Own the Rare Legends of the West Error Sheet

 This is your chance to own one of the scarcest US stamp issues in over 75 years!  This famous issue contained two mistakes made by the United States Postal Service and led to a string of events without precedent in the history of US stamp collectin...  more

Own the Rare Legends of the West Error Sheet

 This is your chance to own one of the scarcest US stamp issues in over 75 years!  This famous issue contained two mistakes made by the United States Postal Service and led to a string of events without precedent in the history of US stamp collecting.

Mistake #1: One of the people to be featured on the sheet was black rodeo star Bill Pickett.  After the stamps were announced, but not officially issued, a radio reporter phoned Frank Phillips Jr., great-grandson of Bill Pickett, and asked him about the stamp. Phillips went to his local post office, looked at the design and recognized it as Ben Pickett – Bill’s brother and business associate. The stamp pictured the wrong man! That was the first mistake.

Phillips complained to the Postal Service and Postmaster General Marvin Runyon issued an order to recall and destroy the error stamps. Runyon also ordered new revised stamps be created – US #2869.

Mistake #2: Before the recall, 186 error sheets were sold by postal workers – before the official “first day of issue.”  These error sheets were being resold for sums ranging from $3,000 to $15,000 each!

Postal Service Lottery: Several weeks later, the US Postal Service announced that 150,000 error sheets would be sold at face value by means of a mail order lottery. This unprecedented move was made with the permission of Frank Phillips Jr. so the Post Office could recover its printing cost and not lose money. Sales were limited to one per household. The remaining stamps were destroyed.

This extremely limited issue - 150,186 error sheets total - could never satisfy the demand from all collectors in the US.  Only a few lucky collectors are able to have a Legends of eh West Error Sheet to call their own.  Now you can add this modern rarity to your collection.

U.S. #2870
1994 29¢ Legends of the West
Error Sheet

• Famed Legends of the West error sheet
• One of the scarcest US stamp issues in over 75 years
• First sheet in the Classic Collection Series

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Set:  Legends of the West
Value:  29¢, rate for first-class mail
First Day of Issue:  December 1994 (No official issue date)
Quantity Issued:  150,186 Panes
Printed by:  Stamp Venturers
Printing Method:  Photogravure
Format:  Panes of 20 in sheets of 120
Perforations:  10.1 x 10

Why the stamps were issued:  The Legends of the West sheet was the first issue in the Classic Collection Series.  It was developed from an idea to honor “Western Americana.”  After a small number of error sheets were sold before the official release date, the USPS decided to offer a mail-order lottery of 150,000 panes to recover their costs and make these modern rarities available to collectors.

About the stamp designs:  Stamp artist Mark Hess spent nearly two years working on these stamps.  He used a wide variety of sources as inspiration for his paintings…

Home on The Range – This was one of the original sketches Hess made before the stamp set was expanded to a sheet of 20.  It was originally titled “Horse Handling/Cattle Herding” and was based on an old West show poster.

Buffalo Bill – Hess worked from multiple photographs to create the photo of the famed showman and placed him before a scene of buttes.  Buffalo Bill Cody had previously been honored on a 1988 Great Americans stamp, #2177.

Jim Bridger – For the Jim Bridger portrait, Hess studied the best available photograph of the legendary mountain man.  However, Bridger was older and gaunt in the photo, and the USPS wanted to honor these people at the time they were most famous.  So Hess made changes to make him burlier and look more as he did as a young man.  He was pictured in front of a forest scene with sunlight shining between the leaves.

Annie Oakley – The Annie Oakley Foundation in Greenville, Ohio had long campaigned for the sharpshooter to be honored with a postage stamp.  Though they had hoped she would be honored in the Great Americans Series, alongside her contemporaries Buffalo Bill Cody and Sitting Bull.  Hess said that Oakley’s portrait was the easiest and only took four days.  He used several photos and posters from Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show for inspiration.

Native American Culture – This stamp image was based on an old lithograph by Charles Bodmer depicting the Minnetaree warrior Phriska-Rhupa in the middle of the Dog Dance.  The stamp also includes a prairie scene, teepees, peace pipes, and an Indian painting.

Chief Joseph – Chief Joseph’s portrait was based on several different images, though much of it was taken from an 1878 photo.  Chief Joseph was also previously pictured on #1364.

Bill Pickett – This is the stamp around which the Legends of the West controversy swirled.  In researching this stamp, Hess found several images of Pickett in his later years, far from the camera.  There was one image that was particularly striking, which pictured a young rodeo star carrying a coiled rope.  The photo was inscribed as picturing Bill Pickett, and had been printed in numerous publications over the years about the rodeo star. 

The corrected Bill Pickett stamp (#2869) was largely based on a movie poster for the 1923 film The Bull-Dogger. 

Bat Masterson – The Bat Masterson portrait pictures the lawman in a black coat, vest, and bowler hat, as he was seen in photographs from the 1880s.  And while many of the other people on the sheet are pictured in the wilderness, Masterson is shown in front of a building, as if in a frontier town.

John Fremont – The portrait of John Fremont was taken from an engraving made in 1861.  It pictures the general in his blue Army uniform carrying a sword, with mountains in the background.  Fremont had previously been featured on an 1898 Trans-Mississippi stamp, #288.

Wyatt Earp – The portrait of Wyatt Earp was based in part on a photograph taken in the 1870s.  The different elements – a volunteer fireman’s blouse, cowboy bandana, Stetson hat, and badge – were taken from other photos.  Some criticized the combination, but others said it “provided a remarkable likeness of Marshal Earp, tailored to the role that made him a true legend of the West.”

Nellie Cashman – Nellie Cashman’s portrait was based on an 1880s painting made by a Chinese cook who worked for her.  The Cowtown in the background was generic, though citizens of Tombstone thought it was meant to be their town and said it wasn’t accurate.

Charles Goodnight – The portrait of Charles Goodnight was based on a 1911 photo of the businessman.  He’s pictured with a herd of cattle and a mountain scene taken from a painting that once hung in Goodnight’s own ranch.

Geronimo – The Geronimo stamp was based on one of the most well-known photos of the Apache warrior, taken in 1884.  He’s pictured in front of a forest and mountain, though some said this was incorrect as he was a “desert Indian,” but Hess believed his background was accurate.

Kit Carson – The Kit Carson stamp pictures the trailblazer and mountain man wearing a fur cap and fur-lined collar, holding a rifle and powder horn.  Hess based the background on a photograph of a mountain and waterfall.

Wild Bill Hickock – Wild Bill Hickok’s portrait was based on a photo taken around 1873.  While he was originally painted holding a six-shooter, Hess eventually changed it to a handful of cards, depicting his well-known habit of gambling.

Western Wildlife – At the center of this stamp stands a bison, appearing similar to the one on #569.  In the corners are four other animals common to the west: a bald eagle, grizzly bear, mountain lion, and bighorn sheep.

Jim Beckwourth – Hess based his portrait of Jim Beckwourth on a photo taken around 1860.  He embellished it was a fur-collared coat and red scarf. It’s one of the few Legends of the West stamps with a distinct winter background.

Bill Tilghman – The Bill Tilghman portrait was based on several photos of the lawman.  His gloved hand rests on a saddle horn, which led some to question if it’s a horse next to him.  As one critic said, if it is a horse, then Tilghman must be seven feet tall.  Hess responded that the saddle horn was actually sitting on a fence rail. 

Sacagawea – No photos of Sacagawea exist, and nearly all statues and portraits were based entirely on artists’ imaginations.  Hess referenced at least 10 different artists’ depictions in the creation of his Sacagawea portrait.  He based her clothes and cradleboard on the earliest Shoshone photos and artifacts he could find. 

Overland Mail – The Overland Mail stamp pictures a red stagecoach driving through a California mountain pass.  A pony express rider is also shown in a small oval, showing how mail transportation to the West changed in the 1800s.  Overland mail (#1120) and the Pony Express (#1154) had both previously been depicted on US stamps.

About the printing process:  In order to include the text on the back of each stamp, it had to be printed under the gum, so that it would still be visible if a stamp was soaked off an envelope.  Because people would need to lick the stamps, the ink had to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration as non-toxic. The printer also used an extra-fine 300-line screen, which resulted in some of the highest-quality gravure stamp printings in recent years.

About the Legends of the West:  The Legends of the West sheet was ultimately born out of a discussion to issue a stamp to honor the 100th anniversary of Ellis Island in 1992.  That plan was abandoned, but Ellis Island was featured on a postal card in the Historic Preservation Series (#UX165).  Talks then pivoted to a stamp honoring “Western Americana.”  Stamp artist Mark Hess was tasked with producing four semi-jumbo stamp images capturing the colorful and graphic look of old Wild West show posters.  The Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC) discussed Hess’ images and decided to expand on the idea and honor 16 significant men and women that played major roles in the expansion of the West.  At one point, they considered outlaws such as Butch Cassidy, Billy the Kid, and Jesse James, but ultimately decided to “come down on the side of right and justice.”  The sheet of 20 had a decorative header and descriptive text was included on the back of each stamp.