1961-66 Regular Issues

Why aren't the 1 cent Jackson-Scott 1209,1225, the 5 cent Washington- Scott 1213 & 1229 and the 8 cent Pershing-Scott 1214 stamps
considered as part of the Prominent Americans Series but classified by Scott as Regular issues? It would seen they would easily have fitted there.

You ask an interesting question.
While I don't really know the answer, let me indulge in a bit of guesswork. The Jackson, Washington & Pershing stamps were all issued in the early 60s (61-63). The Prominent Americans (with Pershing removed) started arriving in 1965. Also note that there are a number of "missing" catalog numbers in the 1209-1229 range. This leads me to believe that the Scott editors were anticipating the arrival of an extended series in the 61-63 time frame. It appears to me that the series did eventually arrive, albeit about 3 years late.
The exclusion of the Jackson, Washington & Pershing stamps from the PA group makes sense since their denominations were used for other designs in that series. What doesn't make sense, at least in retrospect, is the initial inclusion of Pershing in the PA series. It's design is very similar to that of the Jackson & Washington stamps and, in fact, it was the first of the three issued (1961). If they were willing to include two 8-cent stamps in PA, why not two 1-cent & 5-cent stamps? It might be interesting to see a Scott catalog from the early 60s. Surely they didn't assign Pershing a number in the 1280s when it appeared before 1209 & 1213. How did they initially handle the catalog number assignments of these stamps at the time? Maybe someone with an old catalog or historical knowledge of the series will chime in with an answer.

I think the premise that stamps included in the Prominent Americans series were determined by the Scott editors is incorrect. The below quote, taken from the Arago site, indicates that the stamps included in the series were determined by the USPOD and its successor.




The complete Arago story on the issue may be viewed at http://arago.si.edu/index.asp?con=1&tid=2028974.

tomiseksj: Thanks for the info. This certainly explains why the earlier stamps were not included in the PA series. What it does not explain is why Pershing was ever included in the series. Perhaps this was the work of the Scott editors. I'm sure there are articles about the removal of Pershing from the PA ... will have to search them out.
Added: Just realized that my memory failed me. Pershing was considered part of the Liberty Series, not the Prominent Americans. So my question is moot ... Pershing was never part of PA.