On January 22, 1909, Congress adopted a joint resolution reading:
“Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United. The states of America in Congress assembled, That the Postmaster General is hereby authorized to design and issue a special postage stamp, of the denomination of 2 cents, in commemoration of the one-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln.”
Under this resolution, a postage stamp was prepared and issued to postmasters in time for a sale to the public beginning on Lincoln’s birthday, February 12. This stamp is described as follows:
Size and shape, the same as of the regular postage stamps; color, red. The subject is a profile, within an ellipse on end, of the head of Lincoln from Saint-Gaudens statue. A spray of laurel leaves appears on either side of the ellipse. Above the subject appear the words “U. S. postage.” Below, the ellipse is broken by a ribbon containing the dates of Lincoln’s birth and the one-hundredth anniversary thereof ( 1809— February 12—1909), with the denomination in words (two cents) beneath.
Published by John Jr. Paperly
Source: Postage Stamps of the United States 1847-1959