Happy Birthday Abe!

Today is Abraham Lincoln's birthday!

According to Wikipedia, "Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th President of the United States, serving from 1861 to 1865. He successfully led the United States through its Civil War, thus preserving the Union and bringing an end to slavery. Lincoln was the first Republican president, elected in 1860. Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and promoted the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Second only to the number of times George Washington has appeared on U.S. postage, Abraham Lincoln appears on U.S. postage more than all the remaining other presidents."

It goes on to say, "The first postage stamp to honor Abraham Lincoln was issued on April 14, 1866, one year to the day after his death in 1865...The engraving of this image was modeled after a photograph taken by Mathew Brady. The 90c issue of 1869 displays an engraving of Lincoln that was fashioned after the same photograph taken by Mathew Brady used to model for the 1866 issue. A total of only 47,460 stamps were printed by the National Bank Note Company."

Shown above, 1866 Lincoln stamp.

To learn more about Abraham Lincoln on U.S. postage, click here.