Between 1902 and 1960, the US issued somewhat over twenty stamps featuring women — an average of one or two a year.
Then in 1948, five appeared in five months. That cluster is not a coincidence, and it is the most interesting thing in the whole sequence.
The 1948 issues
- Progress of Women — 19 July, 3¢
- Clara Barton — 7 September, 3¢
- Gold Star Mothers — 21 September, 3¢
- Juliette Gordon Low — 29 October, 3¢
- Moina Michael — 9 November, 3¢
The date on the first one explains the rest. 1948 was the centenary of the Seneca Falls convention of 1848, where the Declaration of Sentiments set out a demand for equal treatment of women.
The Progress of Women stamp marks that anniversary directly, honouring Carrie Chapman Catt, a leader in the suffrage and temperance movements; Elizabeth Cady Stanton, abolitionist and co-author of the Declaration; and Lucretia Mott, abolitionist and suffragist, who presided at Seneca Falls.
The other four
Clara Barton — Clarissa Harlowe Barton founded the American Red Cross. Before that she was a teacher, a patent clerk, and a nurse through the Civil War.
Juliette Gordon Low — founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA.
Moina Belle Michael — a professor who conceived the idea of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance for those who served in the First World War. Every poppy worn since descends from her.
Gold Star Mothers — not an individual but an organisation: American Gold Star Mothers, Inc., formed by mothers who lost sons and daughters in military service.
Note the range. Nurse, teacher, founder, academic, and a collective body — five entirely different kinds of public life, honoured in one year. Compare that to what came before.
What came before
The first women to appear on US stamps arrived in 1893, on the seven-stamp Columbian Exposition issue — Queen Isabella of Spain, in the context of financing an expedition.
The first American woman honoured on a US stamp was Martha Washington, on the 8-cent issue of 1902. She appears as "Lady Washington" — identified by her marriage, in the posture and dress of her station.
That is the contrast worth sitting with. In 1902 a woman appeared on a stamp as a president's wife. By 1948 women appeared as founders of national institutions and originators of ideas.
The frequency after 1960
From 1960 to 2000 the rate rose from one or two a year to three to five. 1993 saw eight, and from then to 2000 more than five appeared in most years.
Denominations track the same climb: 5 cents in 1893, 32 cents by 2000, 44 cents by 2009 — a year that itself carried nine women-themed issues.
From 2011 to 2022 the number levelled off, without significant increase or decline.
What this means for collecting
Two practical notes if the subject interests you.
The 1948 issues are denominated 3¢ stamps. They are valid postage for three cents, which means they are collectibles rather than usable letter postage.
Since 2011, commemoratives issued at the first-class one-ounce rate have been Forever stamps — so anything from the last decade or so is both a collectible and full postage today. Prices quoted in older references are the rate at time of issue, not what the stamp is worth now.
Best deals on Forever stamps
Historic denominated issues come from stamp dealers and shows, where condition can be examined. Modern commemoratives leave official sale after about a year and turn up in surplus channels afterwards, still valid as postage.
Where to buy
The USPS official store for current commemoratives, or a verified surplus channel such as Forever Stamp Center for the wider range of retired designs.
The short version
Five women appeared on US stamps in 1948 because it was the centenary of Seneca Falls. Before that, in 1902, the first American woman honoured was identified as a president's wife. The stamps track the change fairly precisely.
More on buying Forever stamps
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