Index · Edition · us-presidential-series-1938-series-3

US Presidents

US Presidents

NFT edition based on the historic US Presidential stamp series of 1938. The physical original series depicted the US presidents in chronological order of their terms, with face values corresponding to their presidential number. This digital release from November 2023 is Series 3 of four VeVe drops and covers Franklin Pierce through James A. Garfield — Franklin Pierce (3,500, Common), James Buchanan (3,500, Common), Abraham Lincoln (2,500, Uncommon), Andrew Johnson (2,500, Uncommon), Ulysses S. Grant (1,855, Rare), Rutherford B. Hayes (1,855, Rare), James A. Garfield (855, Ultra Rare) — with a total of 16,565 purchasable editions on Immutable X, sold as a $6.00 blind box. A Secret Rare 1938 Chester A. Arthur (307 editions) was not sold but airdropped to holders of all seven stamps, bringing the series to 16,872 NFTs. Issued by USPS as part of their NFT program on American history.

Variants

VariantVariantMintageRarity
1938 Chester A. Arthur3071
1938 James A. Garfield8552
1938 Ulysses S. Grant1,8553
1938 Rutherford B. Hayes1,8553
1938 Abraham Lincoln2,5004
1938 Andrew Johnson2,5004
1938 Franklin Pierce3,5005
1938 James Buchanan3,5005

About the USPS Presidential Series (1938) Series 3 (NFT Adaptation 2023)

DetailValue
Date2023-11-30
TechVeVe / Immutable X
List Price$6 USD per NFT
Sale FormatBlind Box
Total mintage (purchasable tiers)16,565
Airdrop (Secret Rare, not purchasable)1938 Chester A. Arthur, 307

Series 3 is the third of four VeVe drops in which USPS re-issued its 1938 Presidential Issue (the "Prexies") as NFT stamp art. It dropped on 30 November 2023, 10 AM PT as a blind box at $6.00 per collectible: seven purchasable stamps in four rarity tiers, 16,565 editions in total, plus a Secret Rare 1938 Chester A. Arthur airdropped to complete-set holders (307 editions; 16,872 including the airdrop).

The Historical 1938 Presidential Series

The 1938 Presidential Issue was a 32-stamp definitive series showing every US president from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge in chronological order, plus Benjamin Franklin, Martha Washington and the White House. Its face-value logic — each president's cent value matches his position in the succession — makes it one of the most studied series in US philately. Series 3 of the NFT adaptation covers the 14¢ Franklin Pierce to the 21¢ Chester A. Arthur, including the 16¢ Abraham Lincoln; Arthur was held back for the airdrop.

NFT Adaptation: Series 3 of Four

Rarity was assigned in pairs, and the structure is the same for all three 2023 drops: two Common, two Uncommon, two Rare and one Ultra Rare stamp, revealed only on opening the blind box. Each NFT reproduces the engraved bust of the original stamp and carries the year 1938 in its title.

VariantOriginal 1938 stampTierMintage
1938 Franklin Pierce14¢Common3,500
1938 James Buchanan15¢Common3,500
1938 Abraham Lincoln16¢Uncommon2,500
1938 Andrew Johnson17¢Uncommon2,500
1938 Ulysses S. Grant18¢Rare1,855
1938 Rutherford B. Hayes19¢Rare1,855
1938 James A. Garfield20¢Ultra Rare855
1938 Chester A. Arthur21¢Secret Rare (airdrop)307

The seven purchasable stamps add up to 16,565 editions (Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan being the most plentiful, James A. Garfield the scarcest purchasable one). Together with the airdrop the series comprises 16,872 NFTs.

The Secret Rare Airdrop

Collectors who held all seven Series 3 stamps from 8 AM to 11:59 PM PT on 6 December 2023 received one 1938 Chester A. Arthur (the 21¢ value of the original issue) per complete set, airdropped on 12 December 2023. The stamp was never sold; its 307 editions therefore equal the number of complete sets held at the snapshot, as shown on VeVe's collectibles pages. crypto-stamps.org lists the same 307 editions and the same series total of 16,872.

Position in the Four-Part Series

Series 1 (3 June 2023, Franklin–Monroe), Series 2 (4 July 2023, J. Q. Adams–Fillmore), Series 3 (30 November 2023, Pierce–Arthur) and Series 4 (17 February 2025, Cleveland–Coolidge) together cover all 32 designs of the 1938 issue. Each series is catalogued here as an edition of its own; Series 4 dropped without an airdrop, with Calvin Coolidge as a regular Secret Rare tier.

Tech Stack

USPS Stamp Art editions live on Immutable X, an Ethereum L2 (StarkEx). NFTs are minted and traded through the VeVe marketplace; tokens are not directly resolvable via Etherscan because they live on the L2 sidechain. This is the same stack used for the entire USPS Stamp Art programme since 2021.

Curator note: drop date, tiers and mintages come from VeVe's own blog post; crypto-stamps.org independently lists all eight stamps including the 307-edition Chester A. Arthur airdrop and the series total of 16,872, matching VeVe's collectibles page. Reviewed 2026-09-21.

Frequently Asked Questions

How did collectors obtain the 1938 Chester A. Arthur stamp of Series 3?

It was never sold. Anyone holding all seven purchasable Series 3 stamps from 8 AM to 11:59 PM PT on 6 December 2023 received one 1938 Chester A. Arthur per complete set by airdrop on 12 December 2023. The 307 editions recorded on VeVe therefore reflect the number of complete sets held at the snapshot; the stamp is only available on the secondary market.

References