6 Beautiful New USPS Forever Stamps

During the World Stamp Show in New York, the USPS issued six beautiful new forever stamps. The stamps bear a design closely resembling the design of six mid-19th century stamps. The USPS is calling the set “Classics Forever”. George Washington is portrayed on three of the stamps, Benjamin Franklin on two, and Abraham Lincoln on one.

 

The new "Classics Forever" stamps
The beautiful souvenir sheet of “Classics Forever” stamps

 

Closeup of the "Classics Forever" stamps
A closeup of the stamps

 

I’ve always loved the look of these classic stamps from the mid 1800’s, so I’m really excited to see them reissued by the USPS.

 

For those who want all the technical details about these stamps, here you go!

 

FIRST DAY— June 1, 2016; city— New York, N.Y., and nationwide.

DESIGN: designer, art director and typographer— Antonio Alcala, Alexandria, Va.; modelers—Michelle Finn and Sandra Lane.

PRINTING: process— intaglio, offset;

printer and processor— Banknote Corporation of America, Browns Summit, N.C.;

press— Alprinta 74;

inks— intaglio black, intaglio blue; Pantone Matching System 9180 cream, PMS 4545 beige, PMS 7528 tan, PMS 7530 gray, PMS 488 flesh, warm gray, PMS 8 gray;

paper— phosphor tagged, block tagging;

gum— self-adhesive;

issue quantity— 18 million stamps;

format— pane of six, from 60-subject cylinders;

size— 0.77 inches by 1.05 inches (image); 0.91 inches by 1.19 inches (overall); 4.75 inches by 6.5 inches (full pane); 24.25 inches by 13.125 inches (press sheet);

plate numbers— none;

marginal markings— “Classics Forever,” “The Classic Era” (stamp side); “©2016 USPS,” USPS logo, bar code 586800 in two positions, plate position diagram, promotional text (back side);

USPS item No.— 586804.

 

 

Here’s what the original six stamps issued in the mid-19th century look like:

 

Original 12 Cent Washington Stamp
Washington stamp, first issued in 1851 at 12 cents.

 

Original 1 Cent Franklin Stamp
Franklin stamp, first issued in 1851 at one cent.

 

Original 24 Cent Washington Stamp
Washington stamp, first issued in 1860 at 24 cents.

 

Original 90 Cent Washington Stamp
Washington stamp, first issued in 1860 at 90 cents.

 

Original 15 Cent Lincoln Stamp
Lincoln stamp, first issued in 1866 at 15 cents.

 

Original 1 Cent Franklin Stamp
Franklin stamp, first issued in 1861 at one cent.

 

While writing up this blog post, I got thinking…

How cool would it be to assemble a collection of ALL these stamps, with each stamp design–new and old–placed beside each other? I think that would be awesome, and look really neat. I’m sure I’ll shoot for it someday, when the necessary funds are there. 😉

 

Meanwhile, might as well pick up a sheet of the “Classics Forever” stamps while they’re still available. Several different sites have them for sale, one being Amazon.com.

 

Hope you enjoyed reading this post, and feel free to leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from you!

2 Comments

  1. I especially enjoyed this post. To see these beautiful stamps up close was a privilege to see. In fact, I enjoyed your Website very much. I found it fascinating. Perhaps when my financial situation improves, I will look forward to being a stamp collector. Waiting for the show in New York, would be a challenge to wait for the show to arrive again. The pictures were stunning. I got interested in stamp collecting though the plot and mystery of a John D, McDonald novel, which gave much detail explanation on how to evaluate the price of a stamp. Keep up the good work. Thanks for the interesting points you brought out.

    1. Hello Judy,
      Thanks for your comment. A neat thing about stamp collecting is that it’s possible to collect stamps on a very tight budget. Most stamps are common, meaning you can get thousands of different stamps for very little. In fact, there are collections of 1,000+ stamps selling for less than $10 on eBay right now. Though it’s rare to find a valuable stamp in any of these lots, it DOES happen.

      Thankfully there are stamp shows happening all the time, not just world stamp shows going on once a decade. 🙂

      Again, thanks for the comment, and I’m happy you like my site!

      Ian

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