The Americana series was a series of

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

definitive Definitive may refer to: * ''Definitive'' (TV series), an American music television series * Definitive stamp, a postage stamp that is part of a regular issue of a country's stamps available for sale by the postal service See also * Definitene ...

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...

s issued between 1975 and 1981. Denominations ranged from one cent to five dollars. It superseded the

Prominent Americans series The Prominent Americans series is a set of definitive stamps issued by the United States Post Office Department (and later the United States Postal Service) between 1965 and 1978. It superseded the Liberty Issue of 1954, which by the mid-1960s h ...

, and was in turn superseded by the

Great Americans series The Great Americans series is a set of definitive stamps issued by the United States Postal Service, starting on December 27, 1980, with the 19¢ stamp depicting Sequoyah, and continuing through 1999, the final stamp being the 55¢ Justin S. Mo ...

and the

Transportation coils The Transportation coils series is a set of definitive stamps issued by the United States Postal Service between 1981 and 1995. Officially dubbed the "Transportation Issue" or "Transportation Series", they have come to be called the "transportati ...

. The series consisted of twenty stamps issued in sheets, twelve issued in coils, and one produced especially for a booklet. While the stamps were not part of the

Bicentennial Series The Bicentennial Series was a lengthy series of American commemorative postage stamps. It began with the issuance of a stamp showing the logo for the Bicentennial celebrations on July 4, 1971, and concluded on September 2, 1983, with a stamp fo ...

of stamps released from 1971-1983, their theme fit in well with the idea of looking back over two hundred years. The series celebrated basic American concepts that have animated the nation's entire history, rather than individual heroes or heroines from any particular period. Unlike any previous definitive series, the Americana set did not contain a single image of a president (an omission that may perhaps reflect national disillusion in the wake of the recent

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...

). Indeed, this was the first American definitive series in which no male human being appeared, and the two female figures in the set are purely allegorical, rather than representing actual women. The preceding Prominent Americans series had been deliberately produced without basic design guidelines, resulting in widely diverse pictorial and lettering styles. In clear contrast, the Americana series strictly followed a uniform plan that dictated the appearance both of individual stamps and of stamps grouped together in blocks of four. Each denomination is framed on two adjacent sides by text (generally relating to American history or freedoms) which curves around one corner of the stamp. The twenty sheet-stamps are planned so that, in a group of four rising values, the curve cycles through the four corners: top left, top right, bottom left, and bottom right. Each of the five resulting blocks accordingly appears with text that completely surrounds its perimeter, forming a rectangular border with rounded corners. All five blocks have themes: The first, "Roots of Democracy," the second, "Rights and Freedoms of the American People," the third, "Symbols of America," the fourth, "Pioneer America" and the fifth, "America's Light". (The framing plan was only partially carried out with the coil stamps of the series. Among the twelve stamps, only two blocks can be formed, and only one of these proves thematic.) The Americana series was the first definitive issue since that of 1922-31 not to include any fractional-cent values; instead, it presented the first decimal values assigned to U. S. Postage stamps, which appeared on coil stamps denominated between 3.1 cents and 8.4 cents, produced for the use of

bulk mail Bulk mail broadly refers to mail that is mailed and processed in bulk at reduced rates. The term is sometimes used as a synonym for advertising mail. The United States Postal Service (USPS) defines bulk mail broadly as "quantities of mail prepare ...

ers and other businesses. Among philatelists, the Americana series is most famous for the

CIA invert The CIA invert is a one-dollar value postage stamp error issued by the United States Postal Service. It is one stamp from the Americana series that were produced between 1975 and 1981. The $1 colonial rushlight holder stamp was first issued on J ...

. An

invert error In philately, an invert error occurs when part of a stamp is printed upside-down. Inverts are perhaps the most spectacular of postage stamp errors, not only because of their striking visual appearance, but because some are quite rare, and highly ...

of the $1 lamp stamp, it was so named because the original sheet was bought by a

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

employee who had gone to the post office to buy some stamps. Copies have sold at auction for as much as $15,000. The 16 cent and the 29 cent were issued for a proposed, but never implemented "business rate" for first class mail, which was to be higher than the personal rate (only letters with handwritten addresses would be eligible for the lower rate). The proposed rate was rejected by the

Postal Rate Commission The United States Postal Regulatory Commission (or PRC), formerly called the Postal Rate Commission, is an independent regulatory agency created by the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970. Like the Postal Service, it was defined in law as an indepe ...

which chose instead a 15 cent rate (for two ounces, 28 cents) for all mail. Since the 16 and 29 cent stamps satisfied no rate, and were not a convenient round number, they saw little use. The design for the 1 cent stamp was originally designated for a never-issued 26 cent stamp. Many of the stamps were issued in mid-November in New York City. At the time, it was usual to have a stamp issuance during the annual stamp show for the

American Stamp Dealers Association The American Stamp Dealers Association (ASDA) is an international philatelic organization of stamp dealers. History ASDA was founded in 1914 as an association “dedicated to promoting integrity, honesty and reliability, and we are the hobby build ...

, which was then held in mid-November in New York City. The March stamps issued in New York were issued at the ASDA-sponsored INTERPEX show. The series was the first U. S. omnibus definitive series since 1875 not to include a five cent stamp.

Denominations, subject, inscription, place and date of issue

Sheet stamps:''Designs of the 1975 Series - The Americana Issue''
by 1847 us.com Roots of Democracy *1 cent, quill pen and inkwell, "The Ability to Write * A Root of Democracy", St. Louis MO, Dec. 8, 1977 *2 cent, speaker's stand, "Freedom To Speak Out * A Root of Democracy", St. Louis MO, Dec. 8, 1977 *3 cent, ballot box, "To Cast A Free Ballot * A Root of Democracy", St. Louis MO, Dec. 8, 1977 *4 cent, books and eyeglasses, "A Public That Reads * A Root of Democracy", St. Louis MO, Dec. 8, 1977 Rights and Freedoms of the American People *9 cent, (gray paper) Capitol dome, "Right of People Peaceably to Assemble", Washington DC, Nov. 24, 1975 *10 cent, head of statue of Justice, "People's Right To Petition For Redress", New York NY, Nov. 17, 1977 *11 cent, early printing press, "Liberty Depends on Freedom of the Press", Philadelphia PA, Nov. 13, 1975 *12 cent, torch of Statue of Liberty, "Freedom of Conscience * An American Right", Dallas TX, Apr. 8, 1981 Symbols of America *13 cent,

Liberty Bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence, located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed Independence ...

, "Proclaim Liberty Throughout the Land", Cleveland OH, Oct. 31, 1975 *13 cent, eagle and shield, "One Nation Indivisible * E Pluribus Unum", Juneau AK, Dec. 1, 1975 *15 cent, American Flag, "The Land of the Free * The Home of the Brave", Baltimore MD, Jun. 30, 1978 *16 cent, head of

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...

, "I Lift My Lamp Beside the Golden Door", New York NY, Mar. 31, 1978 Pioneer America *24 cent,

Old North Church Old North Church (officially, Christ Church in the City of Boston), at 193 Salem Street, in the North End, Boston, is the location from which the famous "One if by land, two if by sea" signal is said to have been sent. This phrase is related ...

, "Midnight Ride * One if by Land, Two if by Sea", Boston MA, Nov. 14, 1975 *28 cent,

Fort Nisqually Fort Nisqually was an important fur trading and farming post of the Hudson's Bay Company in the Puget Sound area, part of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department. It was located in what is now DuPont, Washington. Today it is a living hist ...

, Washington, "Remote Outpost * New Nation Building Westward", Tacoma WA, Aug. 11, 1978 *29 cent,

Sandy Hook Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern en ...

lighthouse, "Lonely Beacon Protecting Those Upon the Sea", Atlantic City NJ, Apr. 14, 1978 *30 cent, one room schoolhouse, "American Schools * Laying Future Foundations", Devils Lake ND, Aug. 27, 1979 America's Light *50 cent, Betty lamp, "America's Light Sustained by Love of Liberty", San Juan PR, Sep. 11, 1979 *$1, rush lamp, "America's Light Fueled by Truth and Reason", San Francisco CA and nationwide, Jul. 2, 1979 *$2, kerosene lamp, "America's Light Will Shine Over All the Land", New York NY, Nov. 16, 1978 *$5, lantern, "America's Light Leads Her Generations Onward", Boston MA, Aug. 23, 1979 Coil stamps: *1 cent, quill pen and inkwell, "The Ability to Write * A Root of Democracy", New York NY, Mar. 6, 1980 *3.1 cent, guitar, "Listen With Love to the Music of the Land", Shreveport LA, Oct. 25, 1979 *3.5 cent, violins, "The Music of America is Freedom's Symphony", Williamsburg PA, Jun. 23, 1980 *7.7 cent, saxhorns, "Marching in Step to the Music of the Union", New York NY, Nov. 20, 1976 *7.9 cent, drum, "Beat the Drum for Liberty and the Spirit of 76", Miami FL, Apr. 23, 1976 *8.4 cent, piano, "Peace Unites a Nation Like Harmony in Music", Interlochen MI, Jul. 13, 1978 *9 cent, (gray paper) Capitol dome, "Right of People Peaceably to Assemble", Milwaukee WI, Mar. 5, 1978 *10 cent, head of statue of Justice, "People's Right To Petition For Redress", Tampa FL, Nov. 4, 1977 *12 cent, torch of Statue of Liberty, "Freedom of Conscience * An American Right", Dallas TX, Apr. 8, 1981 *13 cent,

, "Proclaim Liberty Throughout the Land", Allentown PA, Nov. 25, 1975 *15 cent, American Flag, "The Land of the Free * The Home of the Brave", Baltimore MD, Jun. 30, 1978 *16 cent, head of

, "I Lift My Lamp Beside the Golden Door", New York NY, Mar. 31, 1978 Stamps issued only within booklets: *9 cent (white paper, issued only with seven 13 cent Flag over Capitol stamps in a vending machine booklet), New York NY, Mar. 11, 1977

References

External links

* {{Postage stamps of the United States Postage stamps of the United States