The Thirty-cent Prexie
Theodore Roosevelt became the twenty-sixth President of the United States when William McKinley was assassinated in 1901, and was elected on his own for the following two terms. He is depicted on the thirty-cent in the Prexie series. The stamp was designed after a bust sculpted by James E. Frazer. Only sheet stamps were printed.
The first release of thirty-cent Prexies was on December 8, 1938. A total of 716,774,950 were issued through 1956.
Thirty cents was the minimum registry fee from the beginning of 1952 until mid 1955, so the stamp can be found solo on official penalty mail from places other than Washington, DC, as well as several other situations when postage was free or paid by the addressee. Airmail with second step registry and local, restricted deliery, registered, return receipt are other possibilities.
Another possible solo use in the domestic mails was a special delivery airmail letter to or from Hawaii until late 1944. Airmail to and from Canton Island from mid 1940 until mid 1945 was thirty cents per half ounce, as was airmail to and from Midway Island from late 1940 until late 1942.
Solo possibilities to foreign destination are more numerous. These include a half-ounce airmail letter to Europe from early 1939 until late 1946. During most of this period much of Europe was at war, and airmail was often uncertain. Mail sent from the U.S. can be divided into three periods: prior to December 1941, when the U.S. entered the war, during the war years, and re-establishment of airmail, 1945-46.
Thirty cents was also the cost of an airmail letter to Peru, Ecuador or the Guianas from the beginning of the Prexie period until early 1945.
From 1938 to February of 1945 thirty cents was the cost of a registered airmail letter with return receipt requested when the basic airmail rate was ten cents and a registered airmail letter when the basic airmail rate was fifteen cents. From February of 1945 until the beginning of 1949 it was the cost of a surface letter sent registered, return receipt, and from late 1946 until 1949 it was the rate for a registered airmail letter to South or Central America and, finally, a surface registered letter to a UPU country from the beginning of 1949 until late 1952.
Other possibilities are special delivery to any country that had a ten-cent per half-ounce airmail rate before the middle of 1957, as well as an airmail special delivery postcard to most foreign countries from the middle of 1954 to the middle of 1957.
The Other Articles (AO) airmail rate was thirty cents for the first two ounces to Mexico, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica and British Honduras at various times in the 1950's and early 1960's.
Since thirty is a multiple of five and six, there are some multiple rates and multiple weights with services that can be paid with a solo thirty-cent Prexie as well. There are also fourth class solo uses.