Ginsburg Stamp Release to Mark Start of US Supreme Court Term

The US Postal Service is marking the beginning of the Supreme Court’s new term by issuing a stamp commemorating Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The justice, who died in 2020, was a notable figure before joining the court as a trailblazer fighting sex discrimination. She cemented her legacy as a judge and justice, obtaining celebrity status rarely seen in a sitting jurist.

The stamp is the latest of nearly 30 Supreme Court related stamps that have been issued since 1894, according to the court’s website.

“RBG was not only a trailblazer who dedicated her life to public service and breaking down barriers for women, but she was also a Jewish role model and American icon,” said art director Ethel Kessler. “For me, this was the stamp project of a lifetime.”

The first-day-of-issue ceremony will be held at the National Portrait Gallery on Oct. 2, hours after the current justices hear their first case of the 2023 term and approximately 30 years after Ginsburg was nominated to the high court bench by Bill Clinton.

The new stamp “features an oil painting of her in her black judicial robe and iconic white collar,” the USPS said in a statement. Ginsburg would wear the collars—or jabots—on the bench to signal her agreement or disagreement with the court’s decisions.

Though Ginsburg had an extensive jabot collection, the white one featured on the stamp was reported to be her favorite.

Kessler, who has served as the art director for more than 250 stamps, said she researched hundreds of photos trying to find one that would portray Ginsburg “justly.” When she saw a photo by Philip Bermingham, Kessler said she knew it was “the one.”

The USPS then decided to make a painted portrait based on that photo. We thought it “would not only add gravitas to the stamp, but also a sense of eternity,” Kessler said. She commissioned artist Michael Deas to make the portrait.

The resulting stamp shows Ginsburg with a firm gaze and a bit of a smirk.

“Ultimately, it was the details that led to the stamp’s aura of grandeur and historical significance,” Kessler said. “Resilient yet sublime. Determined but accessible.”

On the bench until her death, Ginsburg became a liberal icon known for her powerful dissents.

Her death shortly before the 2020 presidential election made it possible for Donald Trump to replace Ginsburg with Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who has shifted the court to a solid 6-3 conservative majority.