Bland Definitives
After the public complained so much about the decorative definitive stamps of 1903 (see Adorned Definitives page), the Bureau of Engraving replaced them with a simpler design. In fact, they made two stamp templates: both with the same design, except that one had Franklin’s profile image and the other Washington’s profile. These were known as the Washington-Franklin Issue. It ran from 1908 to 1919.
The Bureau used these two templates to produce seventeen denominations – plus nine more of the same, but in coils, and ten deviations. That wasn’t the end of it. They did six reprints with some minor deviations – but the same two images – consisting of about twenty stamps each time, plus coils, for a total of one-hundred thirty-seven regular stamps and forty-eight coils.
If the public wanted boring, they’d give it to them with bland stamps they would grow to loathe. Maybe it was them complying with public demand, but that seems a little excessive and resentful of not being appreciated. They saved money, though, on designing stamps since they reused the same two for eleven years and produced no commemorative stamps during that time. They wouldn’t issue a new definitive series until 1925 (see Rutherford Hayes page), depicting other images and persons besides the public’s favorite two.
Note
I despise these stamps. They’re such a let down after the previous definitives. But as a collector, I can’t not have them. I have to track them down and buy them to complete my collection. So, when I buy a batch of U.S. stamps, I always get a couple of these. Little by little, I am slowly filling this page and the ones that follow.
Contains 17 spots: own 13 – 6 unused, 7 used.
Album or Web Page Last changed Mar 19, 2025
Stamp Details
The table below lists information about the stamps shown on this page of Lighthouse’s stamp album. For more details about a particular stamp, click on its description. That will take you to the related web page of Colnect.
spot |
own |
catalog |
subject |
description |
comment |
Other Definitives
✗ |
331 |
1c (dec 1908) |
|||
✗ |
332 |
2c (nov 1908) |
|||
✗ |
333 |
3c (dec 1908) |
|||
✓ |
334 |
4c (dec 1908) |
|||
✓ |
335 |
5c (dec 1908) |
|||
✗ |
336 |
6c (dec 1908) |
|||
✗ |
337 |
8c (dec 1908) |
|||
✓ |
338 |
10c (jan 1909) |
|||
✓ |
339 |
13c (jan 1909) |
|||
✗ |
340 |
15c (jan 1909) |
|||
341 |
50c (jan 1909) |
||||
342 |
$1 (jan 1909) |
Imperforated Definitives
✓ |
343 |
1c (dec 1908) |
|||
✓ |
344 |
2c (dec 1908) |
|||
✗ |
345 |
3c (mar 1909) |
|||
346 |
4c (feb 1909) |
||||
347 |
5c (feb 1909) |
Footnotes
Spot refers to the postion of the stamp on the album page (e.g., 3.2 indicates row 3, position 2).
Amt. is an abbreviation for the face amount of the stamp.
Own indicates the stamp status: ✓ for unused; ✗ for used or canceled; ⭑ signifies I ordered one; ; ✨ indicates it was bought recently; ✠ means an auction bid is pending; and ◎ is used, and it costs too much for unused.
To search by catalog number, go to the search box and enter it in the catalog number box. However, it’s a bit broken; I need to fix it.
