Daughters Unveil Nixon Stamp in Yorba Linda : Commemoration: The first-class postage is issued on the anniversary of the former President’s death. The ceremony is held at his birthplace.

Steps away from where Richard Nixon was born and lies buried, his two daughters on Wednesday unveiled a commemorative stamp honoring the 37th President on the first anniversary of his death.

More than 3,000 spectators joined dignitaries including Postmaster General Marvin Runyon to pay tribute to the controversial former President. The first-class, 32-cent stamp goes on sale nationwide today.

“I know the man that was born in 1913 would have been deeply moved by the warmth of this occasion,” said Tricia Nixon Cox, with sister Julie Nixon Eisenhower beside her. “It is indeed a rare privilege to share this moment with you.”

Usually, the Postal Service dedicates a stamp to a President on the birthday following his death. For Nixon, that would have been Jan. 9. But the issuance was delayed to avoid confusion over what denomination the stamp would carry, since postage rates were scheduled to increase.

Though popular in Yorba Linda Wednesday, postal officials aren’t expecting a huge demand for the stamps nationwide. The Postal Service is only printing 80 million Nixon stamps, far fewer than the 500 million for Elvis Presley and the 100 million for 11th U.S. President James K. Polk.

Runyon praised Nixon for overhauling the U.S. Postal Service during his 5 1/2 years in the Oval Office. Nixon’s Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 eliminated the Post Office Department, which used to receive 25% of its annual budget from taxpayers, and launched the modernized U.S. Postal Service.

“The Postal Service today stands as a monument to (Nixon’s) political courage, his persistence and fortitude in bringing about political change,” Runyon said.

As some spectators wiped tears during the brief ceremony, there was nothing but praise for the Yorba Linda native, the only U.S. President to resign from office.

“He left the world a safer and saner place, more peaceful and more just,” said John Taylor, director of the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace, noting the President’s gains in improving relations with China and the Soviet Union. “That is his legacy.”

The President’s youngest brother, Ed, dismissed critics including Rep. William L. Clay (D-Mo.), then chairman of the House Post Office Committee, who argued the former chief executive should not receive a stamp because he left office in disgrace.

“You shouldn’t put the other guy down to make yourself look good,” said Ed Nixon, 64, a geologist. “You’ll never get as far as he did that way.”

Hundreds of Nixon admirers and stamp collectors waited in long lines to snatch up “first day cancellation” stamps Wednesday.

“He was my favorite President,” said Gary Boas, 43, a photographer from Lancaster, Pa, standing in a stamp queue. “He was a sincere, personable man. . . . This is history; I wouldn’t have missed it.”