The image of Alexander Hamilton on U.S. #1053 is based on a painting by John Trumbull. This stamp is generally considered one of the most beautiful U.S. portrait stamps of the 1900s. It was also one of the last U.S. stamps printed on the Flat Plate Press. Due to its high face value it was used primarily on registered mail, typically to mail money between small post offices and Federal Reserve Banks. Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804) Statesman Once an impoverished immigrant orphan, Alexander Hamilton became George Washington’s most trusted aide, a lawyer, and the first Secretary of the Treasury. As Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton established the first Bank of the United States and proposed the seagoing branch of the military that eventually became the U.S. Coast Guard. He also played a crucial role in the passage of the Naval Act of 1794, which led to the creation of the U.S. Navy. Long-time acquaintances during the fight for independence, Hamilton and Vice President Aaron Burr later became bitter political rivals. When a Burr supporter insulted Hamilton’s father’s honor in 1801, 19-year-old Philip Hamilton challenged him to a duel. Philip Hamilton died of injuries he suffered during the duel, which was held in Weehawken, N.J. Three years later, Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel in exactly the same location with the same pistol used to kill Hamilton’s son.