Eisenhower stamp value: sort the 6c, 8c and 25c issues

Start with denomination, color and format

Eisenhower stamp value covers several questions at once. The United States put Dwight D. Eisenhower on a 6-cent memorial in 1969, on 6-cent and 8-cent regular issues in 1970 and 1971, and on a 25-cent centennial stamp in 1990. Each has its own Scott number, its own print run and its own price pattern. A price quoted for one of them says very little about the others.[2][3][5]

Read three things before searching: the denomination, the dominant color and the way the stamp reached you. A 6-cent stamp in blue, black and red is not the 6-cent stamp in dark blue gray. An 8-cent stamp cut from a sheet is not the same listing as an 8-cent coil stamp or a booklet single. The 25-cent stamp is a later, sepia-toned centennial design with a different printer.[1][4][7]

This guide covers ordinary US postage stamps with an Eisenhower portrait. It does not cover Eisenhower dollar coins, foreign tributes, commemorative covers with private cachets or stamps from other countries that show him. If your stamp shows another American portrait, the Famous Americans guide or the 1938 Presidential series guide may be the better starting point.

The seven Scott numbers collectors actually meet

Dealers split the Eisenhower stamps into several Scott numbers because the printing method, perforation and format differ. The table keeps the facts that separate them in one place. It identifies stamps. It does not price them.

Do not price the 1969 memorial from the 1970 regular stamp

The 6-cent memorial, Scott 1383, was issued on October 14, 1969, in Abilene, Kansas, with 150,611,200 stamps printed. The Smithsonian record describes a mint stamp, perforated 11, in blue, black and red ink. StampData lists the same date and perforation.[2][6][8]

The regular 6-cent stamp, Scott 1393, followed on August 6, 1970, in dark blue gray. The matching 6-cent coil, Scott 1401, was printed in a quantity of 114,140,000 and is perforated 10 vertically only. Same denomination, different design, different Scott family.[3][15]

The practical point is accuracy. Mystic's mint asks on October 27, 2026 were USD 0.50 for Scott 1383 and USD 0.45 for Scott 1393. The gap is five cents, but a listing filed under the wrong Scott number is the first thing a buyer will question.[2][3]

Three different 8-cent stamps hide behind one search

The 8-cent Eisenhower is the stamp most people actually search for, and it exists in at least three forms. Scott 1394 is the sheet stamp, issued May 10, 1971, in black, red and blue gray on the Giori press. Scott 1395 is the booklet single, rotary printed and perforated 11 x 10 1/2. Scott 1402 is the coil stamp in deep claret, perforated 10 vertically.[1][4][16]

Use a perforation gauge before using a price. A stamp that measures 11 on all sides points to the sheet stamp. A stamp with mixed measurements points to booklet material. A stamp with perforations on two opposite sides only, and claret rather than multicolor ink, points to the coil. The perforation guide covers the measuring routine. Do not average the three forms into one 8-cent value.

The sheet and coil share a date and a face value, so sellers mislabel them. If a listing names Scott 1394 but shows a single claret stamp, ask which Scott number the seller means before relying on the listing price.

The 1990 centennial is a different kind of stamp

The 25-cent Scott 2513 was issued on October 13, 1990, in Abilene, Kansas, to mark the 100th anniversary of Eisenhower's birth. The American Bank Note Company printed 142,692,000 stamps by photogravure in panes of 40, perforated 11. Ken Hodges used the official White House portrait, with a sepia background taken from a photograph of the general speaking to Allied troops on the eve of the Normandy invasion.[5][7]

Eagle Stamps lists the same stamp with a date of October 12, 1990, while the Smithsonian and Mystic record October 13. The one-day difference is a reminder to trust the museum record for the date and to treat price-list headers as shorthand.[5][7][18]

The Smithsonian record also helps with a common mistake. The 25-cent stamp has a modern pane format and a modern printer, and none of the sources checked list coil, booklet or precancel forms for it. It does not belong to the 1970 and 1971 rotary and Giori sequence in the table above.

Compare exact Mystic asking prices observed on October 27, 2026

Mystic Stamp Company lists every Eisenhower family above with named options and stock numbers. The table shows the ordinary forms. Every figure is a dealer asking price in USD for the option named, not a price anyone paid, and not an offer to buy your stamp.[1][2][3][4][5][15]

Read the price pattern before you hope for a premium

Mystic's ordinary mint single for the 1969 to 1971 stamps runs from USD 0.40 to USD 0.60, the top figure being the booklet single. A used single is USD 0.35 on each of the 1969 to 1971 pages. Eagle Stamps, which sells only never-hinged very fine and extra fine mint, asked USD 0.18 for Scott 1383, USD 0.15 for Scott 1393 and USD 0.18 for Scott 1394, and USD 0.55 for Scott 2513, on pages updated in August and October 2026.[11][18]

Two dealers selling the same catalog numbers differ by nearly a factor of three on a single, and both asks are cents. That is what a common stamp looks like. Print runs of 114 to 151 million leave plenty of copies for the dealers to choose from.[2][5][15]

Plate blocks, coil pairs and line pairs carry small premiums rather than dramatic ones. The Mystic plate blocks are USD 2.50 for Scott 1383 and Scott 1394 and USD 7.50 for Scott 2513. A plate block is a block of four with the printer's plate number in the margin, and it is a different sale unit from a single.[1][2][5]

First day covers follow the same pattern. Mystic asks USD 1.75 for a Classic first day cover on Scott 1383 and Scott 1394 and USD 2.00 for Scott 2513, with Fleetwood covers higher at USD 2.50 to USD 3.20. The first day cover guide explains why the cachet, address and cancellation matter more than the stamp.[1][2][5]

Where an Eisenhower stamp can be worth more than a dollar

The meaningful premiums sit in forms that most households do not recognize. Bardo Stamps lists Scott 1401a, the untagged precancelled 6-cent coil, at USD 42.50 for a single and USD 495.00 for a pair. For the 8-cent coil, Scott 1402b is USD 15.00 for a single and USD 150.00 for a pair. The ordinary Scott 1402 coil single is USD 0.30 and the coil pair USD 0.75 on the same dealer's page.[9][10]

A precancel is a stamp printed with a city and state before it was sold, so that mail could skip the cancelling step. Bureau precancels were produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing for one purpose, speeding third-class mail, and the specialist author notes that most have no gum.[14] The cancellation types guide explains how to tell a precancel from an ordinary postmark.

The table below shows how a seller's description changes the price. Compare like with like: single, pair, pane or line pair, tagged or untagged, gum type, and which city a precancel names.

Treat imperforate and error listings as referral cases

Rumsey Auctions sold the Alan Parsons collection of United States stamps on August 26, 2022. The catalog described a 6-cent Eisenhower coil, imperforate pair, Scott 1401b, with only 20 to 30 pairs reported, many with incomplete gum or none. Scott's listing for full gum was USD 2,500. The two lots realized USD 575 and USD 675, one with a 1981 Philatelic Foundation certificate. Rumsey's page does not state whether those figures include the buyer's premium.[13]

The same sale offered an untagged Pittsburgh precancelled 1401a line pair, never hinged, for USD 160 realized against a Scott value of USD 525, and a joint line strip of four for USD 140 against USD 568. In this sale the four realized prices were well below the Scott values printed in the catalog, and they are the only figures in this guide that record a completed sale.[13]

Mystic carries a "Mint Freak or Oddity" option on several pages, at USD 7.50 for Scott 1394 and USD 4.50 and USD 9.95 on Scott 1402. The page does not say what the oddity is, so the figures cannot be compared with any particular error. A stamp that looks different from the sheet stamp is not automatically an error; the errors and varieties guide covers how to rule out damage, fading and alteration first.[1][4]

Imperforate pairs, tagging varieties and precancels can be faked or altered. Keep the pair in its original orientation, photograph both sides, and ask a specialist or expertizing service to look at it before paying for or selling at a premium.

Check each stamp with a photo before you price the lot

Most Eisenhower stamps arrive mixed with other modern United States issues, so identifying one at a time is quicker than pricing the pile. Photograph the front in even light, then read the denomination, the color and any city name before you open a catalog or a dealer page. The photo identification guide explains how to take pictures that help a match.

Keep each result with its measurements, tagging observation, gum condition and any precancel text. A result you can reread in six months is worth more than a number you half remember.

Build a comparison record before buying or selling

Write down five things for every Eisenhower stamp: the Scott number you believe it is, the denomination and color, the format (single, pair, plate block, pane or cover), the perforation and tagging you measured, and the condition of gum and edges. Add the seller, date and stock number of any price you compare against.

Keep ordinary stamps in one group, plate blocks and coil pairs in another, and precancels, imperforate pairs and anything unusual in a third. Compare an item only against sales of the same unit. The condition guide describes how to describe gum and faults without overclaiming.

If a group turns out to be mostly ordinary mint singles and used stamps, the realistic value is close to face. If it contains coil pairs, precancels, panes or covers, price those separately and read the guide to selling a stamp collection before choosing a buyer.

Frequently asked questions