1939 25th Anniversary of the Panama Canal Opening Sc 856 Commemorative (B4

This historical commemorative issue marks one of the most monumental engineering achievements of the 20th century: the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Panama Canal. House of Farnam cachet

• Year of Issue: 1939.

• Designation: 25th Anniversary of the Panama Canal.

• Denomination: 3 Cents.

• Scott Number: Sc 856.

• Stamp Design: Features a striking dual portrait layout. On the left is President Theodore Roosevelt, who aggressively championed and cleared the political path for the canal's creation. On the right is General George W. Goethals, the brilliant military officer and civil engineer who successfully supervised its construction. The center showcases a commercial steamship passing cleanly through the Gaillard Cut (Culebra Cut).

• Color: Deep Red Violet.

The Story Behind the Stamp

In 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited the Canal Zone. Impressed by its lasting infrastructure, he recommended that both the local Canal Zone postal administration and the main United States Post Office Department release coordinated stamps to honor the silver anniversary of its completion.

The canal had officially opened to commercial traffic on August 15, 1914, when the cargo ship S.S. Ancon made the historic first transit.

Fun Facts about Sc 856

• A Floating First Day Ceremony: The official first day of issue ceremony on August 15, 1939, was held aboard the U.S.S. Charleston, a U.S. Navy gunboat which was actively sailing inside the Canal Zone waters at the time. Because regular U.S. postage wasn't valid on civilian land inside the Canal Zone, holding the release aboard a commissioned Navy vessel with its own mobile post office was a clever workaround.

• Massive Production: The Bureau of Engraving and Printing produced over 67 million copies of this flat-plate stamp to meet the standard domestic first-class letter rate.