What one thing do all the following American people of note all have in common?
Actors Eddie Albert; Humphrey Bogart; Beau, Jeff and Lloyd Bridges; Sid Ceasar; Buddy Ebsen; Glenn Ford; Alan Hale, Jr.; Gale Gordon, Victor Mature and Rudy Valee. Add to those, newsman Walter Cronkite; conductor Arthur Fiedler; author Halex Haley; golfer Arnold Palmer; military member George S. Patton Jr.; weatherman Al Roker; and Danny Joe Brown – lead singer for the rock group Molly Hatchet. There are plenty more but the diversity should be clear.
The answer is all have served in or for the US Coast Guard (USCG). No kidding.
Most of us who don’t live in or near major naval bases such as San Diego/Coronado, Norfolk or Pearl Harbor rarely if ever see the big ships or seamen who crew on them. Coastguardsmen/women or “Coasties,” as they are sometimes affectionately referred to, work closer to home. The Coast Guard often operates on inland waterways – notably gulf and bay areas, major rivers and the Great Lakes. Where there is water and boating, the Coast Guard often has a presence....
Off ocean coasts, in what’s known as Territorial Waters, they are very evident. There, they sail or fly out about 12 miles. Their territory also extends some 200 miles into International Waters. Beyond that, the USCG can legally travel and operate anywhere in international waters just like the U.S. Navy, in support of national security interests.
While ships are the visual mainstay, their presence in helicopters and planes is also evident. At present, the Coast Guard operates 240 large ships or “cutters” and a whopping 1,800 smaller craft. They also have upwards of 210 aircraft including planes and helicopters.
Certainly, ships and planes aplenty have appeared on various collectible coins, stamps and currency for over 200 years. The S.S. Adriatic, was the first ship to be featured on a US stamp. It was released as a 12-cent stamp in 1869 in the 1869 Pictorial series. To collectors, those can currently be worth between $2,000 and $4,000 depending on their condition.
The first aircraft to appear on a U.S. stamp was a biplane on the 1918 20-cent Parcel Post stamp. One of those stamps is more affordable at around $250. There have been several examples of military ships on US currency including an 1899 $10 Silver Certificate. It featured naval commanders of the War of 1812 alongside the battleship USS Massachusetts.
More impressive is a 1918 $2 Federal Reserve Bank bill known as the "Battleship Note. On its reverse is a highly detailed engraving of the World War I dreadnought battleship, USS New York. In top condition and, depending on the issuing city, it can be worth more than $5,000.
For as long as such items have been around, something known as “topical collecting” has been popular. That is when someone only collects items with a particular theme, such as ships.
This month, those collectors along with the general public can add another such stamp to their collection, this time saluting the 150th anniversary of the US Coast Guard Academy. The stamp features images of the barque (meaning a sailing vessel with three or more masts) Eagle. Since 1946 it has been the USCG academy’s primary training vessel. Also shown is the Cutter Bertholf – a Legend-class cutter involved in drug interdiction and securing maritime borders.
Up until 1875, the US had no official coast guard. In 1876, Congress authorized “the Revenue Cutter School of Instruction” Not really a catchy name but that would be the official founding year. All of nine students enrolled.
In 1900, that school merged with “The Life Saving Service.” In 1910, the school officially became known as the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Additional maritime affiliates joined on. Over the years since, the academy has grown to more than 30 buildings in New London, CT. They began accepting women a half-century ago in 1976.
After a century-and-a-half, the academy boasts an annual student body of over 1,000 cadets. Each applicant must meet high academic standards, have strong ethics and pass a physical fitness exam. If accepted, all cadets accrue intensive knowledge of seamanship aboard the now postally featured barque Eagle, sometimes on weekslong sails across oceans.
Graduates commit to at least five years of service after earning a Bachelor of Science degree and a commission as an ensign in the USCG. Most serve beyond their initial commitments. As officers, the graduates are involved in essential missions including defending the nation, protecting marine transportation, safeguarding ports and waterways, drug interdiction, and securing the border.
The new red, white and blue stamps were just released in sheets of 20 in New London and are now available at post offices nationwide. They can also be obtained online at www.USPS.gov. At that website patrons can additionally obtain special cancels and other USCG-related postal items.
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