Happy Monday! Following up on my previous post about Hamilton’s role in the history of the USPS, here are some stamps featuring Alexander Hamilton.

1) Alexander Hamilton Bicentennial Stamp (Issued January 11, 1957)

From the National Postal Museum:

Designed by William K Schrage, the stamp has for its central design a portrait of Alexander Hamilton on the left, with the front view of the original Federal Hall in New York comprising its right portion. Across the top of the stamp is the wording “United States Postage” and the denomination “3c” in whiteface modified Roman. To the left of the portrait are the numerals “1757” and “1957,” arranged in two lines, also in whiteface modified Roman. The name “Federal Hall, N.Y.C., in whiteface Gothic, is located directly beneath the building. An ornamental ribbon dominates the bottom of the stamp and frames the lettering “Alexander Hamilton Bicentennial,” which is in dark modified Roman.

3) 1870 Ceracchi Stamp: Based on a bust of Hamilton created by Italian sculptor Giuseppe Ceracchi.    Ceracchi was a bit of a fame worshipper, and wanted to integrate himself with the Founding Fathers in the hopes of being commissioned to erect monuments to the leaders of the new nation.  He said of James Madison that he would “honor my chisel with cutting his bust.”   Ceracchi visited Hamilton, Franklin, Washington, Jefferson, Jay, and many other prominent contemporaries, claiming that he wanted to sculpt their image for his personal use or to display in public areas as part of a “Liberty Project” that would memorialize the Revolution and be funded by Congress.   However, the Liberty Project never got off the ground.  In an attempt to recover money, Ceracchi presented the prominent men he had sculpted with the bust he created and a huge bill for his services.

Hamilton complained about Ceracchi’s strategy  in his “Cash Book” of expenses in 1796, noting next to the $622 amount that he paid for the bust: “For this sum through delicacy paid upon Ceracchi’s draft for making my bust on his own importunity ‘& as a favour to me.”

For comparison, here’s the original bust:

3) $5 Hamilton Stamp (March 19, 1956): This one is closely connected to the city of Paterson, which Hamilton founded as America’s first industrial city.  Paterson’s charter was created on March 19, 1792.  Today, you can visit Paterson Great Falls National Park and find out more about Paterson and Hamilton’s role in its creation!

If you’re interested in the history of American stamps, or have any interest in stamp collecting, check out Arago.  For more on Ceracchi’s sculpting scheme, see Founding Fatherfest on Tumblr.

After a First Edition of The Federalist Papers was valued and sold at over $100,000, I thought it might be interesting to discuss some of the more expensive/authentic Hamil-swag on the internet.  Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these (although the holidays are coming up!), and have no firsthand knowledge about their historical authenticity.

1) Signed Hamilton Circular– Available on Ebay from History for Sale, bidding starts at $50,000.  The circular has directions from Hamilton to his team of revenue collectors.  Not the most interesting document, but apparently Hamilton’s signature is worth quite a bit. 

2) Replica dueling pistols– JM Exclusives  has replica dueling pistols available for $6995.  A cheaper set is available from Arms2Armor for just under $2,000.  The original pistols are actually owned by J.P. Morgan, which is a descendant of Aaron Burr’s Bank of Manhattan Company, the second commercial bank formed in New York.   The New York Historical Society has its own pair of duplicate pistols on display.

3) Hamilton 1798 Letter- This is pretty awesome and has already been sold by the Raab Collection.  It is a letter from Hamilton to James McHenry (Hamilton’s friend and Secretary of War under Adams) concerning Hamilton’s role in directing the military as Washington’s second-in-command.  Although Hamilton’s military service ended quickly once peace with France was achieved, Hamilton singlehandedly raised an army and prepared the nation for combat.  The Raab Collection also has an interesting 1792 letter signed by Hamilton’s successor as Secretary of the Treasury, Oliver Wolcott for $1,000.

1) Romantic quote pendant and bracelet– Available from the New York Times Store and from the New York Historical Society.  This pendant was created by the New York Historical Society and features a quote from Hamilton to his wife, Elizabeth, in Hamilton’s October 5, 1780 letter.   The letter was written a few months before the two married on December 14, 1780.  The quote on the pendant states: “I meet you in every dream – and when I wake I cannot close my eyes again for ruminating on your sweetnesses.”  For full context, here is the complete paragraph in which the sentence appears:

“I have told you, and I told you truly that I love you too much. You engross my thoughts too intirely to allow me to think of any thing else. You not only employ my mind all day; but you intrude upon my sleep. I meet you in every dream-and when I wake I cannot close my eyes again for ruminating on your sweetnesses. ‘Tis a pretty story indeed that I am to be thus monopolized, by a little nut-brown maid like you-and from a statesman and a soldier metamorphosed into a puny lover. I believe in my soul you are an inchantress.”

2) Cufflinks– Hamilton $10 bill cufflinks available from Etsy.  Because nothing projects financial success like going into an interview with Hamilton cufflinks.