Oklahoma Statehood Stamps Explained

Common Name:1957 Oklahoma Statehood Stamp
Date Of Production:June 14, 1957
Face Value:
Commemorates:November 16, 1907 – 50th Anniversary
Depicts:Oklahoma Statehood – Arrows to Atoms
Designer:William K. Schrage
Engraver:M. D. Fenton
Printer:Rotary
Dimensions:40x
Perforation:11x10½ – 200 Subject Electric Eye Plates
Number In Existence:102,230,000
Estimated Value:50¢

The Oklahoma Statehood Stamps were issued on June 14, 1957 and January 11, 2007 by the United States Postal Service. The U.S. postage stamps celebrate the 50th and 100th anniversaries of statehood being granted to the state of Oklahoma by the United States of America. Oklahoma was the 46th state to be granted statehood on November 16, 1907.

1957 issue

A single three-cent stamp was issued by the United States Post Office Department on June 14, 1957 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Oklahoma's admission into the United States. The stamp's primary color is deep ultramarine and it has a graphic depicting an arrow piercing an atomic symbol.[1]

Centenary stamp

The 100th anniversary stamp features a colorful depiction of an Oklahoma sunrise from beyond a river flowing through a valley of high plains terrain. Renowned artist Mike Larsen, of Chickasaw ancestry, captures this tranquil Oklahoma scene. The stamp pays homage to 1943 hit Broadway musical Oklahoma! by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II with the caption, "Oh, what a beautiful mornin'…" The musical's signature song doubles as Oklahoma's state song.

This stamp is part of a series which seek to commemorate the entry of new states into the Union; the USPS has also announced the sale of commemorative stamps for Alaska (stamps went on sale on January 9, 2009), Oregon (January 14, 2009) and Hawaii (summer 2009).[2]

See also

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Gibbons, 1957 issues.
  2. Gibbons, 2007 and 2009 issues.