About This Stamp
The 14-cent Iceboat coil was released on March 23, 1985, at ROPEX, the annual stamp show in Rochester, New York. There were 324,710 first day covers cancelled. The stamp depicts an 1880s-era iceboat. Iceboats were developed in Scandinavia during the 18th century. In 1790 an iceboat sailed on the Hudson River near Poughkeepsie, New York. Several iceboating clubs were formed during the 1870s, but the sport really became popular in the 1930s when the Joy brothers of Milwaukee developed a less expensive front-steering boat with smaller sails.
The stamp was issued to pay the 14-cent postcard rate that began on February 17, 1985, and continued until April 2, 1988. It was initially printed on the Cottrell press at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing with plate numbers at intervals of 24 stamps. Plate number 1 was paired with 2 and 3 with 4. There are joint lines on the right of the plate number.
The 14-cent Iceboat was later printed on the B press with plate numbers 52 stamp intervals. Only plate number 2 was employed for the B press version. The joint lines to the right of the plate number disappeared on this printing. The design on the B press printing is 1/4mm narrower than the Cottrell version and has block tagging rather than overall tagging.
William H. Bond of Arlington, Virginia, designed the 14-cent Iceboat. The vignette was engraved by Gary Chaconas and the lettering by Gary J. Slaght. Both worked for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.