1903 50c-$1 Regular Issues, Double Line Watermark, Perf. 12, Set of 2 Stamps

Get your 50¢ and $1 Stamps from the Series of 1902-03

These stamps have been lovingly preserved for well over a century.  Isn’t it time for you to carry on the tradition?  This set includes US #310 and US #311.
US #310 features Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father and our nation’s third President. Businesses had called for a stamp with a denomination between 15¢ and 50¢ but were denied.  US #310 was used most often in blocks of four on packages destined to Chile or Bolivia. 
US #311 is the highest value of the Series of 1902-03 that actually had a postal need.  It was used for foreign-bound packages.  The $1 Farragut stamp was issued in very low quantities, prompting philatelic author Max Johl to note in 1937, “collectors who have not obtained copies of this stamp are advised to do so as the available supply in entirely inadequate in mint condition to fill the needs of U.S. collectors.”
A Union naval commander during the Civil War, Admiral Farragut’s brilliant military career is represented by a sailor supporting a boat hook on the right and a soldier holding a musket on the left.

Series of 1902-03

In 1902, the Postmaster General commissioned an entirely new series of general issues. Until this time, the current regular issues had been in use since 1890 with relatively few changes.

The ornate new designs, however, were not the only addition to the 1902 series. The 13-cent denomination was added, and two new faces were introduced – Benjamin Harrison and Admiral David Farragut. For the first time in postal history, an American woman was honored.

A slight change was also made in the format. Each stamp in this series bears the inscription, “Series 1902.” This caused some concern abroad, as many European philatelists wondered whether the US was planning on issuing new stamps each year. Many of the stamps, however, did not even reach post offices until 1903, and the next general issues were not produced until 1908.