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Legends of American Music: Hank Williams

  • Description
    Did you know the 1993 Hank Williams design has two distinct varieties? US #2723 has perforations measuring 10.15 x 10.25, while US #2723A has perforations measuring 11.1 x 11.45. This difference was discovered by Wayne L. Youngblood (editor of Scott Stamp Monthly) over a year after the stamp's original release. The 11.1 x 11.45 perforated stamp is far less common than the 10.15 x 10.25 perforated stamp, with only about 1.5% of the total print quantity measuring 11.1 x 11.45. According to Youngblood, Stamp Venturers (the printing company responsible for the production of the stamps) had ordered a new perforation machine for the Hank Williams stamps, but the USPS unexpectedly moved up the stamp's release date. The new perforation machine had not yet arrived, so they perforated a small quantity (about 2,071,360) with their older perforation machine. These were the stamps delivered to post offices on the First Day of Issue. When the new perforation machine arrived, the remaining quantity of stamps were perforated using that, giving them a different gauge than the others. Both US #2723 and 2723A have a neat story, making them fun to collect today.
  • Details
    Category: 1993