Ruth Bader Ginsburg honored on new postage stamp

By Kaanita Iyer and Ariane de Vogue, CNN

(CNN) — The United States Postal Service on Monday released its postage stamp honoring the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a feminist icon who served for years as the senior-most member of the court’s liberal wing.

The USPS announced last year that it would feature an oil painting of the justice on a “Forever” stamp, which currently costs 66 cents. The painting shows the justice in a black judicial robe and a white collar, which became an iconic part of her wardrobe. Ginsburg died in 2020 at the age of 87.

The stamp celebrates what USPS calls Ginsburg’s “groundbreaking contributions to justice, gender equality and the rule of law.”

Chief Justice John Roberts praised the late justice during a dedication Monday night hosted by the USPS.

In brief remarks, he called Ginsburg an “outstanding American and eminent jurist” who gave “so much to our country as scholar, teacher, lawyer, judge and justice.”

“I couldn’t miss this occasion,” he added.

Roberts, a conservative, said that Ginsburg was so iconic that “mail could have been delivered to her by a mere sketch of her appearance.”

His remarks came hours after the high court opened its new term.

Ginsburg’s granddaughter Clara Spera told CNN that the honor “would have been beyond her wildest dreams.”

“She worked as hard as she could for as long as she could, and did the very best that she could,” Spera told CNN’s Poppy Harlow in an interview that aired Monday on “This Morning.”

Spera said her grandmother “would be absolutely delighted” that a record four women are serving on the highest court’s bench.

“As she noted in her confirmation hearing, she was hoping that those women would not be cut from the same cloth, and that’s certainly the case,” Spera said. “We have women from different backgrounds, different legal viewpoints, and I think that’s something she would celebrate.”

Ginsburg was appointed in 1993 by President Bill Clinton. Before her death, she served as the senior member of the court’s liberal wing, delivering progressive votes on the most decisive social issues of the day including abortion rights, same-sex marriage, voting rights, health care and immigration.

She died less than seven weeks before Election Day, allowing then-President Donald Trump to replace her with conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Barrett joined the conservative wing of the court to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022.

During her lifetime, Ginsburg developed a rock star status of sorts and was dubbed the “Notorious R.B.G.” by her liberal supporters. Although she suffered through several bouts of cancer, she continued to attend speaking events across the country and was greeted with standing ovations as she spoke about her view of the law.

Following Ginsburg’s death in 2020, the justice has been honored with several commemorations, including a bronze statue in her hometown of Brooklyn, New York, unveiled in 2021.

Ethel Kessler, an art director at USPS, designed the stamp, which will be issued in panes of 20, with a portrait by Michael J. Deas based on a photograph taken by Philip Bermingham.

Ginsburg is not the first justice to be featured on a stamp. The late Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first African American member of the Supreme Court, is among those who have been honored by the USPS.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Devan Cole contributed to this report.