This 3-cent stamp was released in 1940 to mark the 80th anniversary of the Pony Express. The design features a Pony Express rider on a galloping horse. Soon after its release, the stamp drew criticism for a number of perceived errors. Horse experts claimed the horse's gait was unnatural, and some even suggested that the way its mouth was open and nostrils flared made it look as if it had been shot. Historians pointed out that the rider's saddle was of a type not used during the Pony Express era and that he did not appear to be carrying any mail. These criticisms, though perhaps minor to the average person, made the stamp a "strange" and flawed tribute in the eyes of those with expert knowledge.