International Philatelic Exhibition held in New York City, known as CIPEX.

The design is one of the more ambitious in mid-century American philately. Rather than a simple portrait or a single vignette, it compresses a century of mail transportation into one small rectangle. Washington and Franklin appear at center, reproduced from the original 1847 portraits, flanked by scenes spanning the full arc of American postal history: a Pony Express rider, an early steam locomotive, a modern diesel train, a steamship, and a four-engine transport plane. It is essentially a timeline on a stamp.

CIPEX itself was a landmark event in American philatelic history, drawing collectors from around the world to New York and generating substantial public interest in the hobby. Stamps issued in conjunction with the exhibition carry a minor but recognized association with that moment. This particular example, postmarked just two days after the first day of issue, places it squarely in the week of the centennial celebrations.

STEVEN SAYS

The May 19 postmark stands out here. Two days after the first day of issue, right in the middle of CIPEX week in New York. Somebody mailed something and had no idea they were holding a piece of the anniversary.