USA
1989
"Prehistoric animals"
| Issue Date |
01.10.1989 |
| ID |
Michel: 2051-2054;
Scott: 2422-2425;
Stanley Gibbons: 2407-2410;
Yvert et Tellier: 1873-1876;
Category: pR |
| Design |
illustrator : John Gurche.
stamp design: Peter Cocci,
engraver: Dennis Brown from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
|
| Stamps in set |
4 |
| Value |
c25 - Tyrannosaurus rex
c25 - Stegosaurus
c25 - Brontosaurus (Apatosaurus)
c25 - Pteranodon Cartoon
'Stamposaurus' in sheet margin. |
| Emission/Type |
commemorative |
| Places of issue |
Lake Buena Vista, Florida |
| Size (width x height) |
28.0mm x 36.6mm |
| Layout |
Sheet of 40 (4 sheets printed together) |
| Products |
Souvenir Sheets |
| Paper |
No Watermark |
| Perforation |
11.0 x 10.75 |
| Print Technique |
Lithographed and engraved, multicolor |
| Printed by |
Bureau of Engraving and Printing |
| Quantity |
101,747,000 |
| Issuing Authority |
U.S. Postal Service |
On October 10
th, 1989, the United States Postal Service (USPS) issued a stamp set celebrating Earth's
great prehistoric animals during a ceremony at the Universe of Energy Exhibit in EPCOT Center, Walt Disney World.
The 25-cent stamps, which paid the domestic first-class rate for a one-ounce letter, were released to coincide
with National Stamp Collecting Month.
As part of a promotional effort, the USPS partnered with MCA Home Video to include a flyer for the stamps in the
packaging of the dinosaur-themed movie
The Land Before Time.
The release attracted widespread media attention, appearing on the front page of USA Today and in television commercials,
many of which highlighted that year’s slogan: “Begin an Adventure of Giant Proportions – Collect Stamps”.
The stamps were designed and illustrated by John Gurche, who is well known for his work with National Geographic Magazine
and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
Gurche later commented on his collaboration with the USPS:
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Ceremony Program at the Universe of Energy Exhibit in EPCOT Center, Walt Disney World
|
In 1989 the U.S. Postal Service asked me to create art for four dinosaur postage stamps
(technically three dinosaurs and a pterosaur).
I was already neck-deep in my first National Geographic assignment, and I almost declined.
In the end, I agreed to create the art, but only if I could work very small, at a scale of 1.5 times the size of
a stamp, instead of the usual scale of five times stamp size.
They agreed, and the stamps came out later that year.
Although Gurche had hoped to illustrate more exotic creatures, the USPS had already selected the subjects.
He therefore focused on presenting the dinosaurs in fresh and dynamic ways.
“Some of these ideas had to do with body positions, posture, and locomotion,” he explained.
“I painted them in more active poses, reflecting the then-emerging view that some dinosaurs may have been warm-blooded”.
This set aroused some controversy at the time because of the
Brontosaurus stamp.
Some paleontologists protested that the correct term was
Apatosaurus, since they were two terms for the
same genus of dinosaur and
Apatosaurus had priority.
The Postal Service responded that, although now recognized by the scientific community as
Apatosaurus, the name
Brontosaurus was used for the stamp because it is more familiar to the general
public.
This discussion led Stephen Jay Gould, an American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, historian of science,
and popular science writer, to respond with a column called “Bully for Brontosaurus”, which eventually became the title
of a book, in which he eloquently defended the use of the term for the general public.
Prehistoric reptiles of North America
The exact origins of dinosaurs and their close relatives, the pterosaurs, remain unclear.
During their approximately 165-million-year history (from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous),
they evolved into a remarkable diversity of forms, with new lineages arising as others disappeared.
Their dominance ended at the close of the Cretaceous Period, around 66 million years ago, when the last
non-avian dinosaurs, and all pterosaurs, became extinct.
Today, birds are recognized by paleontologists as living avian dinosaurs.
The
United States, delightfully, has been a relative mecca for fossil finds,
inspiring modern visions of great creatures which roamed our land millions of years ago.
Among the earliest dinosaur discoveries were the bones of
Anchisaurus, found in the Connecticut Valley in 1818
and thought to be human remains until 1885, and the first dinosaur footprint, which was unearthed in 1802 at South Hadley,
Massachusetts.
Remains of all four prehistoric animals depicted on the stamps, which were printed in se-tenant blocks of four,
were discovered in the USA.
-
The fierce-looking, flesh-eating Tyrannosaurus have been discovered primarily in Upper Cretaceous rock
formations of western North America, especially in Montana, Alberta, and the Dakotas.
- Remains of the Pteranodon, a Cretaceous flying reptile, are prevalent in the Kansas chalk.
- The plant-devouring, bony-plated Stegosaurus has been located in Upper Jurassic layers found
throughout North America.
- The Brontosaurus, one of the largest land animals known, flourished about 135 million years ago in
western North America.
The prehistoric animals depicted on the stamps
Tyrannosaurus rex
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Tyrannosaurus on stamp of USA 1989
MiNr.: , Scott:
|
Tyrannosaurus rex is the most famous of all dinosaurs and represents the last and largest of the great
meat-eating (carnivorous) theropods.
Living at the very end of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 66–68 million years ago, it inhabited what is now
western North America.
Walking upright (bipedal) on powerful hind legs,
T. rex stood about 5.5 meters tall at the hips and reached
a total length of roughly 12–13 meters.
It is estimated to have weighed more than eight metric tons.
Its massive skull, measuring up to 1.5 meters in length, housed some sixty serrated teeth, each capable of crushing bone —
an adaptation that made it one of the most formidable predators in Earth’s history.
The species
Tyrannosaurus rex was first described in 1905 by the American paleontologist Henry Fairfield Osborn,
based on specimens collected by the famous fossil hunter Barnum Brown in Montana.
Since its first scientific description, numerous important finds have greatly expanded our understanding of
the species.
Among the most famous specimens is “Sue,” unearthed in South Dakota in 1990, one of the most complete
Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons ever discovered.
Such discoveries have provided valuable insights into its growth patterns, biomechanics, sensory abilities,
and possible behaviour.
These findings confirm
Tyrannosaurus rex as one of the largest terrestrial predators ever to have lived —
a dominant apex predator at the close of the
Age of Dinosaurs.
Unlike today's
paleo dieter
who can simply learn
how to make meatloaf
or purchase a good steak, the carnivorous dinosaurs had to hunt and kill their own prey.
Pteranodon
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Pteranodon on stamp of USA 1989
MiNr.: , Scott:
|
Pteranodon,
is a genus of pterosaurs—not dinosaurs—that included some of the largest flying reptiles known, with wingspans
exceeding 6 meters.
It lived during the Late Cretaceous, approximately 86 to 84 million years ago, in what is now North America,
including present-day Kansas, Alabama, Nebraska, Wyoming, and South Dakota.
Remarkably, more fossil specimens of
Pteranodon have been discovered than of any other pterosaur,
with around 1,200 specimens documented.
Many of these fossils are exceptionally well-preserved, often featuring nearly complete skulls and articulated skeletons,
which has provided scientists with detailed insights into its anatomy and flight capabilities.
Pteranodon played a key role in the ecosystem of the Western Interior Seaway, a vast inland sea that split
North America during the Cretaceous.
Its diet likely consisted mainly of fish, which it may have caught while gliding over the water or swooping down from
the air.
Sexual dimorphism is evident in the fossil record: males were generally larger and sported more prominent cranial crests,
which may have been used for display or aerodynamic purposes.
Stegosaurus
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Stegosaurus on stamp of USA 1989
MiNr.: , Scott:
|
Stegosaurus is one of the most iconic plated dinosaurs, growing to approximately 6 meters in length,
2.5 meters high at the hips, and weighing around four tons.
It had a distinctive body shape, with a broad, blimp-like torso, long powerful hind legs, shorter front legs,
a short and sturdy neck, and a relatively small head.
Its most striking features were the double row of large, bony plates that ran along its back, which may have been used
for display, species recognition, or thermoregulation.
Stegosaurus also had a long, heavy tail equipped with pairs of sharp spikes, known as the thagomizer,
which served as a formidable defensive weapon against predators.
Fossil evidence suggests that it could swing its tail with surprising force to deter attacks from large carnivorous
dinosaurs.
Stegosaurus was an herbivore (plants-eating), feeding primarily on low-lying plants, and it lived during the
Late Jurassic, around 155 to 150 million years ago, in what is now North America.
Its unique combination of armour and weaponry made it one of the most recognizable and well-studied dinosaurs of its time.
Brontosaurus
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Brontosaurus on stamp of USA 1989
MiNr.: , Scott:
|
The dinosaur on the stamp is labeled as
Brontosaurus, a name at the time of the stamp issue that was associated
with
Apatosaurus, one of the giant, plant-eating (herbivorous) sauropods that roamed the western United States
during the Late Jurassic, around 155 to 150 million years ago.
These five-toed, long-necked dinosaurs were among the dominant herbivores of their ecosystems, feeding on ferns,
conifers, and other prehistoric vegetation.
From the late 1870s, when paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh first described both genera,
Brontosaurus was considered merely a synonym of Apatosaurus.
Marsh and other early researchers believed the specimens assigned to Brontosaurus were juveniles or
variations of Apatosaurus, making Brontosaurus
technically invalid for over a century.
However, in 2015, a detailed study by Emilie Tschopp, Octávio Mateus, and Roger Benson re-examined dozens of
sauropod specimens and found that the differences between some Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus
fossils were significant enough to recognize Brontosaurus as a separate genus.
While closely related within the same family, Diplodocidae, the study revived Brontosaurus as a valid name
distinct from Apatosaurus.
Today, both genera are recognized as separate, though they are still often confused in popular culture.
Both species remain iconic symbols of the massive herbivores that shaped North America’s Jurassic landscapes.
Products and associated philatelic items
No official First Day Covers (FDC) were issued in connection with this stamp issue,
no pictorial First-Day-of-Issue postmark was provided.
A special “Stamposaurus” postmark was created in connection with the issue and became one of the most
popular and widely recognized novelty cancellations among collectors.
All first day covers and maxi cards illustrated below are privately produced items.
| Examples of personalized FDCs (many more exist) |
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| Stamps Sheet |
Error - omitting colour |
Example of Maxi Cards |
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| Souvenir Panels
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| Examples of Circulated Covers |
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References
Acknowledgement
Many thanks to Dr.
Peter Voice from Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Western Michigan University,
for reviewing the draft page, his valuable comments and great help to find materials for this article.
Last update 24.03.2026
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are welcome: admin@paleophilatelie.eu (you
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