Indiana on Stamps: The 1950 Territory and 1966 Statehood Issues

Indiana's history has been celebrated on U.S. postage twice in the middle of the twentieth century. Both stamps were issued in the towns most closely tied to the events they remember, and both make a natural pair for a Hoosier collection.

The 1950 Indiana Territory stamp

The 3-cent Indiana Territory Sesquicentennial stamp was issued on 4 July 1950 at Vincennes, to mark 150 years since the territory was created in 1800. It is printed in blue and shows a portrait of William Henry Harrison, the first governor of the territory, with the first capitol building at Vincennes beside it. Over a hundred million were printed, so unused stamps are easy to find.

The 1966 Indiana Statehood stamp

The 5-cent Indiana Statehood stamp was issued on 16 April 1966 at Corydon, the state's first capital, for the 150th anniversary of Indiana joining the Union in 1816. The design is based on the sesquicentennial seal, with a map of Indiana, a ring of stars and the old capitol at Corydon.

First day covers

A first day cover carries the stamp on an envelope postmarked on the day of issue at the city of issue. For both of these stamps the first-day city is a Hoosier town with history of its own, and that is why many collectors prefer the first day postmark to the stamp alone.

• Choose covers with clean, fully struck postmarks that include the date.
• Look for cachets, which are the small illustrations printed beside the stamp, and keep covers by the same cachet maker together.
• Compare the stamp's date with the postmark date. First day covers are meant to match.

Commemoratives are an approachable way to start, and they link modern collecting to the older covers in the rest of an album.