This official First Day Cover features the 13¢ Samuel J. Kirkwood commemorative stamp issued by the United States on February 23, 1976, in Washington, DC. The cachet depicts a statue of Kirkwood alongside the Iowa state flag and notes Iowa’s admission to the Union as the twenty-ninth state in 1846.
Samuel J. Kirkwood (1813–1894) served as Iowa’s governor during the Civil War, later represented the state in the U.S. Senate, and held the post of Secretary of the Interior under President Garfield. The stamp was released during the national Bicentennial celebrations, highlighting figures who shaped the early American republic.
The cachet artwork includes a detailed rendering of the Kirkwood statue now located in the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall, along with period-appropriate typography and the official “Bicentennial Era 1776-1976” banner. This cover carries the distinctive Washington, DC first-day postmark dated February 23, 1976.
A fine addition for collectors of U.S. Bicentennial issues, Iowa history, or political figures, the cover remains in excellent condition with a crisp postmark and attractive two-color cachet.
