# 4749 - 2013 46c Patriotic Star
U.S. # 4749
2013 46¢ Patriotic Star
As Americans, the sight of the “red, white, and blue” floating in the breeze stirs our deepest sense of patriotism. And while it seems the colors are inseparable from both our flag and the nation’s history, that’s not the case. Ironically, the Founding Fathers put a great deal of effort into designing the Great Seal of the United States. When it came time to pick a flag, they merely modeled it after the seal.
Devotion to the National Flag was weak at first, as many considered it to be a military banner. At that time, people also tended to view themselves as citizens of their state first and Americans second. That all changed after the 1861 bombardment of Fort Sumter. The thought of rebels forcing Major Robert Anderson to lower the American Flag was too much for most Northerners to bear. Suddenly, the red, white, and blue became the cause patriots huddled around.
Six days later, Anderson arrived in New York City for a rally, where the Fort Sumter flag was flown from the equestrian statue of George Washington. Over 100,000 people packed Union Square in what was likely the largest public gathering up to that time. The Fort Sumter flag was then taken across the North, where it was “auctioned” in each town to raise money for the war effort. In 1865, the flag – now a patriotic symbol – was raised over Fort Sumter once more.
Artist Nancy Stahl created the art for the Patriotic Star stamp. Her idea for the stamp was to combine stars and stripes into one shape, resulting in a round-pointed star made up of red, white, and blue ribbons.
Value: 46¢ First-Class letter rate
Issued: March 7, 2013
First Day City: New York, NY – National Postal Forum
Type of Stamp: Definitive
Printed by: Banknote Corporation of America for Sennett Security Products
Method: Offset printing in coils of 10,000
Perforation: Serpentine Die Cut 10 ¾ Vertical
Self-Adhesive
Quantity Printed: 125,000,000 stamps
These stamps were issued in large coils for use by businesses that send large amounts of first-class letters.
U.S. # 4749
2013 46¢ Patriotic Star
As Americans, the sight of the “red, white, and blue” floating in the breeze stirs our deepest sense of patriotism. And while it seems the colors are inseparable from both our flag and the nation’s history, that’s not the case. Ironically, the Founding Fathers put a great deal of effort into designing the Great Seal of the United States. When it came time to pick a flag, they merely modeled it after the seal.
Devotion to the National Flag was weak at first, as many considered it to be a military banner. At that time, people also tended to view themselves as citizens of their state first and Americans second. That all changed after the 1861 bombardment of Fort Sumter. The thought of rebels forcing Major Robert Anderson to lower the American Flag was too much for most Northerners to bear. Suddenly, the red, white, and blue became the cause patriots huddled around.
Six days later, Anderson arrived in New York City for a rally, where the Fort Sumter flag was flown from the equestrian statue of George Washington. Over 100,000 people packed Union Square in what was likely the largest public gathering up to that time. The Fort Sumter flag was then taken across the North, where it was “auctioned” in each town to raise money for the war effort. In 1865, the flag – now a patriotic symbol – was raised over Fort Sumter once more.
Artist Nancy Stahl created the art for the Patriotic Star stamp. Her idea for the stamp was to combine stars and stripes into one shape, resulting in a round-pointed star made up of red, white, and blue ribbons.
Value: 46¢ First-Class letter rate
Issued: March 7, 2013
First Day City: New York, NY – National Postal Forum
Type of Stamp: Definitive
Printed by: Banknote Corporation of America for Sennett Security Products
Method: Offset printing in coils of 10,000
Perforation: Serpentine Die Cut 10 ¾ Vertical
Self-Adhesive
Quantity Printed: 125,000,000 stamps
These stamps were issued in large coils for use by businesses that send large amounts of first-class letters.