# 2198-2201 - 1986 22c Stamp Collecting

U.S. #2198-2201
1986 22¢ Stamp Collecting

• America’s first commemorative booklet
• First US stamps to picture another stamp that hadn’t been issued yet
• Celebrated 100^th anniversary of the American Philatelic Society
• Issued for AMERIPEX ’86

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Value:  22¢, first-class rate
First Day of Issue:  January 23, 1986
First Day City:  State College, Pennsylvania
Quantity Issued:  67,996,800
Printed by:  Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method:  Lithographed and Engraved
Format:  Booklet panes of four in sheets of 96
Perforations:  20 Vertically on one or two sides
Joint Issue: Sweden #1585-88 – commemorated 250^th anniversary of Swedish Post Office

Why the stamps were issued:  America’s first commemorative booklet was born out of a friendly relationship between the US and Sweden’s postal departments.  In 1938 and 1948 the US had issued stamps with Swedish themes – the tercentenary of the Swedish-Finnish settlement of Wilmington (US #836) and the 100th anniversary of Swedish pioneers in the American West (US #958).  Then in 1983, the US and Sweden worked together on a joint issue honoring the 200th anniversary of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce (US #2036).

The success of that issue led to talks of another joint-issue between the US and Sweden.  During those talks, the president of the Swedish Post Office suggested that both countries issue stamps with philatelic subjects.  In 1986, the US and Sweden were each going to host international stamp exhibitions (STOCKHOLMIA and AMERIPEX) and both nations were celebrating significant stamp anniversaries that year.  For Sweden, 1986 marked the 250th anniversary of their post office and the 100th anniversary of the Swedish Philatelic Society.  In America, 1986 was the 100th anniversary of the American Philatelic Society and the centennial of the Smithsonian accepting stamps for the National Collection.

About the stamp designs:  Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee design coordinator Richard D. Sheaff designed three of the stamps in the US block, while Swedish artist Eva Jern designed the stamp that was similar in both the US and Sweden panes.

US #2198 pictures part of a block of twelve 1887 2¢ green Washington Bank Note stamps.  Another 2¢ green Washington is picoted on a cover, but it is canceled June 16, 1886, about 15 months before the stamp was issued.  The stamp also pictures a handstamp device patented by Marcus P. Norton and a magnifying glass that once belonged to Smithsonian secretary Spencer Baird.  Also shown are an advertising cover from the American Philatelic Association (precursor to the APS) and a card that acknowledged receipt of the first stamp donations to the Smithsonian. 

US #2199 pictures a young boy with a collection of dog stamps, including several identifiable US stamps.  These include US #1307, #1426, #1468, #1478, #2025, #1238, #1787, #2102, and #2098-2101. 

US #2200, designed by Swedish artist Eva Jern, has a similar, but not identical design to one of the stamps in the Sweden block.  It pictures two Sweden stamps (#268 and #271) plus the 1938 Landing of the Swedes and Finns joint issue under a magnifying glass.  Beside the stamp is its first-day postmark – June 27, 1938, in Wilmington, Delaware.

US #2201 pictures the first of four Presidential sheetlets produced for AMERIPEX ’86 (US #2216-19).  The sheetlet depicts America’s first nine presidents – George Washington through William Henry Harrison.  The sheet is shown on a large First Day Cover, bearing the issue date, May 22, 1986.  Not only was this the first time a US stamp pictured stamps that hadn’t been issued yet, it also showed a First Day Cover that didn’t exist yet!  Also shown on the stamp is the Martin Van Buren stamp from the sheet on a cover and a handstamp canceler.

The first stamp in the Sweden booklet pictures that nation’s “tretio” error, in which the numeral read 20 but the lettering said 30 krona.  The second stamp pictures Sven Ewert, who engraved most of Sweden’s stamps between 1928 and the late 1950s.  The third stamp is similar (but not identical) to the third stamp in the US issue.  And the fourth stamp pictures a young boy soaking stamps for his collection.

About the printing process:  At the same time talks about the joint issue with Sweden were going on, US postal authorities had begun discussing issuing their first commemorative booklet.  So, both ideas were combined and by November 1984, the US and Sweden began looking into the technical requirements of a joint booklet honoring stamp collecting.

US officials knew printing would be a challenge for this design. For several years, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) had been experimenting with the D Press, which combined both intaglio and offset printing. For intaglio printing, an image is etched or engraved on a metal plate, covered with ink and then pressed onto the paper. With offset printing, the image is created on a plate, transferred to a rubber blanket and then printed on paper.

Because the D Press combined these two techniques, many of the early stamps printed on it had colors that were not lined up. However, the printing of the Stamp Collecting pane, America’s first commemorative booklet, was described as “the finest, most complex printing job to come out of the Bureau” in years.

First Day City:  On January 23, 1986, the US and Sweden booklets were simultaneously issued in Stockholm, Sweden, and State College, Pennsylvania. US representatives attended the Stockholm ceremony and Swedish representatives participated in the Pennsylvania ceremony.  During the ceremonies, one US representative stated, “We have so admired Swedish stamps that we used new equipment, new techniques and new dedication to attempt to give our stamps ‘a Swedish look.’”  The US stamp booklets were only available for sale for 60 to 90 days.

Unusual fact about these stamps:  Shortly after the stamps were released, a collector in Pennsylvania discovered an error – the black ink was missing from the first and last stamps.  In the first stamp, the cancel and postmark did not print and the AMERIPEX cancel beneath the reproduction of the Presidents miniature sheet is missing.  Once he realized the error, he rushed back to his local post office to buy 26 more of the error booklets. When the error was announced, the individual panes were sold for as much as $500!

Little is known about the cause of the Stamp Collecting Error. Most likely, either the ink was forgotten or simply ran out. About 68 million Stamp Collecting booklets were produced, but stamp experts believe just a few thousand were printed with black ink omitted. And likely many were used as postage before the error was discovered, adding to their scarcity today.

History the stamps represent:  On September 13, 1886, a group of stamp collectors met in New York City to establish what would become the American Philatelic Society.

After the first official U.S. postage stamps were issued in 1847, a small group of people began saving these relics, recognizing the history they represented. Over time, more and more people became stamp collectors, reaching about 25,000 collectors in the 1880s.

In 1886, a group of prominent philatelists met and began talking about the possibility of forming a national organization of collectors. That April, they formed The Committee on National Organization and printed an announcement calling for interested collectors to write in and see if they would want to join such an organization.

Eventually, about 400 collectors answered the advertisement, agreeing to assist in creating the organization. A few months later, 40 interested collectors met in New York City on September 13. As The American Philatelist later noted, “When one considers the distances involved and the means of transportation available at the time, to have attracted that many participants is no small indication of interest in the formation of a national organization.” The attendees selected a committee and chose the name American Philatelic Association. That day also marked the very first annual convention, known today as StampShow.

The following day the committee selected John K. Tiffany as their first president. They also adopted a constitution and bylaws. Members would pay $2 per year in exchange for several convenient services. They had a purchasing department that worked to provide older issues for face value, an exchange department to trade in duplicate stamps, a library department, and a counterfeit department to identify fraudulent stamps.

In 1897, the group briefly changed their name to the American Philatelic Society, but quickly changed it back within a few months. They changed the name again in 1908 and it has remained the American Philatelic Society since then. Today the APS is the largest nonprofit stamp collecting organization with over 28,000 members.