Postmarked May 19, 1950, 3 years and two days after the official first day of issue. One of the more thought-out designs for mid-century stamps.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Catalog Number: Scott #947

• Denomination: 3 cents (3¢)

• Date of Issue: May 17, 1950

• 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 1950" 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 within the margins with subtle downward shift. 

• Perforations: Intact throughout. No visible missing or damaged 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. 

STEVEN SAYS

The CDS on the left has the full date, favored in the philately world. The design speaks to American innovation in transportation: horse, locomotive, subway train, barge, airplane.