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Collect the first 176 Years of United States Stamps! Click here to get started!
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2020 USPS Stamp IssuesIn announcing the USPS 2020 stamp program, U.S. Postal Service Stamp Services Acting Executive Director William Gicker stated, “since 1847, the Postal Service stamp program has celebrated the people, events and cultural milestones unique to the history of the United States. The 2020 stamp subjects continue this rich tradition. These miniature works of art offer something for everyone interested in American history and culture.” TBD = To Be Determined; PSA = Pressure-sensitive Adhesive; A Forever stamp is always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce rate when used on a one-ounce envelope. Stamp Issues:
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Stamp Issues 2020 |
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Drug Free USA Forever Stamp The Drug Free USA stamp will be issued in October, during Red Ribbon Week, the nation’s oldest and largest drug use prevention awareness program. In 1988, the National Family Partnership coordinated the first National Red Ribbon Week with President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan serving as honorary chairpersons. The week runs Oct. 23-31 and coincides with National Substance Abuse Prevention Month every October. The Drug Free USA Forever stamp art features a white star with lines of red, light blue and blue radiating from one side of each of the star’s five points, intended to suggest the unity necessary at all levels to effectively address drug abuse. |
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Our Lady of Guápulo Forever Stamp This Christmas stamp features a detail of the painting “Our Lady of Guápulo.” Painted in the 18th century by an unknown artist in Cuzco, Peru, “Our Lady of Guápulo” is from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Enrobed in a pyramidal gown speckled with jewels and holding a scepter woven with roses and leaves, a crowned Virgin Mary looks down at a similarly adorned Christ Child in her left arm. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamp. |
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Winter Scenes Forever Stamp Winter Scenes celebrates the beauty and serenity of seasonal sights amid snowy landscapes. The 10 different photographs featured in this booklet of 20 stamps showcase the special allure of winter, with iconic scenes from the northern United States. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamps with existing images taken by various photographers. |
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Kwanzaa Forever Stamp Kwanzaa, the annual Pan-African holiday, takes place over seven days from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, bringing family, community and culture together for many African Americans. The stamp design features the face of a woman in profile with her eyes closed. Her contemplative demeanor signifies the ways in which observers of Kwanzaa reflect on the seven founding principles, the Nguzo Saba, and their role in everyday life. A kinara (candleholder) with the seven lit candles (mishumaa saba) sits in front of her. Cool tones evoke a sense of inner peace, and vibrant design elements give the artwork a celebratory feel. Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamp with original artwork by Andrea Pippins. |
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Hanukkah Forever Stamp This new stamp celebrates the joyous Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. The stamp art’s colorful digital illustration shows the lighting of the nine-branched Hanukkah menorah on the last evening of the holiday. All eight of the Hanukkah candles have been lit, and the child is reaching up to replace the shamash, the helper candle used to light the others in the menorah. Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamp with original art by Jing Jing Tsong. Choice of New Rochelle for the First Day of Issue for the Hanukkah stamp is timely. After a synagogue in New Rochelle was designated as a possible source of a Covid-19 outbreak in early March, the citizens of the town and surrounding Westchester towns pulled together to help stop the outbreak. |
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Holiday Delights Forever Stamp Inspired by folk art but with a modern graphic vibe, these stamps are intended to add a touch of whimsy to your holiday mailings. With a traditional palette of red, green and white, illustrator Kirsten Ulve channeled her love of Christmas, vintage ornaments and Scandinavian folk art to create unique digital illustrations of four holiday icons: a prancing reindeer with antlers; an ornament tied with a bow and ready to hang; a tree topped with a star; and a stocking holding a teddy bear and a sprig of holly. Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamps. |
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Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor Forever Stamp On Dec. 16, 1620, a ship that carried 102 English passengers completed a perilous voyage across the Atlantic Ocean from Plymouth, England, and anchored offshore of today’s Plymouth, Mass. The Pilgrims’ story is intertwined with the story of the Wampanoag Native Americans, who made an alliance with the Pilgrims and forged a treaty with them that maintained relative peace for more than 50 years. The Pilgrims might not have survived their first year without the help and advice of the Wampanoag, with whom they celebrated their first harvest in the fall of 1621. The stamp also features a stylized hawthorn flower printed in intaglio. In England, the hawthorn, a member of the rose family, is sometimes called a mayflower, as it blooms in May. |
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19th Amendment: Women Vote Forever Stamp This stamp commemorates the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees women the right to vote. Inspired by historic photographs, the stamp features a stylized illustration of suffragists marching in a parade or other public demonstration. The clothes they wear and the banners they bear display the official colors of the National Woman’s Party—purple, white and gold. Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamp with original art by Nancy Stahl. |
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Thank You Forever Stamps These four new stamps in a booklet of 20 are intended for notes, cards and letters of thanks sent to acknowledge a favor, an act of kindness, a job well done or gifts sent for any occasion. Highlighted in gold foil are the words “Thank you” in cursive script and an elegant floral design that swirls through and around the words. Each stamp features one of four background colors: blue gray, deep blue, muted green or soft maroon. Greg Breeding was the art director. Dana Tanamachi was the stamp designer and lettering artist. |
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Innovation Forever Stamps Originally planned for the APS Great American Stamp Show that had to be canceled due to Covid-19 concerns, these stamps will instead be issued at APS headquarters on the same day the show would have started. The issue celebrates the American spirit of innovation with five different designs, each representing an area in which U.S. scientists and engineers have made significant contributions: Computing, Biomedicine, Genome sequencing, Robotics and Solar technology. Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamps, and chose a detail of an existing photograph for each. |
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Ruth Asawa Forever Stamps These stamps honor pioneering Japanese American artist Ruth Asawa,featuring photographs of 10 of Asawa’s wire sculptures. From Wikipedia we learn: “Asawa’s work is in the collections of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Fifteen of her wire sculptures are on permanent display in the tower of San Francisco’s de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park, and several of her fountains are located in public places in San Francisco. Asawa was an arts education advocate and the driving force behind the creation of the San Francisco School of the Arts, which was renamed the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts in 2010 in tribute to her.” |
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Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary 10 Forever Stamps The USPS issued these stamps to celebrate Bugs Bunny’s 80th birthday. Best known for his impeccable impersonations and his masterful masquerades, the 10 designs on this pane showcase a costumed Bugs Bunny in some of his most memorable getups. Born of a team of young animators who produced Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons, Bugs’ name came from one of those early cartoonists; “Bugs” and “Bugsy” were trendy nicknames at the time, signifying a crazed or wacky disposition. Since his debut in the short-subject cartoon “A Wild Hare” in 1940, generations of audiences have cheered Bugs’ gleeful gusto, quick wit and endless clever resourcefulness. In addition to the stamps, 80 new eleven-minute Looney Tunes Cartoons adapted for present-day audiences from classic storylines will be aired on HBO Max. The stamps and the reverse of the pane were created especially for this issue by Warner Bros. animation artists. |
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Fruits & Vegetables Forever Stamps The Postal Service builds on similar past issues with these still-life paintings, in a booklet of 20 stamps featuring 10 different portraits of fruits and vegetables. Each stamp features a collection of one kind of fruit or vegetable: red and black plums, heirloom and cherry tomatoes, carrots, lemons, blueberries, red and green grapes, lettuces, strawberries, eggplants and figs. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamps with existing art by Robert Papp. |
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Hip Hop Forever Stamps ‘Pushing the envelope’ of U.S. stamp themes, the Postal Service celebrates hip hop with four new stamps in a pane of 20. Since its inception more than four decades ago, the electrifying music, dance and art movement has profoundly influenced American and global popular culture. The stamp art features photographs taken by Cade Martin that depict four elements of hip hop: MCing (rapping), b-boying (breakdancing), DJing and graffiti art. The bold, digitally tinted images are intended to appear in motion. The name of the element featured appears across the top of each stamp. Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamps. |
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$25 Federal Duck Stamp and $5 Junior Duck Stamp (not postage stamps) The 2020-2021 Federal Duck Stamp features a pair of black-bellied whistling-ducks painted by Alabama artist Eddy LeRoy. The new stamp is valid from July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021. In addition to being required by waterfowl hunters age 16 and older, it also is popular with conservationists and collectors. Duck stamps are not postage stamps; they are conservation revenue stamps. The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) produces the Federal Duck Stamp, which raises millions of dollars each year. FWS states that 98 percent of the purchase price goes directly to help acquire and protect wetland habitat and purchase conservation easements for the National Wildlife Refuge System. The 2020-2021 Junior Duck Stamp features a wood duck painted by Madison Grimm, 13, of South Dakota. |
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U.S. Flag Stamped Envelope A familiar sight on public buildings and private homes alike, the American flag has been portrayed in myriad ways on U.S. postage. This stamped envelope features a graphic design of the flag that evokes a rich sense of history even as it presents a recognizable icon in a fresh, contemporary way. Kit Hinrichs created the artwork for this stamped envelope. Ethel Kessler served as art director. |
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Enjoy the Great Outdoors Forever Stamps With the release of the Enjoy the Great Outdoors Forever stamps, the Postal Service celebrates the many ways individuals experience America’s abundance of natural beauty. These hand-sketched and painted designs depict these five different scenes of outdoor activities: building a sand castle, hiking, cross-country skiing, canoeing and biking. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamps with original art by Gregory Manchess. |
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Voices of the Harlem Renaissance Forever Stamps Voices of the Harlem Renaissance Forever Stamps These stamps celebrate one of the great artistic and literary movements in American history, the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, which firmly established African Americans as a vital force in literature and the arts. Twenty stamps showcase four stylized pastel portraits of these literary figures: writer, philosopher, educator and arts advocate Alain Locke; novelist Nella Larsen; bibliophile and historian Arturo Alfonso Schomburg; and poet Anne Spencer. African-inspired motifs are used as background elements of each portrait. The pane header shows a cityscape in silhouette with a sun in its midst and the title “Voices of the Harlem Renaissance.” The artist for these stamps was Gary Kelley. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamps. |
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American Gardens Forever Stamps The Postal Service celebrates the beauty of American gardens in a pane of 20 stamps that feature these 10 different photographs of botanic, country estate and municipal gardens: Biltmore Estate Gardens (North Carolina); Brooklyn Botanic Garden (New York); Chicago Botanic Garden (Illinois); Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens (Maine); Dumbarton Oaks Garden (District of Columbia); The Huntington Botanical Gardens (California); Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park (Florida); Norfolk Botanical Garden (Virginia); Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens (Ohio); and Winterthur Garden (Delaware). Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamps with existing photographs by Allen Rokach. |
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Chrysanthemum Global Forever Stamp Chrysanthemum is the design for the new Global Forever international rate stamp that can be used to mail a 1-ounce letter to any country where First-Class Mail International service is available. At January 1, 2020 that rate currently remained at $1.15. The stamp is round and features a photograph of a pink chrysanthemum on a white background. Taken from above, the photograph highlights the intricate features of the bloom. The art director was William J. Gicker. Greg Breeding designed the stamp with an existing photograph by Hong Vo. |
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Earth Day Forever Stamp Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the Postal Service issues a stamp featuring a playful painting of the planet, with small green lines surrounding Earth and hand-lettered text. Environmental groups have sought to make Earth Day into a day of action to change human behavior and provoke policy changes. Walt Kelly created an anti-pollution poster featuring his comic strip character Pogo with the quotation “We have met the enemy and he is us” to promote the 1970 Earth Day. Preceded by various environmental-themed stamps, the first USPS Earth Day stamps were not issued until 1995. Art director Antonio Alcalá was the stamp artist and designer. Ricky Altizer was the typographer. |
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Contemporary Boutonniere Forever Stamp Contemporary Boutonniere is a new Forever stamp similar in design to the new 2-ounce Garden Corsage stamp. In addition to wedding RSVP cards, it can be used for party invitations, thank-you notes, birthday cards, and other occasions. The stamp features a photograph of an arrangement of a burgundy mini-cymbidium orchid bloom, a succulent and a touch of green hydrangea, accented with loops of variegated lily grass, as arranged by floral designer Carol Caggiano and photographed by Renée Comet. Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamp. |
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Garden Corsage 2-Ounce Forever Stamp The Postal Service introduces Garden Corsage, a new 2-ounce stamp similar in design to the Contemporary Boutonniere 1-ounce rate stamp. It can accommodate the weight of heavy invitations as well as mailings such as small gifts that require extra postage. The stamp features a photograph of a corsage containing a spray of peach roses and a pink ranunculus, accented with deep-pink heather and seeded eucalyptus. A cream-colored lace ribbon entwines the flowers. The corsage was arranged by floral designer Carol Caggiano and photographed by Renée Comet. Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamp. |
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Maine Statehood Forever Stamp This stamp celebrates the 200th anniversary of Maine statehood. Nicknamed the Pine Tree State, Maine was part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts until 1820, when it voted to secede from Massachusetts to become a separate state. The 150th Anniversary was celebrated with a 1970 stamp. On March 15, 1820, under the Missouri Compromise, it was admitted to the Union as the 23rd state. American painter Edward Hopper was among the many prominent artists who sought the tranquility of the state’s coastal towns during the summer. His painting “Sea at Ogunquit” (1914) captures the rugged beauty characteristic of Maine. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamp. |
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Arnold Palmer Forever Stamp This stamp honors champion golfer Arnold Palmer (1929–2016). With drive and charisma, he helped transform a game once seen as a pastime for the elite into a sport enjoyed by the masses, with “Arnie’s Army” leading the way. The stamp features James Drake’s photo of Palmer at the 1964 United States Open at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, MD. The issue site and date of the stamp is Saturday, April 4 at the Bay Hill Club during the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational. During a nearly decade-long period beginning in 1958, Palmer led the PGA Tour in yearly money winnings four times; twice earned PGA Player of the Year honors; and was a member er of six victorious U.S. Ryder Cup international competition teams. |
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Wild Orchids Forever Stamps Flowers in general are among the most popular stamps in the U.S. and around the world. A set of four Orchids stamps was issued by the USPS in 1984, and they have appeared within other U.S. flower issues. The 2020 stamps, to be issued in booklets of 20 and coils of 3,000 and 10,000, feature photographs of one of nine species that grow wild in the United States: Cypripedium californicum, Hexalectris spicata, Cypripedium reginae, Spiranthes odorata, Triphora trianthophoros, Platanthera grandiflora, Cyrtopodium polyphyllum, Calopogon tuberosus and Platanthera leucophaea. Orchids also have common names, with some plants having several different names in popular use. Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamps with existing photographs by Jim Fowler. |
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Let’s Celebrate! Forever Stamp Let’s Celebrate! is the latest USPS stamp that can add fun to celebratory greeting cards, invitations and gift-bearing envelopes and packages. No matter the occasion, birthday, anniversary, holiday, engagement, new job, retirement, Let’s Celebrate! helps send cheer along with well wishes. The stamp features an array of colorful circles in varying sizes arranged in a random pattern. The letters in the word “celebrate,” cast in a dark green hue, appear inside several brightly colored circles on a white background. Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamp. |
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Star Presorted First Class Rate Forever Stamp The Presorted Star stamp is a First Class Forever rate stamp designed to meet the needs of business mailers, and is sold in self-adhesive coils of 3,000 and 10,000. According to the Postal People, “this new stamp celebrates the beloved American Stars and Stripes by focusing on its vital components. The asymmetrical design includes one large white star, two white and three red stripes, and a brilliant blue background, as well as lettering and three small stars in gold.” Though not mentioned in that description, it does give the positive impression of the speeding along of mail. Greg Breeding was the art director and Matthew Pamer was the designer for the stamp. |
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Gwen Ifill Black Heritage Forever Stamp The 43rd stamp in the Black Heritage series that began in 1978 honors Gwen Ifill (1955–2016), one of America’s most esteemed journalists. Among the first African Americans to hold prominent positions in both broadcast and print journalism, Ifill was a trailblazer in the profession. In 1999, she became the first woman of African descent to host a nationally televised U.S public affairs program with Washington Week in Review. The stamp features a photo of Ifill taken in 2008 by photographer Robert Severi. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamp. |
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Made of Hearts Love Forever Stamp The first USPS Love stamp was issued in 1973. “Made of Hearts” 2020 stamp features horizontal lines of red and pink hearts on a white background. Toward the center, red hearts in varying sizes replace pink hearts in a formation that creates one large red heart, the focal point of this graphic design. Beyond romantic messages, the stamp is intended for use on thank-you notes, get-well cards or any occasion when love is the perfect message. Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamp.
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Grand Island Ice Caves, $26.35 Michigan Express Mail Stamp This new Express Mail stamp depicts the winter beauty of the Grand Island Ice Caves in Lake Superior, on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Grand Island is marked by massive sandstone bluffs that are especially dramatic in winter when lake water seeps into the crevices and caverns, forming magnificent ice curtains and icicles that hang like stalactites from ceilings. The stamp art features a colorful illustration of how one of these ever-changing ice caves might appear from the inside looking out toward the west at sunset. Viewing ice caves and ice formations has become a popular winter activity at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and the surrounding area. The ice generally begins to form by mid-December and remains until early April, forming columns of blue, white, or yellow ice 20-50 feet high.
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Big Bend Texas, $7.75 Priority Mail Stamp The Big Bend stamp captures the beauty of the Big Bend region in West Texas, where river, mountain and desert ecosystems coexist in its vast expanses. The stamp art depicts the Rio Grande flowing between the sheer limestone cliffs of Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend National Park. Per Wikipedia, “Because the Rio Grande serves as an international boundary, the park faces unusual constraints while administering and enforcing park rules, regulations, and policies. In accordance with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the park's territory extends only to the center of the deepest river channel as the river flowed in 1848. The rest of the land south of that channel, and the river, lies within Mexican territory. The park is bordered by the protected areas of Parque Nacional Cañon de Santa Elena and Maderas del Carmen in Mexico.” |
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Lunar New Year: Year of the Rat Forever Stamp Lunar New Year: Year of the Rat Forever Stamp The first USPS Lunar New Year stamp was issued in December 1992. In 2020, the Postal Service is launching its third Lunar New Year series. The Year of the Rat observance begins January 25, 2020, and ends February 11, 2021. Calling to mind the elaborately decorated masks used in the dragon dance often performed in Lunar New Year parades, this three-dimensional mask is a contemporary take on the long tradition of paper-cut folk art crafts created during this time of year. Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamp with original artwork by Camille Chew.
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| Stamp images provided by the United States Postal Service. Copyright © 2020 USPS. All Rights Reserved. |
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