1980 1c Inkwell & Quill, Imperf. Error

U.S. #1811a
1980 1¢ Inkwell and Quill
Imperforate Pair

Issue Date: March 6, 1980
City: New York, New York
Quantity: unknown
Printed By: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Coil
Color: Dark blue

This stamp is part of the Americana Series.  The Inkwell and Quill stamp was issued in sheet format in 1975.  It was later re-issued as a coil stamp in 1980.  This stamp was intended to be perforated 10 vertically.  Through a production error, this pair was issued without perforations.

Sharpened goose quills were used as pens by the ancient Greeks as early as 50 B.C. In fact, the word pen actually comes from the Latin word penna, which means feather. U.S. #1811 has “The ability to write – a root of diplomacy” inscribed. 

The Americana Series

The Americana Series stamps followed a very uniform plan that outlined the designs of individual stamps as well as the blocks of four. In all, there were five different blocks, each with a different theme, but similar design style – the subject in the center, and the title curving around two of the edges. When all four stamps were placed together, the titles created a frame around the stamps. The five themes were Roots of Democracy, Rights and Freedoms of the American People, Symbols of America, Pioneer America, and America’s Light.

Another interesting aspect of these stamps was that they didn’t picture any presidents, historical figures, or real people, though two did picture allegorical women (Justice and Liberty). This was unusual, as most previous definitive issues included at least one president or historical figure. These stamps were also the first definitives since the series of 1922-31 to not include fractional values. Instead, they were the first to use decimal values. These appeared on coil stamps for bulk mailers.  Though these stamps had an interesting design concept and patriotic theme, they weren’t very popular with the public and went on to be the shortest-lived definitive series of the 20th century.