# 3087 - 1996 32c Centennial Olympic Games
US #3087
1992 Centennial Olympic Games
- Issued on opening day of 1996 Summer Olympics
- Honors 100th anniversary of modern Olympic Games
- Stamp pictures ancient statue of discus thrower
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Value: 32¢, First-Class mail rate
First Day of Issue: July 19, 1996
First Day City: Atlanta, Georgia
Quantity Issued: 1133,613,000
Printed by: Ashton-Potter (USA) Ltd.
Printing Method: Lithographed
Format: Panes of 20 (5 across, 4 down) from printing plates of 80 (8 across, 10 down)
Perforations: 11.1
Why the stamp was issued: This stamp was issued to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympic Games and to celebrate the Summer Games held in Atlanta, Georgia.
About the stamp design: An ancient Greek statue, Discobolus, is the central design for the Olympic Games stamp. It pays tribute to the Greek origins of the Games. The original bronze sculpture was lost long ago, but a marble copy, used as a model for the stamp, is housed in the Museo Nazionale Romano delle Terme in Rome. The image of Discobolus was used on three previous stamps (US #719, 979, and 1262).
About the printing process: This was the first stamp produced by Ashton-Potter (USA) Ltd. using exclusively offset lithography.
First Day City: The First Day of Issue ceremony took place on the opening day of the Centennial Olympic Games. The Merchandise Mart in downtown Atlanta was chosen as the venue for the ceremony. Olymphilex 96, and international Olympic and sports stamp show, was taking place at that location.
History the stamp represents: The 1996 Olympic Games marked an important anniversary – 100 years since the start of the modern Olympic Games. The Ancient Olympic Games were held between 776 BC and 394 AD, when Theodosius I abolished them.
More than 1,500 years later, Pierre de Coubertin arranged for the first modern Olympics to be held in 1896. He believed that friendly athletic competition could promote world peace. Those first games consisted of 285 athletes, representing 13 nations, competing in 42 events. The games were a success and became an international tradition.
One hundred years later, the world excitedly prepared for the 1996 Olympic Games. The games opened on July 19, 1996, in Atlanta, Georgia. Some 11,000 athletes from 197 nations competed in hundreds of events.
The US issued two items for the occasion. One was a sheet of 20 stamps (#3068), released in May, that depicted modern athletes. The other was issued on the opening day of the show and honored the games’ centennial. This stamp (#3086) pictures the “Discus Thrower” – the king of athletes among ancient Greeks – whose purposeful action is captured in Myron’s 5th-century B.C. statue Discobolus.
OLYMPHILEX '96
The centennial games opened on July 19, 1996, in Atlanta, Georgia. That same day, OLYMPHILEX, an Olympic-themed stamp show, also opened in Atlanta. Several nations attended the show and issued their own stamps. Some stamps pictured modern athletes similar to what would be seen at the games, while others honored the centennial of the modern Olympics with ancient-Greek style artwork.
Click here to view more stamps issued for the 1996 Olympics.
US #3087
1992 Centennial Olympic Games
- Issued on opening day of 1996 Summer Olympics
- Honors 100th anniversary of modern Olympic Games
- Stamp pictures ancient statue of discus thrower
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Value: 32¢, First-Class mail rate
First Day of Issue: July 19, 1996
First Day City: Atlanta, Georgia
Quantity Issued: 1133,613,000
Printed by: Ashton-Potter (USA) Ltd.
Printing Method: Lithographed
Format: Panes of 20 (5 across, 4 down) from printing plates of 80 (8 across, 10 down)
Perforations: 11.1
Why the stamp was issued: This stamp was issued to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympic Games and to celebrate the Summer Games held in Atlanta, Georgia.
About the stamp design: An ancient Greek statue, Discobolus, is the central design for the Olympic Games stamp. It pays tribute to the Greek origins of the Games. The original bronze sculpture was lost long ago, but a marble copy, used as a model for the stamp, is housed in the Museo Nazionale Romano delle Terme in Rome. The image of Discobolus was used on three previous stamps (US #719, 979, and 1262).
About the printing process: This was the first stamp produced by Ashton-Potter (USA) Ltd. using exclusively offset lithography.
First Day City: The First Day of Issue ceremony took place on the opening day of the Centennial Olympic Games. The Merchandise Mart in downtown Atlanta was chosen as the venue for the ceremony. Olymphilex 96, and international Olympic and sports stamp show, was taking place at that location.
History the stamp represents: The 1996 Olympic Games marked an important anniversary – 100 years since the start of the modern Olympic Games. The Ancient Olympic Games were held between 776 BC and 394 AD, when Theodosius I abolished them.
More than 1,500 years later, Pierre de Coubertin arranged for the first modern Olympics to be held in 1896. He believed that friendly athletic competition could promote world peace. Those first games consisted of 285 athletes, representing 13 nations, competing in 42 events. The games were a success and became an international tradition.
One hundred years later, the world excitedly prepared for the 1996 Olympic Games. The games opened on July 19, 1996, in Atlanta, Georgia. Some 11,000 athletes from 197 nations competed in hundreds of events.
The US issued two items for the occasion. One was a sheet of 20 stamps (#3068), released in May, that depicted modern athletes. The other was issued on the opening day of the show and honored the games’ centennial. This stamp (#3086) pictures the “Discus Thrower” – the king of athletes among ancient Greeks – whose purposeful action is captured in Myron’s 5th-century B.C. statue Discobolus.
OLYMPHILEX '96
The centennial games opened on July 19, 1996, in Atlanta, Georgia. That same day, OLYMPHILEX, an Olympic-themed stamp show, also opened in Atlanta. Several nations attended the show and issued their own stamps. Some stamps pictured modern athletes similar to what would be seen at the games, while others honored the centennial of the modern Olympics with ancient-Greek style artwork.
Click here to view more stamps issued for the 1996 Olympics.