The central record. (Lancaster, Ky.) 18??-current, 1919-03-27
n
FIRST VICTORY
STAMP
United States Ahead of
All the Allied Gov
ernments In Issu-
ing One.

The United States is the first of the
allied nations to issue a special post
age stamp commemorative of victory.
1t has just been put on sale in the
various Post Offices, and as it is not
likely to remain in use for any great
length of time, it may ultimately be-
come one Of the rare issues for collec-
tors. The stamp is of the three-cent
variety, lavender in color, similar to
the regular three-cent letter stamp
and of the same size, but the design is
oblong in shape. 1t depicts the God
dess of Victory with the flags Of the
allied nations, France, Great Britain,
Belgium, and Italy in the background,
the United States flag being in the
centre. The Goddess of Victory
holds sword in her right hand and
the scales of Justice, unified, in her
hand.
1t has been ten years since the Post
Office Department has issued a special
memorial stamp. In 1909 there were
three issued of that kind, the first be-
ing the Lincoln stamp commemora-
ting the centennial anniversary of
Abraham Lincoln's birth on Feb. IL,
1909. This was soon followed by the
Alaska Yukon commemorative stamp
and later appeared the Hudson-Fulton
stamp in honor Of the celebration of
Robert Fulton's successful steamboat
trip up the Hudson River in 1907.
These were all two cent stamps and
were used for only short time.
The first memorial stamps issued
by the United States were the Column
bus stamps, which came out in 1898,
marking the four-hundredth anniver-
sary of the discovery of America.
There were sixteen varieties, ranging
in value from cent to S. each stamp
depicting a different scene in the life
of Columbus. Dealers date the stamp
collecting fever years to the appear
ance of these stamps. Thousands of
schoolboys started collecting by buy
ing the lower values of the Columbus
stamps, and dealers, anticipating high
values in future years, laid in large
stocks; in fact, such large stocks that
the market value of the stamps, even
including the high dollar values, have
shown but little advance today.
In 1889 the trans Mississippi me-
mortal issue came out. 1t embraced
nine stamps, from / cent to 50. The
81 and SO values of this issue are
much scarcer than the corresponding
values of the Columbus stamps. The
centenary of the purchase of the ter
ritory of Louisiana was commemorat-
ed in 1904 by five special stamps
/, 2, 3 and 5 cents-and for the JAM
estown Exposition in 1907, celebrat-
ing the three hundredth anniversary
of the settlement there, the first En-
glish settlement in the U. S., special
issue Of three stamps appeared. The
1-cent value had portrait Of Captain
John Smith, the 2-cent one portrait
of Pocahontas. Then came the three
single issues of 1909.
The 24-cent stamp is1ued last year
when the aerial postal service was es-
tablished between New York, Phila-
delphia, and Washing on, might be
termed commemorative issue. 1t
only remained in use short time, as
the postable was reduced to II cents
and again reduced to d cents. which is
the present rate. The design of the
stamp has not been changed, but the
6-cent aerial postal stamp is orange
color, while the 24-cent variety was
red and black. Good used specimens
of the latter are now worth much
more than it originally cost at face
value.