Description: This classic United States definitive postage stamp features a highly detailed, monochrome carmine-red recess engraving of George Washington. The central artwork presents a sharp, left-facing profile bust modeled after a classical historical bust sculpture by Jean-Antoine Houdon. The portrait is nested inside a prominent oval frame that is flanked on both sides by stylized, upward-sweeping laurel branches and olive leaves. The top margin displays the text "U.S. POSTAGE" in a decorative serif font, while the bottom border features a bold "2 CENTS 2" denomination indicator flanked by mirrored ornamental scrolls. This heavily traveled used specimen displays thick, parallel horizontal black wavy lines from a machine postmark running directly across Washington's face.
Circa: 1922-1932
Condition: Used - Hinged
Notes:
This specific 2¢ stamp was the single most heavily produced issue of the entire 1922–1925 Fourth Bureau Series because it perfectly satisfied the standard domestic first-class letter rate for a one-ounce envelope during that era. To fulfill this staggering national demand, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing ran massive continuous press cycles that resulted in a total production run of over 14 billion individual copies. The design represents a historic transition from the long-running Washington-Franklin issues, modernizing the frame elements while retaining Houdon's iconic presidential profile, which had come to symbolize stability and national identity on everyday correspondence.