United States, 1898 (4 cents, bison hunt)
A hunter on horseback chasing a bison.
Illustration of a historical stamp for learning, shown at screen size. Not valid for postage.
How to read it
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA runs along the top: the full country name.
- 1UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
- 2POSTAGE FOUR CENTS
- Inscription
- UNITED STATES OF AMERICA · POSTAGE FOUR CENTS
- Meaning
- The full country name across the top and the value in words at the bottom; a small caption names the scene in the words of 1898.
- Issued by
- United States
- Today
- the United States Flag of United States
- Year
- 1898. Trans-Mississippi Exposition issue, Omaha, 1898.
- Made by
- Bureau of Engraving and Printing (government printing and engraving agency)
One fact
The four-cent value shows a Native American hunter on horseback chasing a bison; its 1898 caption uses the wording of the time.
Source and public-domain rule
United States, published before 1931. Published in the United States in 1898, before 1931. Works published in the United States in 1930 or earlier are out of copyright there (the longest term, 95 years from publication, ended on 1 January 2026 for 1930 works), and stamps made by the federal government itself are not protected at all. Under the EU comparison of terms a work from outside the EU is protected no longer than in its country of origin. Legal sources: Duke Center for the Study of the Public Domain, 17 U.S.C. § 105.
Scan: US stamp 1898 4c Indian Hunting Buffalo.jpg on Wikimedia Commons (revision 1287848892), licence templates {{PD-USGov}}. Downloaded 2026-10-21, sha256 fe69145229a3…; cropped and cleaned for this site. Facts checked 2026-10-22 against source 1 and source 2. Research record, not legal advice; a second check of these rights by a person is planned, and a stamp that turns out not to be free to use will be removed. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
