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1940 Famous Americans series

The original series included seven sets of famous Americans in order by birth date, with five values in each set. Additional 3¢ values were added with similar designs in 1947, 1948, 1949 and 1950, and are sometimes included with the original issues.

Only two plates were prepared for each issue.

Authors

Scott 859, 1¢ Washington Irving, plate number 22474

Scott 860, 2¢ James Fenimore Cooper, plate number 22478

Scott 861, 3¢ Ralph Waldo Emerson, plate number 22491

Scott 960, 3¢ William Allen White (issued 1948), plate number 23856

Scott 960 var, misperfed vertically, plate number 23858 (Image courtesy of Bill Langs)

Scott 960 var, misperfed horizontally, plate number 23857 (Image courtesy of eBay / ckstamps)

Scott 980, 3¢ Joel Chandler Harris (issued 1948), plate number 23882

Scott 862, 5¢ Louisa May Alcott, plate number 22483

Scott 863, 10¢ Samuel L. Clemens, plate number 22488

Poets

Scott 864, 1¢ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, plate number 22502

Scott 865, 2¢ John Greenleaf Whittier, plate number 22505

Scott 866, 3¢ James Russell Lowell, plate number 22510

Scott 986, 3¢ Edgar Allan Poe (issued 1949), plate number 24143

Scott 986 var, misperfed vertically, plate number 24146 (Image courtesy of eBay / sheetguy2)

Scott 986 var, fake local precancel, plate number 24145

Clues:
- Local precancels were generally only authorized for definitive size stamps
- The stamp was issued in 1949 when the abbreviation for Nevada was "Nev." -- the 2-character NV was not used until ZIP Codes were introduced in the 1960's
- Fallon has fewer than 4,000 people and no major industries or other legitimate need for precancels
- The quality appears to be more typical of a rubber handstamp applied manually (and rather carelessly, in this example) to a single stamp, rather than of an overprint-type mat with high quality ink applied in a grid to a block of stamps by a professional printer
- No example is known on cover. The precancellations appear to have been applied long after any possible contemporary usage
- The stamp was offered along with a number of other suspicious Fallon local precancels on stamps spanning a quarter century

Scott 867, 5¢ Walt Whitman, plate number 22511

Scott 868, 10¢ James Whitcomb Riley, plate number 22515

Educators

Scott 869, 1¢ Horace Mann, plate number 22522

Scott 870, 2¢ Mark Hopkins, plate number 22525

Scott 871, 3¢ Charles Eliot, plate number 22527

Scott 872, 5¢ Frances E. Willard, plate number 22532

Scott 873, 10¢ Booker T. Washington, plate number 22533

Scientists

Scott 874, 1¢ John James Audubon , plate number 22546

Scott 875, 2¢ Crawford W. Long, plate number 22549

Scott 876, 3¢ Luther Burbank, plate number 22552

Scott 953, 3¢ George Washington Carver (issued 1948), plate number 23653

Scott 877, 5¢ Walter Reed, plate number 22555

Scott 878, 10¢ Jane Addams, plate number 22558

Composers

Scott 879, 1¢ Stephen Foster, plate number 22564

Scott 880, 2¢ John Philip Sousa, plate number 22568

Scott 880 var, over-inked, plate number 22567

Scott 881, 3¢ Victor Herbert, plate number 22570

Scott 882, 5¢ Edward A. MacDowell, plate number 22575

Scott 883, 10¢ Ethelbert Nevin, plate number 22576

Artists

Scott 884, 1¢ Gilbert Charles Stuart, plate number 22587

Scott 884 var, 1¢ with fake local precancel (Loma Linda, Calif.), plate number 22587

Clues:
- Local precancels were generally only authorized for definitive size stamps
- No legitimate local precancels are known for any of the Famous Americans stamps
- The stamp was issued in 1940 but Loma Linda was not incorporated as a city until 1970
- In 1940 the town had a low population and no major industries or other legitimate need for precancels
- The quality appears to be more typical of a rubber handstamp applied manually (and rather carelessly, in this example) to a single stamp, rather than of an overprint-type mat with high quality ink applied in a grid to a block of stamps by a professional printer
- No example is known on cover. The precancellations appear to have been applied long after any possible contemporary usage
- The stamp was offered along with a number of other suspicious local precancels on stamps spanning nearly a half century

Scott 885, 2¢ James A. McNeill Whistler, plate number 22594

Scott 886, 3¢ Augustus Saint-Gaudens, plate number 22594

Scott 887, 5¢ Daniel Chester French, plate number 22597

Scott 888, 10¢ Frederick Remington, plate number 22599

Inventors

Scott 889, 1¢ Eli Whitney, plate number 22620

Scott 889 var, 1¢ with local precancel (Loma Linda, Calif.), plate number 22620

Clues:
- Local precancels were generally only authorized for definitive size stamps
- No legitimate local precancels are known for any of the Famous Americans stamps
- The stamp was issued in 1940 but Loma Linda was not incorporated as a city until 1970
- In 1940 the town had a low population and no major industries or other legitimate need for precancels
- The quality appears to be more typical of a rubber handstamp applied manually (and rather carelessly, in this example) to a single stamp, rather than of an overprint-type mat with high quality ink applied in a grid to a block of stamps by a professional printer
- No example is known on cover. The precancellations appear to have been applied long after any possible contemporary usage
- The stamp was offered along with a number of other suspicious local precancels on stamps spanning nearly a half century

Scott 890, 2¢ Samnuel F. B. Morse, plate number 22622

Scott 891, 3¢ Cyrus McCormick, plate number 22626

Scott 945, 3¢ Thomas A. Edison (issued 1947), plate number 23564

Scott 892, 5¢ Elias Howe, plate number 22628

Scott 893, 10¢ Alexander Graham Bell, plate number 22631

Leaders

Scott 965, 3¢ Harlan Fiske Stone, Supreme Court justice (issued 1948), plate number 23890

Scott 975, 3¢ Will Rogers, entertainer (issued 1948), plate number 23944

Scott 975 var, misperfed vertically, plate number 23944 (Image courtesy of eBay / sheetguy2)

Scott 988, 3¢ Samuel Gompers, labor leader (issued 1950), plate number 24168

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This page last updated June 5, 2022.

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