Full Sheet of United States Legends of the West Stamps [SOLD]

This is a full sheet of United States 29-cent postage stamps “Legends of the West.”  It features the following individual legends—Buffalo Bill, Jim Bridger, Annie Oakley, Chief Joseph, Bill Pickett, Bat Masterson, John Fremont, Wyatt Earp, Nellie Cashman, Charles Goodnight, Geronimo, Kit Carson, Wild Bill Hickok, Jim Beckwourth, Bill Tilghman, and Sacagawea.  Additionally, the four corner stamps celebrate Home on the Range, Native American Culture, Western Wildlife, and Overland Mail.

When planning the 1994 "Legends of the West" commemorative sheet, the USPS decided to include the famous African-American cowboy Bill Pickett, inducted into the National Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1971, among the sheet's 20 subjects.  Pickett is credited with the invention of steer wrestling, also known as bulldogging. In this decision, the USPS made a terrible mistake, not in the choice of Pickett, but in the choice of the photograph of him. The photograph chosen was of Bill Pickett’s younger brother Ben Pickett.  When this was discovered, the stamps had already begun being sold. At that time, 5,201,000 panes had been printed and distributed to 137 stamp distribution centers and 330 larger post offices. The USPS recalled the stamps, replaced the incorrect photograph and reissued the stamps in 1994.  There was no way to recall the stamps that had been sold. The incorrect stamps in the marketplace continued to sell at astronomical prices.

This sheet of stamps we are offering is the reissue sheet with the correct photograph of Bill Pickett.  It is new and unused.