Scotts #550 US stamps

#550 - 1920 5¢ Pilgrim Issue

5¢ Blue, deep blue, indigo

Subject: Signing of the compact
Perforations: 11
Watermark: None
Scott #: 550
Quantity Issued: 11,000,00
Issued: December 21st, 1920

Value

Used
$1 - $2
No postmark with gum (MH)
$5 - $10
Full perfect gum, no postmark
no trace of stamp hinge mark (MNH)
$30 - $50

Plate Numbers

#550 was issued with the following plate #'s

Number only
72426-27

No Country of Origin

These were the only stamps issued in the USA without the country name. At the time there was much criticism of the design and it was not popular. It was considered that the subjects of the vignettes were too crowded into the frame, particularly the 2¢.

A Full Pane

The stamps were printed in sheets of 280 subjects, (14x20) and cut along horizontal and vertical guide lines into post office panes of 70, (7x10) as shown above.

The Design Inspiration

The vignette is from George E. Perine's, Signing of the Compact in the Cabin of the Mayflower, n.d., hand-colored lithograph, Smithsonian American Art Museum