Boy Scouts of America — 40th anniversary & 2nd National Jamboree

On 30 June 1950, at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, the United States issued a 3 cent sepia commemorative for the 40th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America and the 2nd National Scout Jamboree held at Valley Forge. Domfil catalogues the stamp as 950.9 under «2nd National Scout Meeting at Valley Forge», motif «Scouts and emblem».

The design shows three Boy Scouts with the Scout badge and the Statue of Liberty in the background — linking Scouting to American civic ideals. Designed by Charles R. Chickering; vignette engraved by Charles Brooks, frame, letters and numerals by Edward Helmuth. Printed in recess by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in panes of 50, line perforation 11 × 10½, size about 40 × 25 mm. SOSOW records a print run of 131,635,000. Catalogue cross-references: Scott US 995, Michel US 613, Yvert US 546, Stanley Gibbons US 992 (Domfil also cites SG 782).

This is a pure Scouts-on-Stamps commemorative: national anniversary of the BSA combined with a National Jamboree first-day place, rather than a general charity set with a secondary Scout vignette. Only the single 3¢ stamp is catalogued as the series piece (sheet SCOUT-1950-USA-01.1).

ATA 1964 identifies the design as Scout, Cub and Explorer together, links the issue to the 40th anniversary of Scouting in the USA (movement founded 1910), and notes first-day cancels at the 2nd National Jamboree reading «Valley Forge, Pa.» in a large hand-struck form as well as a smaller machine cancel — with ceremonies held at the Jamboree itself. The print run of 131,635,000 matches U.S. Post Office records also cited by SOSOW.