About This Stamp
The 11-cent Stutz Bearcat issue depicts the 1933 model of an American luxury, high-performance sports car made by Stutz Motor Company of Indianapolis. The Bearcat name lasted from 1914 until 1939. In 1927 a Stutz auto set a world record for speed, averaging 68 mph for 24 hours. A Stutz finished second at Le Mans in 1928 and set a speed record of 106.53 mph at Daytona. The stamp was issued on June 11, 1985, at the Cars of Yesteryear Museum in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. There were 135,037 first day covers.
The stamp served no postal need but it did function as a change maker in vending machines. It was printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on the Cottrell press with plate 1 paired with plate 2, and plate 3 with plate 4. Only plate numbers 3 and 4 appeared on first day covers. The plate numbers appeared at intervals of 24 stamps. A vertical line appears to the right of the plate number.
Ken Dallison, Indian River, Ontario, designed the Stutz Bearcat issue. Thomas Hipschen engraved the vignette, and Robert G. Culin, Sr., engraved the lettering. Both engravers worked for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.