#653 ½¢ Nathan Hale Issue 1928
See below for details
Basic Info
½¢ - Olive brown, deep olive brown
Printing Method: Rotary Press
Subject: Nathan Hale
Number issued: Not known
Perforations: 11 x 10½
Watermark: Unwatermarked
Scott #: 653
Issued: May 25th, 1928
Value
Used
25¢ - 50¢
No postmark with gum (MH)
60¢ - $1
Full perfect gum, no postmark
no trace of stamp hinge mark (MNH)
$1 - $2
Plate #'s
#653 was issued with the following plate #'s
Number only
19650-53
20370-71
20408-09
20922-29
First Day Cover
This is not a first day cover, it was posted two days after the issue date. So far I have not seen a first day cover,. If anyone has one please share, credit will be given
A full pane
A pane of 100 of #653, there were two panes to a sheet of 200
The Design Inspiration
The vignette comes from a statue of Nathan Hale by Lyon Pratt. The actual photo used by the engravers is shown above along with the statue as it looks today.
Nathan Hale
"The execution of Nathan Hale"' painting by F. O. C. Darley
George Washington needed a spy to walk behind enemy lines on Long Island and find out where the British were planning to attack. Captain Nathan Hale, 21, volunteered. Unfortunately by the time he reached his destination the British had already attacked and the Battle of Harlem Heights had already happened.
He was not trained as a spy, assumed his own name and went around asking if the locals were friendly, a question which raised suspicions. Word of this reached a particularly nasty British army major, who decided to check Hale out. He met Hale in civvy's at a pub and after a couple of drinks Hales cover was blown. The next day, Hale was hung.
Hale's last words were
"If I had ten thousand lives, I would lay them all down, if called to it, in defence of my injured, bleeding country"
Recut Stamp
1926-30 Commemoratives
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