Celebrating Lincoln through Stamps and Postal History

Mourning Stamp

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The 15-cent Lincoln stamp was issued in April 1866.

In April 1866, the Post Office Department issued a 15-cent black Lincoln stamp. The stamp is usually categorized as a regular issue intended to pay the first class rate to France or Prussia. Many believe with its release so soon after Lincoln’s death and in a black color indicated that it was issued as a commemorative mourning stamp. Up until this stamp issue, the persons featured on American stamps had been dead for several years, if not decades.

Even after Lincoln's untimely death, his legacy—as preserver of the Union and destroyer of the institution of slavery continued to impact the United States.