1976 Olympics 13¢ Stamps

On July 16, 1976, the Postal Service issued four 13-cent stamps as a se-tenant issue to celebrate the 1976 Olympic Games—the XII Olympic Winter Games, held in February, and the Games of the XXI Olympiad, held in July. Donald Moss designed the stamps, which depicted two winter [Skiing (Scott 1696), and Skating (Scott 1698)] and two summer [Diving (Scott 1695) and Running (Scott 1697)] Olympic sports. The multicolored se-tenant issue was printed on the Bureau of Engraving and Printing seven-color Andreotti gravure press (601) as sheets of two hundred subjects, tagged, perforated 11, and distributed as panes of fifty. Mr. Zip, “MAIL EARLY IN THE DAY,” electric eye markings, and six plate numbers, one in each color used to print the sheet, are printed in the selvage. The 1976 Winter Olympics (XII Olympic Winter Games) were awarded to Denver, Colorado. The people of the state of Colorado voted to prohibit public funds from being used to finance the event. Innsbruck, Austria, which had hosted the Olympics only twelve years previously, was then chosen as host. A new figure skating event, ice dancing, was added to the program. The Winter Games opened on February 4, 1976, and closed on February 15, 1976. The 1976 Montreal Games (Games of the XXI Olympiad) were marred by an African boycott which protested the fact that the national rugby team of New Zealand had toured South Africa, a country universally condemned for its apartheid policy. New Zealand was scheduled to compete in the Olympics. Women’s events were included for the first time in basketball, rowing, and team handball. The Summer Games opened on July 17, 1976, and closed on August 1, 1976.