About This Stamp
The Postal Service commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Modern Olympic Games with the issuance of a 32-cent 1996 Centennial Olympic Games stamp on July 19, 1996, in Atlanta, Georgia. The stamp was issued in conjunction with the OLYMPHILEX.
Designed by Carl Herrman of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, the stamp features an image of a statue of a discus thrower. The image is a photograph of a Roman marble copy of the original bronze statue sculptured by Myron, circa 450 BC. This is the fourth time a discus thrower has been featured on a stamp. A discus thrower had been previously depicted in the one of five 29-cent Olympic Track and Field commemorative stamps on July 12, 1991, in Los Angeles, California. The other two stamps were issued in 1932 and 1965.
The discus throw was part of the five-event pentathlon in the ancient Greek Olympics. At the first Modern Olympic Games in 1896, the discus throw was held as a separate event and was won by Robert Garrett, an American.
The stamp was issued in a pane of 20 and printed by Ashton-Potter (USA), Ltd. The stamp was engraved through the intaglio process, and selvage area design was printed in the offset process.
Stamp Art Director
Carl T. Herrman
As an art director for the U.S. Postal Service® for more than 15 years, Carl T. Herrman designed more than 50 stamps and guided more than 250 stamp projects, including Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Humphrey Bogart, and Comic Strip Classics. He also served as art director for five of the Celebrate the Century stamp panes. He has won more than 260 awards for design and design management, including two gold medals from the Society of Illustrators.
Herrman’s career has included positions as Director of Creative Services and adjunct professor at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, and Director of Marketing and Publications for the University of California at Irvine. He has provided consulting services for the Smithsonian Institution, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and numerous academic institutions. Herrman lives in Carlsbad,California.