Abraham Baldwin Stamp

On Jan. 25, 1985, the U.S. Postal Service issued a 7-cent postage stamp honoring educator and politician Abraham Baldwin. The stamp was released in first day of issue ceremonies on the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens.

In 1985, the University of Georgia celebrated the bicentennial of it chartering by the Georgia legislature in 1785 -- making it the oldest state-chartered university in the country. As part of the anniversary, University of Georgia officials had hoped to get the U.S. Postal Service to release a stamp to mark the bicentennial. However, at the time, the Postal Service had a policy of not issuing stamps to commemorate anniversaries of the founding of towns, counties, or colleges or universities (because of the great number of requests that would otherwise occur). As a compromise, the Postal Service offered to recognize Abraham Baldwin, who wrote the university's charter and also was a signer of the U.S. Constitution.

Technically, the 7-cent Baldwin issue was not a commemorative stamp. Rather, it was one of 54 stamps in the Great Americans series of regular postage stamps of many different denominations. Generally, commemorative stamps are printed only once, are larger than regular stamps, have the denomination needed for first-class mail, and are only available for a limited time. Regular stamps--known officially as "definitive" stamps--can be reprinted as often as necessary, have many different denominations, and are available for an extended period.

For more information on Abraham Baldwin, click here.

Go to Georgia on Stamps page

Go to GeorgiaInfo Home