The Five-cent Prexie
James Monroe, fifth President of the United States, is depicted on the five-cent value of the Prexie series, the eighth stamp in the set. The likeness was taken from a photograph of a medal produced by the United States Mint. Stamps were issued in sheet and horizontal coil formats.
Sheet stamps were first released on July 21, 1938. A total of 2,568,730,000 were issued from then through 1958. Horizontal coil stamps were issued January 20, 1939. Total production for the coil format through 1956 was 40,301,000.
Five cents was the domestic air mail rate from late 1946 to the end of 1948. This rate was also effective for air mail to Canada and Mexico.
The domestic air mail post card rate, as well as that for air mail postcards to Canada and Mexico, was five cents from mid-1958 until mid-1963, late in the Prexie period.
Other possible solo domestic uses include the return receipt fee, 1949-51, the minimum insurance fee on penalty mail from 1925 to early 1944, and again from 1949 until 1957, the controlled circulation publication minimum fee, early 1942 to early 1944, and the certificate of mailing fee, mid-1957 to mid-1976. Another is to pay the Dead Letter Office return fee, which was five cents from July 1, 1935 to July 1, 1958.
The most common early use of the stamp was to pay the first ounce international surface rate to UPU countries in effect from 1907 until late in 1953. Five cents was also the international surface post card rate from late 1958 until mid 1961.
Other five cent rates involved the minimum charge for commercial papers sent internationally and other multiple mailing rates.
Also, certificates of mailing for multiple items can result in any value of solo Prexie being used.