How might the United States’ 250th anniversary be celebrated on stamps?

U.S. Stamp Notes by John M. Hotchner

The 200th birthday of the United States in 1976 was the occasion for much philatelic celebrating on stamps, starting with the July 4, 1971, stamp showing the Bicentennial Commission emblem (Scott 1432).

This stamp and some of the later Bicentennial issues are illustrated above.

Two of the stamps commemorate the 200th anniversary of battles: the Battle of Bunker Hill on a 10¢ stamp issued June 17, 1975 (Scott 1564), and George Washington’s victory over Lord Cornwallis at Princeton, N.J., on a 13¢ stamp issued Jan. 3, 1977 (1704).

Another two stamps were part of a set of four. The 1973 issue featuring communications in Colonial times is represented by the 8¢ Postrider stamp (Scott 1478), and the 1975 Contributors to the Cause issue is represented by the 10¢ Salem Poor stamp (1560).

Also shown is the Jan. 1, 1976, se-tenant strip of three 13¢ stamps based on Archibald M. Willard’s painting The Spirit of ‘76 (Scott 1631a).

Among the numerous other subjects commemorated on Bicentennial issues were the Declaration of Independence, the First Continental Congress, and the bicentenaries of the American military services.

Given the facts that we are now in mid-2020 and that the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee works two to three years ahead, I’m thinking that it will soon start to answer the question of how the nation’s 250th anniversary will be celebrated on stamps.

I would like to challenge Linn’s readers to think about this question and to let me know what you would like to see done to commemorate the 250th anniversary (the sestercentennial)? If you will send me a note with your ideas, I will include some of them in a follow-up column and provide your letters to CSAC for its consideration.

You can send me emails with your ideas at jmhstamp@verizon.net, or send postcards or letters to me at Box 1125, Falls Church, VA 22041-0125.

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