Used U.S. Stamps
By 1900, the United States Post Office had taken over all stamp sales. From then until now, the postal service has issued many different U.S. stamps. If you are a stamp collector or you are interested in starting a collection, then you may have many questions.
What are some of the themes of U.S. definitives?
The United States Post Office has used many themes on definitives for collecting including:
- History- A printing mistake on a 1918 definitive showed a Curtis JN-4 airplane, called the Jenny, printed upside down.
- Patriotic- The purple 1919 Victory and Flags, issued to commemorate the end of World War I, is an example.
- Statehood- Definitives celebrating the 50th and 100th anniversaries of when each state was admitted to the Union were sold.
- Nature- The set of three definitives issued in 1956 to promote wildlife conservation are very rare.
- People- The first postage stamps bearing such watermarks are from the 1908 series featuring George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.
- Holidays- For over five decades, the U.S. Post Office has issued Christmas definitives. It has also issued definitives for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, and Diwali.
- Seasonal- Many different seasons have been featured on U.S. definitives including autumn in New York, West Virginia, New Hampshire, and Vermont
- Love- In 1981, the U.S.P.S. started annually issuing one new love definitive until 1995 when it kept the same definitive for two years. The 33 cent love definitive was the first stamp cut in the shape of an image.
- Sports- Numerous sport icons have had their likenesses reproduced on U.S. postage stamps including National Rodeo Hall of Famer Bill Pickett whose likeness was accidentally replaced with those of his little brothers.
- Disney- Walt Disney first made his way onto a definitive in 1968, and Disney's characters soon followed with Disney's Pixar characters getting their own series in 2011.
What are U.S. semipostals?
The U.S.P.S. has printed semipostals to raise funds for charities. Semipostals sell for more than a normal definitive with the extra money collected being contributed to the cause. A breast cancer awareness semipostal was first issued in the year 1998. The Heroes of 2001 was released in June 2002, followed by the Stop Family Violence semipostal in 2006. The Save Vanishing Species semipostal was released in September, 2011.
What are prexie postage stamps?
In 1938, the government issued a complete set of postage stamps showing the busts of all 29 presidents up through President Calvin Coolidge. To keep the presidents in order, they assigned a different value to each one. Those using these stamps had to buy additional units in order to raise the value of their postage to the current postage rate. Therefore, the government added a $0.05 postage stamp showing the likeness of Benjamin Franklin, a $0.015 one showing the likeness of Martha Washington, and a $0.045 one showing an image of the White House.
What are The Heat of the Sun forever stamps?
The postal service released a new forever stamp on June 20, 2017. Unlike previous forever stamps with a fixed worth showcasing the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell, and other patriotic symbols, this forever one changes images when you touch it. The stamp was released to celebrate the total eclipse of the sun that occurred in August 2017, and it is the first stamp printed with thermochromic ink.