Start of the Prominent Americans Series
On November 19, 1965, the U.S. Post Office issued the first stamp in a new series honoring Prominent Americans. The series included several “firsts” and technological changes.
Postal History
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First U.S. Self-Adhesive Stamp
On November 15, 1974, the USPS issued its first experimental self-adhesive stamp. It would take two decades to perfect the innovation, and another decade before nearly all US stamps were self-adhesive.
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Rare Unissued Yellow Hat Stamp
On November 9, 1998, the USPS issued an H-rate Uncle Sam’s Hat stamp to satisfy the First-Class Rate. An unissued Uncle Sam’s Hat stamp with a yellow background was later discovered in used condition, despite never being officially issued!
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Mystic Trades its Z Grill for the Legendary Inverted Jenny Plate-Number Block
Mystic made stamp history on November 2, 2005, when we traded our 1¢ Z Grill for the unique Inverted Jenny Plate Number Block.
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UN Issues Its First Stamps
On October 24, 1951, the United Nations issued its first postage stamps. The UN is the only organization that’s neither a country or territory to issue its own postage stamps.
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Dag Hammarskjöld Invert Controversy
On October 23, 1962, the US Post Office Department unknowingly issued an unknown number of inverted Dag Hammarskjöld error stamps. The fallout from this issue became known as Day’s Folly (after Postmaster General J. Edward Day).
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Birth of Czeslaw Slania
One of the world’s most famous stamp engravers, Czeslaw Slania was born on October 22, 1921, in Czeladź near Katowice, Poland. He engraved more than 1,000 stamps during his lifetime for more than two dozen countries.
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Legends of the West Controversy
On October 18, 1994, the USPS issued a corrected Legends of the West stamp sheet after it was discovered they had made an error in their original design. It was one of the biggest stamp stories in years!
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2nd U.S. International Philatelic Exhibition
On October 16, 1926, the US hosted its second international philatelic exhibition in New York, New York. Among the show’s highlights was the issue of America’s first souvenir sheet.
