FREE: U.S. Postage Stamp 1938 ( John Quiney Adams )

The listing, U.S. Postage Stamp 1938 ( John Quiney Adams ) has ended.

Used

U.S. #811
1938 6¢ John Q. Adams
Presidential Series

Issue Date: July 28, 1938
First City: Washington, DC
Quantity Issued: 3,614,501,500
Printing Method: Rotary press
Perforations: 11 x 10 ½
Color: Red orange

Known affectionately as the “Prexies,” the 1938 Presidential series is a favorite among stamp collectors.

The series was issued in response to public clamoring for a new Regular Issue series. The series that was current at the time had been in use for more than a decade. President Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed, and a contest was staged. The public was asked to submit original designs for a new series picturing all deceased U.S. Presidents. Over 1,100 sketches were submitted, many from veteran stamp collectors. Elaine Rawlinson, who had little knowledge of stamps, won the contest and collected the $500 prize. Rawlinson was the first stamp designer since the Bureau of Engraving and Printing began producing U.S. stamps who was not a government employee.

John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams, son of second President John Adams, was a diplomat and politician known mostly for his involvement in numerous international negotiations. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, the nation’s 8th Secretary of State, Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Russia, Prussia, and the Netherlands, and Massachusetts Senator. He was the first child of a former U.S. President to be elected to the nation’s highest office.

As President, his plans for modernization and educational improvement were rejected by Congress due to tensions with Andrew Jackson and his supporters, who believed Adams was undeserving of his election. Following his term in office, Adams became the first of two Presidents to serve in Congress after leaving the Presidency.