1938 Presidential Series Complete Set ($5 Coolidge)

1938 Presidential Series Complete Set: America's Prexies

The 1938 U.S. Presidential Series -- affectionately known among philatelists as "The Prexies" -- is one of the most beloved and historically significant definitive stamp sets in American postal history. Issued across 1938 and continuing into the early 1950s, the complete series comprising 32 stamps presents a chronological portrait of the American presidency from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge, with the $5 Coolidge serving as the series' crown jewel. For collectors, assembling a complete set in mint never-hinged condition is a satisfying achievement that spans the full range of U.S. presidents known as of the late 1930s.

Origins: FDR's Design Competition

The Presidential Series began with an unusual bit of presidential involvement. Franklin D. Roosevelt himself suggested the concept of a new definitive series honoring American presidents and personally recommended opening the design process to a national competition in 1937.

The contest was won by Elaine Rawlinson, an artist from New York City. Her winning design for the 1-cent George Washington stamp was based on a classical bust by the sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon (1741-1828), the celebrated French sculptor whose portrait work captured many of the American founders. Rawlinson's design became the template for all 32 stamps in the series: each features a bust-profile portrait of a president against a clean background, with the denomination and the subject's name clearly printed.

The first stamp in the series -- the 1-cent George Washington -- was issued on April 25, 1938, in Washington D.C. The series was completed over the following months, with stamps being issued in sequence throughout 1938.

The Design System: A Clever Ordering

The Presidential Series uses one of the most elegant organizational systems in all of American philatelic history. From the 1-cent through the 22-cent values, the stamp denomination corresponds exactly to the president's order in office:

• Washington, 1st president: 1-cent

• Adams, 2nd president: 2-cent

• Jefferson, 3rd president: 3-cent

• ...continuing through...

• Buchanan, 15th president: 15-cent

• Lincoln, 16th president: 16-cent

• ...up to...

• Grover Cleveland, 22nd president: 22-cent

At 22-cents, however, the sequence became complicated: Cleveland served non-consecutive terms as the 22nd and 24th president, and there was no logical way to continue matching denomination to presidential order. The designers preserved the correspondence where possible for the higher values and filled the remaining denominations with the remaining presidents.

The $5 Calvin Coolidge (Scott #834) represents the final stamp of the series: Coolidge was the most recently deceased president when the series was designed (he died in January 1933). The inclusion of Coolidge at the highest denomination recognized his recent service and closed the historical narrative of the series.

The Complete Series: All 32 Stamps

The series includes 32 stamps in sheet format, with nine coil versions and four booklet versions of the common low values:

Design Variations by Denomination

The Prexies were not all printed identically. Denominations were printed on different press types with different border treatments:

The high-value dollar stamps ($1 Wilson, $2 Harding, $5 Coolidge) are bicolor issues -- typically a main engraved color plus a second color for the frame or background -- printed on the flat plate press, which gives them a more substantial, formal appearance than the lower denominations.

The $5 Coolidge: Scott #834

The $5 Calvin Coolidge is the most sought-after stamp in the set. Coolidge (1872-1933) served as the 30th President from 1923 to 1929 and was the most recently deceased president when the series was issued. His $5 stamp uses a distinctive carmine and black bicolor design.

Scott #834 values:

The $5 Coolidge is not rare in absolute terms -- it was printed in large quantities for postal use -- but mint never-hinged examples with good centering are harder to find than one might expect, as the stamps saw heavy postal use and many mint examples were hinged when stored.

Values for the Complete Set

The complete 32-stamp Presidential Series in sheet format:

Scott Catalog places the complete mint NH set at approximately $300-$400, with the dollar values ($1 Wilson, $2 Harding, $5 Coolidge) representing the bulk of the value.

Why Collectors Love the Prexies

The Presidential Series has been a staple of U.S. philately for nearly 90 years for good reasons:

Historical significance: The series offers a visual timeline of the American presidency. From Washington to Coolidge, every president who had died by 1938 is portrayed, making the complete set a miniature gallery of American presidential history.

Collecting challenge: While most individual stamps are affordable, assembling a complete set in truly mint, never-hinged condition with good centering is genuinely difficult. Many low-value stamps are more challenging to find in premium condition than the high values.

Longevity: The Prexies were the definitive U.S. stamps from 1938 through the mid-1950s -- nearly two decades. They franked millions of letters, appeared on countless first-day covers, and are embedded in American postal history.

Variety within the series: Collectors who want to go deeper can pursue coil versions (Scott 839-851) and booklet panes (Scott 806a-807a, etc.), significantly expanding the collecting scope.

Storage and Display Recommendations

For a complete Prexie set:

• Use acid-free, archival-quality hingeless album pages for the mint never-hinged examples

• The dollar values benefit from individual stock cards to prevent any edge damage

• Store in consistent temperature and humidity conditions

• For display, the four high-value stamps (50-cent Taft through $5 Coolidge) make a handsome quartet

A complete 1938 Presidential Series set is an achievable goal for most collectors that delivers genuine historical richness and satisfying completeness.

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