About This Stamp
The 21-cent stamp of the Prominent Americans series features an image of Amadeo P. Giannini (1870–1949). Giannini’s life mirrors the classic Horatio Alger "American Dream" story. Born to Italian immigrant parents, he left school at 13. On Oct. 17, 1904, he opened the Bank of Italy in a former San Francisco saloon, taking in deposits of $8,780. When the 1906 great earthquake hit, Giannini was forced to run his bank from a plank across two barrels in the street. By 1915 he had expanded and opened several branches. His enterprise became the Bank of America in 1928.
At his death in 1949, Giannini headed the largest bank in the United States and the largest private banking system in the world. He pioneered statewide branch banking and introduced diversified financial services such as home loans, payable in monthly installments, and loans on modest collateral to small depositors and investors.
The 21-cent green Giannini stamp was issued on June 27, 1973, in San Mateo, California. The sheet stamp was printed from plates of 400 and sold in panes of 100 stamps with gauge 11 x 10.5 perforations. Robert Geissmann designed the issue based on a photograph by the Moulin Studio in San Francisco. Arthur W. Dintaman engraved the vignette, and Howard F. Sharpless engraved the lettering. This was the first time Amadeo Giannini appeared on a U.S. postage stamp.
The 21-cent stamp paid the foreign airmail letter rate. It later paid the foreign air postcard rate. A multiple of 10 stamps could be used when the registry rate went to $2.10 on July 18, 1976.