Presidential Topical Collections

Presidential topical collections in general are not very popular largely because there is so little philatelic material that has been issued for most Presidents (quick – name three stamps that have Garfield or Coolidge on them). And if it wasn’t for the 1931 Presidential set there would be no US stamps with Taft or Harrison or Quincy Adams on them at all. Presidents who have been over represented include the classics – Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and FDR. And the tragic- John F Kennedy.

Washington and Jefferson are well commemorated by the United States and there is a fair amount of material available relating to our first President on the various American Revolution thematic issues that have come from various other countries over time. Lincoln of course has a great human rights angle and of all American Presidents has been the most widely portrayed on foreign stamps. FDR has a WWII hook and was the only President who was a philatelist, so he has been well remembered on issues throughout the philatelic world. But JFK was different.

Struck down by an assassin as a young and vibrant man in only the third year of his Presidency, JFK has always had the charisma that makes for commemoratives. And his death made for a vast number of worldwide stamp issues. And so JFK thematic collections have always outnumbered all other American President’s thematic collections combined. For years after Kennedy’s death the less reputable philatelic countries of the era (many of them Trucial States) churned out high value stamps and specialty items and intentional errors for the American market. Kennedy collections were very difficult to sell on the secondary market, mainly because the owners had paid such crazy prices for their stamps and covers. But in philately at least, time heals all wounds and succeeding generations has seen Kennedy collections increase in popularity and decrease in price to the point that they are downright affordable. When you consider the historic and philatelic interest you might think about adding a few volumes to your shelves. Most newer collectors of Kennedy thematics collect them out of a sense of history, not nostalgia. But for those of us who were around to remember where they were (and what they were doing) when Kennedy was shot, that fact alone is enough to make us really feel old.