English: The portrait for this stamp is taken from a bust by Houdon.

This series, whilst popular with the philatelic press at the time, was highly unpopular with the public and as a result were only in print for one year. Like the series before them, the stamps were embossed with a grill which decreased the effectiveness of the gum, with such a small stamp this was a disaster. The public complained so loud about not being able to affix these stamps to the envelopes that post office clerks took to having a wet sponge handy at the counter.

Another complaint was the small size of the stamps, cartoon appeared in the press showing folks using a magnifying glass to locate them in their pocket book.

With so much animosity shown against this stamp it became a past time to deride it and soon the initial compliments on the design was overwhelmed with derision. The designs were un American, Particularly the 3c, too most it was a celebration on how members of the congress had made money off the backs of the people through the railroads.