US First Issue
Issuing EntityUSA
Year Issued1847
MaterialPaper
TypeDefinitive
About US First Issue
The first general issue US postage stamps, issued in 1847. The 5 cent featured Benjamin Franklin and the 10 cent featured George Washington. Only two denominations were issued initially. The 5 cent was for letters up to 300 miles and the 10 cent for over 300 miles. Over 4 million 5 cent stamps were sold but only about 30,000 survive. Unused examples of either denomination are very rare and valuable.
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