US stamp #2870 - Legends of the West (1994) $5.80

Pane of 20 stamps (recalled), error on Bill Pickett

Unveiled in December 1993, the Legends of the West stamps promised to be an extremely popular issuance, but no one expected them to create one of the most infamous stamp errors in U.S. history.

One of the stamps honoured Bill Pickett, a celebrated African-American cowboy credited with the invention of bulldogging, or steer wrestling. To create the portrait, stamp artist Mark Hess used a famous photograph that bore a clear inscription identifying Pickett. The photograph had been featured in several magazines and exhibitions, countless books about the American West also identified the handsome cowboy as Bill Pickett.

Unfortunately, the man in the photograph was not Bill Pickett!!!

In January 1994, the Pickett family informed the Postal Service that the photo depicted not Bill but his brother, Ben. Stunned, the Postal Service announced the recall and destruction of the five million stamp panes that had been shipped to hundreds of post offices.

Later, USPS released 150,000 of the recalled panes inside a blue protective envelope via a drawing.