# 2457 - 1991 10c Transportation Series: Tractor Trailer, 1930s (cream background)

US #2457
1991 Tractor Trailer

• Part of the Transportation Series
• For use by bulk mailers

Category of Stamp:  Definitive
Set:  Transportation Series
Value:  10¢
First Day of Issue:  May 25, 1991
First Day City:  Secaucus, New Jersey
Quantity Issued:  893,254,000
Printed by:  Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Engraved
Format:  Coils of500 and 3,000, from printing sleeves of 864 subjects (18 across, 48 down)
Perforations:  9.8

Reason the stamp was issued:  The Tractor Trailer stamp was issued for use by larger mailing that had been presorted.  It could be used by third-class and first-class mailers.  The 10¢ value did not cover the cost of the mailings, and mailers paid the difference when they sent them out.

About the stamp design:  The stamp pictures a typical tractor trailer from the 1930s.  The artwork is by David Stone, who also illustrated eight other Transportation series stamps.  In his original sketch, the cab of the truck was facing to the right.  The Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee asked Stone to reverse the angle so the truck would be driving toward the center of the envelope rather than off the edge.

First Day City:  There First Day of Issue ceremony in Secaucus, New Jersey, on the opening day of Nojex 91.  This stamp show was sponsored by the North Jersey Federated Stamp Clubs.

About the Transportation Series:  On May 18, 1981, the USPS issued the first stamp in the Transportation Series, US #1907, picturing the Surrey, a doorless four-wheeled carriage. For the first time in US history, a coil stamp featured its own unique design rather than simply copying that of the current definitive stamp. Over 50 more coil stamps would be issued over the course of the next 15 years, each picturing a different mode of transportation. All of these types of transportation were used since American independence.
The various denominations provided face values to exactly match the rates for several categories of Third-Class mail (bulk rate and quantity-discounted mail). As the rates changed, new stamps with new values were added. Never before had a stamp series included so many fractional cent values.
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing printed most of the stamps in the Transportation Series, although private contractors printed a few. All but a few of the later stamps were produced by engraved intaglio. Differences in precancels, tagging, paper and gum provide a large number of varieties.
Scott Catalog separates the Transportation stamps into four groups. The stamps in the first group (#1897-1908) generally have the denomination in small type with a “c” next to it. These stamps were printed on the Cottrell rotary press, which joined together two plates to make a sleeve. The gaps between these plates created depressions where ink would collect and create joint lines on the stamps. Later issues were printed on a different press and didn’t have these joint lines.
The second group (#2123-36) had larger numbers with no “c.”  The third group (#2252-66) was similar in appearance to the second group, but service inscriptions were added to the designs. These stamps also used a variety of paper and gum as well as different types of tagging. The fourth group (#2451-68) marked the end of fractional values. Now bulk mailers would use either the 5¢ or 10¢ stamp and then pay the difference from the actual postage rate.
The last stamp in the Transportation Series, the 20¢ Cog Railway, was issued on June 9, 1995, at the TEXPEX ’95 stamp show in Dallas, Texas. This marked the end of the largest US definitive series up to that time and the largest US coil stamp series in history. Three new series would eventually replace it – American Transportation, American Culture, and American Scenes. Additionally, the Great Americans would go on to become the largest American definitive series.

History the stamp represents:  The tractor trailer shown on the stamp was typical of those produced during the 1930s.  They were made up of two parts, the tractor that provided the power and a place for the driver, and the trailer, where the cargo went.