2018-10-06 Sat

The 1869 Horse and Rider Stamp was the first set of U.S. stamps to commemorate someone other than a president or Benjamin Franklin.

US stamps have been extremely popular among the philatelist. This stamp, however, is the most popular one. USPS has been issuing stamps since the year 1842. Since then the common theme that depicted was the portraits of the One Citizen of the nation.

Printed on hard wove paper, this 2C brown stamp depicts a post rider astride a horse in full gallop with a mailbag strapped behind the saddle. The stamp is a valuable one. A fine grade stamp with unused original gum condition may offer 500 USD. On the other hand, a used example may fetch USD 75, and an unused no-gum example can be sold at USD 190.

This stamp became the most popular one because it featured something else than the presidents. A horse rider on a galloping horse is something every US citizen could relate to. The stamp was also the first set to depict a horse, locomotive, and ship and has remained eternally popular with collectors of U.S. stamps.

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