STAMPS OF APPROVAL
What more recognition could one want than to be on a stamp? Or on 91 of them? Most were released well after his death. As if adopted as a tribute by each nation, he was treated like a citizen of the world. Since stamps reflect a nation’s values, these multiple values reflect back on the man.
In the case of Princeton, it’s amazing how such a small thing as a stamp can cause such a ruckus. When a new stamp is issued, it is customary to sell first-day covers at only one or more selected post offices that have some connection with the subject of the stamp. When the first U.S. Einstein stamp—for eight cents—was announced in 1966, for the small Princeton Post Office, it was “tag you’re it.”
91 Einstein Stamps from
around the world
440,000 stamp collectors sent letters requesting the first-day covers, post-marked March 14, 1966 (Einstein’s birthday).
Postmaster John Dilworth was forced to hire 35 additional clerks to handle the overload. This was complicated by the payment method—coins. In each request letter were one nickel and three pennies. A total of 1.76 million coins! They had a special hamper for these. (Imagine the consternation of tellers at the local bank when these were lugged in!)
The Princeton Post Office must have complained, because when the next Einstein stamp—for 15 cents—was released on March 4, 1979, collectors were required to pay by check.