Fourth Bureau issue

The Fourth Bureau Issue, also known as the Series of 1922, was a definitive series of postage stamps issued by the United States between 1922 and 1938. The series comprises 27 different designs with denominations ranging from one-half-cent to 5 dollars. The designs featured past presidents, prominent Americans, architectural landmarks, and icons of American culture.

The first issue of the series, featuring president Rutherford Hayes, was released on 4 October 1922, the 100th anniversary of Hayes's birth, in his hometown of Fremont, Ohio. This was the first instance of the USPS issuing new stamps on a specific day and in a specific city. Collectors regard the First Day Covers of this stamp as the beginning of modern First Day Cover collecting.

The Fourth Bureau Issue stamps were produced during a period of modernization and rapid change within the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The long production life of the series resulted in stamps that were produced on both the older flat plate printing press as well as the new rotary printing press. The series includes numerous variations of color shades, perforation differences, security overprints, precancels, commemorative overprints, plate errors, and other distinguishing factors of interest to collectors.

Individual stamp designs

Design	Image
½¢ Nathan Hale
1¢ Ben Franklin	Image
1½¢ Warren Harding profile	Image
1½¢ Warren Harding portrait	Image
2¢ George Washington	Image
3¢ Abraham Lincoln	Image
4¢ Martha Washington	Image
4¢ Howard Taft	Image
5¢ Theodore Roosevelt	Image
6¢ James Garfield	Image
7¢ William McKinley	Image
8¢ Ulysses Grant	Image
9¢ Thomas Jefferson	Image
10¢ James Monroe	Image
11¢ Rutherford Hayes	Image
12¢ Grover Cleveland	Image
13¢ Benjamin Harrison	Image
14¢ American Indian	Image
15¢ Statue of Liberty	Image
17¢ Woodrow Wilson	Image
20¢ Golden Gate	Image
25¢ Niagara Falls	Image
30¢ American buffalo	Image
50¢ Arlington Amphitheater	Image
$1 Lincoln Memorial	Image
$2 United States Capitol	Image
$5 Head of Freedom Statue	Image

Rotary issues of 1922-1928

• Precanceling
• Gum Breakers

Overprints

• Kansas and Nebraska Overprints
• Molly Pitcher Overprint
• Hawaii Overprint
• Canal Zone Overprint

References

• United States Postage Stamps 1902-1935 by Max G. Johl
• Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps
• Gary Griffith - United States Stamps 1922–26 from Linn's

External links

• http://www.glassinesurfer.com/stamps/4thbureau6.shtml
• http://www.arago.si.edu/index.asp?con=1&cmd=1&tid=2033913
• http://www.siegelauctions.com/enc/1922.htm
• http://www.siegelauctions.com/enc/rotary.htm
• http://www.1847usa.com/identify/YearSets/1922.htm
• http://www.apnss.org/Fourth-other.htm
• http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/museum/1d_Blackhardings.html