32c Centennial Olympic Games stamp

The US Postal Service commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Modern Olympic Games with the issuance of a 32-cent 1996 Centennial Olympic Games stamp on July 19, 1996, in Atlanta, Georgia. The stamp was issued in conjunction with the OLYMPHILEX.

Designed by Carl Herrman of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, the stamp features an image of a statue of a discus thrower. The image is a photograph of a Roman marble copy of the original bronze statue sculptured by Myron, circa 450 BC. This is the fourth time a discus thrower has been featured on a stamp. A discus thrower had been previously depicted in the one of five 29-cent Olympic Track and Field commemorative stamps on July 12, 1991, in Los Angeles, California. The other two stamps were issued in 1932 and 1965.

The discus throw was part of the five-event pentathlon in the ancient Greek Olympics. At the first Modern Olympic Games in 1896, the discus throw was held as a separate event and was won by Robert Garrett, an American.

The stamp was issued in a pane of twenty and printed by Ashton-Potter (USA), Ltd. The stamp was engraved through the intaglio process, and selvage area design was printed in the offset process.

Reference: Postal Bulletin (June 20, 1996)

Scott Catalogue USA: 3087
mint

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Museum ID: 1999.2004.1120