About This Stamp
A 22-cent commemorative stamp was issued on July 4, 1986, in honor of the centennial of the Statue of Liberty. The First Day of Issue was held on Governors Island during Liberty Weekend '86, an extensive program of events celebrating centennial. On the same day in Paris, the French postal administration (PTT) issued a 2,20 franc stamp and 2.50 franc postal card in honor of the statue.
The Statue of Liberty was presented to the United States by the people of France as an expression of their fraternity and regard for the nation's founding principles. Conceived by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and officially titled "Liberty Enlightening the World," the sculpture became at once an internationally recognized symbol of American liberty and contempt for tyranny.
Howard Paine of Delaplane, Virginia, created the design for the U.S. and French Statue of Liberty stamps and the French postal card indicia. In keeping with the cooperative nature of the joint Postal Service/French PTT project, the design was engraved in France by Claude Jumelet. Working from Mr. Jumelet's engraving, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing produced the U.S. stamp by the two-color intaglio process.
In conjunction with the U.S. stamp dedication, cancellations were offered at a number of metropolitan New York locations and several in New Jersey.
The stamps were issued in panes of 50.