U.S. Postage Stamps of 1922

Postage Stamps of the United States First Issued in 1922

President: Warren G. Harding

Postmasters General: Jan. 1- Mar. 4: Will H. Hays · Mar. 4 - Dec. 31: Hubert Work

Domestic Letter Rate: 2¢ per oz. · Postcard Rate: 1¢ · Air Mail Rate: 6¢ per oz.

The Regular Stamps First Issued in 1922 - The Fourth Bureaus - Series of 1922
Flat Plate - Perf 11 - 400 Subject Plates - see also: 1922 Series Identifier


11¢ Hayes - Scott 563 First Day: October 4, 1922	5¢ Roosevelt - Scott 557 First Day: October 27, 1922	15¢ Liberty - Scott 566 First Day: Nov. 11, 1922


25¢ Niagara Falls - Scott 568 First Day: Nov. 11, 1922	50¢ Amphitheater - Scott 570 First Day: Nov. 11, 1922	6¢ Garfield - Scott 558 First Day: Nov. 20, 1922

The 11¢ Hayes

The 11¢ Hayes stamp can more than likely find its roots in the politics of the time. The current president, Warren Harding, being from Ohio, was easily persuaded to issue a stamp honoring a fellow Ohioan, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Hayes. This would be the first in the new series of regular issues, what are now known as the "Fourth Bureau Issues", or simply, the "Series of 1922".

The eleven cent stamp did not fill any particular need at the time, there already was a plentiful stock of the 11¢ Franklin (Scott 511), primarily used to pay postage and insurance on parcels. In fact, the 11¢ Franklins were still being printed well into 1924.

Other than being the first of the ordinary stamps of the Series of 1922, this stamp is well known and collected for the variety of shades it exists in. No single shade is of particular value, but the degree of color variation is perhaps greater than any other 20th century U.S. stamp.

The 11¢ Hayes stamp was issued on October 4, 1922 in Washington, D.C. and President Hayes' hometown of Freemont, Ohio, amidst mild fanfare. Note that many of the ordinary stamps of the Series of 1922 were not issued until 1923, the six that were issued in 1922 are included here.

The 5¢ Roosevelt

The 5¢ rate paid the postage on letters to many foreign destinations, countries where President Roosevelt was probably the most popular and well known of the U.S. presidents at the time. Coupled with the fact that he was the most recently deceased president and had not yet been honored with a stamp, Theodore Roosevelt was the obvious choice for this stamp.

As with the 11¢ stamp, the five cent Washington, Scott 504, of the Washington Franklins was printed during the same period, and production of both stamps continued until 1924, when the Washington stamp was discontinued.

First Day sales were on Roosevelt's birthday, October 27, in Washington, D.C. and at his hometown of Oyster Bay, New York and his city of birth, New York City.

The 15¢ Statue of Liberty · The 25¢ Niagara Falls · The 50¢ Arlington

These stamps represent America's emerging role in world politics and were appropriately issued on Armistice Day in Washington, D.C. World War I had ended only three years before these stamps were issued and America was still basking in the glory of the role it played in deciding the war.

Depicting the Statue of Liberty, the 15¢ stamp symbolizes the significance America placed on freedom and hope, with Liberty's beacon lighting the way for all nations.

The 25¢ stamp exhibiting an attractive view of the Niagara Falls might seem something of a stretch, but it did symbolize our cooperation with other nations, in that both Canada and the U.S. shared an amicable ownership.

Although perhaps not having the fame as an American icon that the Statue of Liberty and Niagara Falls have, the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington, Virginia, which houses the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, is certainly equal in stature since it represented the sacrifices that the U.S. was willing to make in the name of freedom. The 50¢ stamp depicts the Arlington Amphitheater, with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, artistically reduced in size, positioned in the foreground.

The 6¢ Garfield

President Garfield was not a stranger to U.S. stamps. He had been assassinated in 1881, only four months into his presidency. His first "memorial" stamp, Scott 205 of 1882, had replaced the 5¢ Zachary Taylor Bank Note. Garfield took his place on the 6¢ stamps of the early Bureau Issues - 1894-1907, and was not displaced until the Washington Franklin Series replaced everyone in 1908 with either a portrait of Washington or Franklin.

Garfield on a stamp was an easy choice for the Harding administration, however, since he was a fellow Republican from Harding's home state of Ohio. Since Garfield's birthday was November 19, this stamp was an obvious choice for a 1922 issue date, although the stamp was not issued until the 20th, since the 19th was a Sunday and post offices were closed. First Day sales were in Washington, D.C. only, since there was no post office in Garfield's hometown of Orange, Ohio.

You may run across the occasional brown copy of this stamp. This is not a new variety! Your editor has seen copies of this stamp that are so convincingly brown, it seems impossible that the stamp has changed color so evenly. Yet, this is precisely what has happened. The orange pigment has reacted with sulfur, whether from the air - sulfur is the main culprit in "acid rain" - or from contact with a sulfurous compound. In philately, stamps whose color has changed are known by the quaint name "changeling". Another orange stamp that is often found with parts or even all of the stamp brown is the 16¢ air mail stamp, Scott C1. There are many other colors of stamps that can undergo this change, whether from natural or artificial cause.

The Special Delivery Issue of 1922
Flat Plate - Perf 11 - 200 Subject Plates

10c Motorcycle Special Delivery - Scott E12
more than 330 million issued - First Day: July 12, 1922

This stamp epitomizes the changes America was going through in the early 1920's in the post-World War I era. This was the first new stamp of the Harding administration and reflected a growing optimism, embracing technology as the cornerstone of America's future. The rate was not new, nor was the color, but the change from bicycle to motorcycle clearly emphasized the role technology was hoped would play.

This stamp, considered by the Post Office Department to be the first of the new Series of 1922 stamps, was issued with great fanfare and heralded the new Bureau Issues of 1922, a series which highlighted a spirit of patriotism and hope as no other regular issue had before. For stamp collectors, the publicity surrounding this stamp, the advance notice and specific date of issue were to set a precedent that lay the seeds for the First Day Covers that dominated American philately for years to come.