Striking U.S. $5 stamp is a good buy in very fine grade with fresh color

Stamp Market Tips by Henry Gitner and Rick Miller

Beginning in 1908, all U.S. definitive stamps showed only Benjamin Franklin or George Washington.

With the new definitive series of 1922-25 (Scott 551-573), the subject of the stamps was greatly broadened to include a wide range of presidential and historical topics. The stamps were printed by flat plate on unwatermarked paper and were perforated gauge 11.

The $5 high denomination of the series (Scott 573) features the head of the Statue of Freedom from atop the dome of the U.S. Capitol. The striking bicolor stamp has a carmine frame with a blue vignette.

Erected in 1863, the bronze statue was designed by Thomas Crawford (1814-57). The statue is of a robed female figure wearing a starred ancient military helmet. Her right hand holds the hilt of a sheathed sword with the point resting near her feet. Her left hand holds a laurel wreath atop a shield resting at her feet.

In 1993, the statue was removed from the dome and restored at a cost of $780,000. It was returned to the dome of the U.S. Capitol Oct. 23, 1993.

The Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers values the $5 Statue of Freedom stamp at $90 in unused, hinged condition and $180 in mint, never-hinged condition.

An example in very fine grade with fresh color is a good buy at 85 percent of up to full Scott catalog values.

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