Certified plate proofs are the last printed proof of the plate before printing the stamps at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. These plate proofs are each unique, with the approval signatures and date. For postal scholars these plates provide important production information in the plate margin inscriptions, including guidelines, plate numbers, and initials of the siderographer, or person who created the plate from a transfer roll.
Plate No. 3799
Denomination: 1c
Subject: Captain John Smith
Color: green
Jamestown Exposition – Captain John Smith, 1907
Clair Aubrey Huston, Bureau of Engraving and Printing artist, designed the 1¢ stamp. The central vignette, a portrait of Captain John Smith, is after an engraving by Crispin Van de Passe the younger. Medallions in the upper corners depict Pocahontas and her father, Chief Powhatan. Smith was both a military commander and civil leader in the colony.
