With a design similar to the center stamp in the American Icons pane being issued on the same day, this stamp will be offered in panes and booklets of 20, and coils of 100, 3,000 and 10,000. A tip of the hat to VSC member “Marshall,”

“The Flag Mail Use stamp is a separate Flag issue, in sheet, booklet, and coil formats, without the “American Icons” words.”

And for comparison, here are the two designs:And for those who collect coil stamps…Photo courtesy the U.S. Postal Service.

Additional information will appear below the line, with the most recent at the top.

The Commission of Fine Arts, which consists entirely of Trump appointees, has approved a proposal for a 24k gold coin depicting President Trump. The bipartisan Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee last month refused to consider this coin. Members said in interviews that they opposed putting any sitting president or living past president on a U.S. coin, even a collector item like this one. The last time that happened was during the Coolidge administration.

The portrait of Trump is based on a photo taken by the chief White House photographer and is now hanging in the National Portrait Gallery. It shows him leaning over his desk, with his knuckles on the desktop. The other side of the coin would show an eagle.

Members of the coinage panel said in interviews that they opposed putting any sitting president or living past president on a U.S. coin, even a collector item like this one. The last time that happened was during the Coolidge administration.

“Only those nations ruled by kings or dictators display the image of their sitting ruler on the coins of the realm,” the coinage committee’s acting chairman Donald Scarinci, said in announcing that the coin would not be on the panel’s February meeting. The New Jersey Democrat has served on the committee for 20 years.

Gold coins like these are not intended for circulation. They generally are sold by the U.S. Mint for several thousand dollars.

Even without the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee’s approval, the Treasury Department has the independent power, without congressional authority, to mint coins like this.

How big would this coin be? “I think the larger the better, and the largest of that circulation, I think, would be his preference,” said the president’s executive assistant. He also said that it was “fitting” to have Mr. Trump on a coin commemorating the country’s 250th anniversary. No date has been announced for sale of this coin.

The question for stamp collectors is whether stamps featuring Trump will be next. No living person has been honored on a U.S. stamp, although living people have sometimes been used as models.

[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Boston 2026 Theme Days Decided

Boston 2026 World Expo USPS liaison Chris Lazaroff has received confirmation of the daily themes U.S. postal officials have approved.

• Day 1 – Saturday, May 23: 250th Anniversary of the U.S. Day
• Day 2 – Sunday, May 24: Favorite Stamp Day
• Day 3 – Monday, May 25 (Memorial Day): Stamp Collectors Day
• Day 4 – Tuesday, May 26: Letter Writing Day
• Day 5 – Wednesday, May 27: International Peace Day
• Day 6 – Thursday, May 28: Sports Day
• Day 7 – Friday, May 29: Honoring Heroes Day
• Day 8 – Saturday, May 30: Youth and Family Day

A related commemorative cancel will be designed by USPS and available each day of the show.

Separate daily first day cancels are expected for the Postal Service’s philatelic releases that are yet to be announced, expected by the end of March.

Boston 2026 World Expo takes place May 23-30, 2026, at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. Full show details may be found at Boston2026.org and on Facebook, X and Instagram. Sign up to be added to the Boston 2026 email list and receive updates when available.

Announced by the USPS on February 17, 2026:

Summer Sunset is a new nondenominated, nonprofit-price stamp intended for bulk mailings by authorized nonprofit organizations. The stamp features an oil painting of a sunset in Menemsha, a small fishing village in the town of Chilmark, MA, on Martha’s Vineyard by local artist Rachael Cassiani. “Sunsets are universally appealing,” said Derry Noyes, an art director for USPS who designed the stamp. “A postage stamp that celebrates looking out over a body of water at the end of a summer day seems to fit well for a nonprofit organization.” Summer Sunset will be sold in self-adhesive coils of 3,000 and 10,000.

This stamp will be issued June 25 in Edgartown, MA. Additional information will appear below the line, with the most recent at the top.

6032 (78¢) William F. Buckley

6033 (78¢) Amaryllis Flowers
6034 (78¢) Holly Wreath
6035 (78¢) Evergreen Branch
6036 (78¢) Cardinals on Mistletoe
6036a Block of 4
6036b Booklet pane of 20

6037 ($1.07) Elie Wiesel

6038 (78¢) House and Snow-Covered Trees
6039 (78¢) Snow-Covered Trees and Fence
6040 (78¢) Snow-Covered Trees and Barn
6041 (78¢) Ice-Covered Structure
6042 (78¢) Snow-Covered Trees
6042a Vertical strip of 5
6042b Booklet pane of 20

6043 Jimmy Carter

Press Release
McFarlane Exhibiting Book Wins AFDCS Ward Award

First Day Cover Philatelic Exhibiting: A Master Class by Andrew McFarlane is the 2024 winner of the American First Day Cover Society’s annual Philip H. Ward, Jr., Memorial Award for Excellence in First Day Cover Literature. It also won the Grand Award in the 2025 Great American Stamp Show literature competition as well as a large gold. The more than 500-page book was published by Exhibitors Press and is available on Amazon in both hardcover and paperback editions. Autographed copies may be ordered from his website.

The first four volumes of Kenneth M. Stern’s ongoing series of catalogues of Walter G. Crosby First Day Covers, covering 1928 through 1943, was the runner-up. The fifth and final volume, 1944 through 1949, was published earlier this year. All are also available on Amazon and Stern publishes updates on his website.

“It’s an honor even to be considered,” said McFarlane. “Receiving the award goes beyond anything I’d ever dreamed.”

As an exhibitor, he has won more than seven national exhibition Grand Awards, including that of the American First Day Cover’s Americover in 2005, 2011 and 2013. McFarlane, an IT consultant, also is the recipient of the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors’ Diamond Award for multi-frame exhibiting. He lives in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains with his wife Caroline.

Philip Henry Ward, Jr., began servicing first day covers in 1909. An electrical engineer by trade, he wrote on new issues for The American Philatelist, Mekeel’s Weekly Stamp News and The Weekly Philatelic Gazette in the early 20th century.

The American First Day Cover Society is a not-for-profit educational organization. In addition to publishing its journal First Days, the AFDCS also publishes handbooks and catalogues, and promotes the collecting of both modern and “classic” issues and cachets, as well as exhibiting FDCs. It offers awards for outstanding first day cover exhibits and an annual contest for cachetmakers, and is a co-host of the annual Great American Stamp Show.

For more information about the AFDCS, visit www.afdcs.org, e-mail afdcs@afdcs.org or write the AFDCS at Post Office Box 57, Somerset, WI 54025-0057.

[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Price of a domestic stamp increases by 25 cents
New postage rates better align stamp prices with rising cost of providing letter mail service

OTTAWA, ON, Jan. 13, 2025 /CNW/ – As was announced in September, Canada Post is increasing postage rates effective today. For stamps purchased in a booklet, coil or pane, which represent most stamp sales, the rate increases by 25 cents, to $1.24 per stamp. The price of a single domestic stamp increases to $1.44, up from $1.15.

For the last decade, Canada Post has kept regulated letter mail rate increases to a minimum. Today’s rate change represents a one-time increase of roughly 25 per cent, which is required to better align stamp prices with the rising cost of providing letter mail service to all Canadians. Every year, there are fewer letters to deliver to more addresses, which adds significant cost pressures to the Corporation on top of continued inflationary pressures.

While rate increases are necessary, Canada Post understands that they mean additional costs for customers, and the Corporation works to minimize the impact. For the average Canadian household, the estimated impact of the rate increase is $2.26 per year. For the average Canadian small business, the estimated impact is $42.17 per year. (Estimate based on average annual spending of businesses and households.)

Regulatory approval of new rates
Changes to Canada Post’s regulated letter mail rates follow the regulatory process outlined in the Canada Post Corporation Act. The proposed rate changes were published in the Canada Gazette in September 2024 and received final regulatory approval in late November. As an organization funded by revenue from the sale of its products and services – not taxpayer dollars – rate changes are a reality.

Canadians can continue to use their Permanent™ stamps, which will always be accepted at the current domestic postage price. The rate changes also affect other products, including U.S., international letter-post and domestic Registered Mail™ items. Commercial letter mail price changes, also effective today, correspond to the regulated letter mail rate increase.

The Washington Post reports that President-elect Trump has been talking to advisors about privatizing the U.S. Postal Service. The newspaper says people with knowledge of the subject have said that Trump feels the government should not subsidize the mail carrier, especially in light of its financial losses.

“There’s a lot of [other] carrier services that became legal in the ’70s that are doing things so much better with increased volumes and reduced costs,” Casey Mulligan, who served as a top economist in the first Trump administration, told the Post.

The paper points out that Trump “feuded with the nation’s mail carrier as president in 2019, trying to force it to hand over key functions — including rate-setting, personnel decisions, labor relations and managing relationships with its largest clients — to the Treasury Department.” He also opposed voting by mail.

The USPS says it processed more than 99 million ballots last month, “In 2024, the Postal Service once again admirably performed our role of efficiently and effectively delivering the nation’s ballots,” said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in a press release.

The Post warns that changes to the USPS could have a major impact on the e-commerce industry. Cuts in its service could also have a backlash from voters (and members of Congress) in rural areas that are only served by the USPS, which pledges six-day-a-week delivery to every address in the U.S.

How would privatization affect stamp collectors? Would we see more issues for toys like Hot Wheels (2018) and movie releases like “Lightyear” (2022)?

Note: You may need a subscription to read the entire Washington Post article.

[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Canada Post to unveil stamps celebrating the cultural impact of MuchMusic and MusiquePlus

Canada Post invites you to celebrate our newest stamps honouring MuchMusic and MusiquePlus.

These groundbreaking, interactive television stations connected Canadians with their favourite anglophone and francophone musicians and established a platform for generations of Canadian artists.

Two celebrations will take place at the iconic buildings that housed MuchMusic in Toronto and MusiquePlus in Montréal. There will be opportunities to chat with prominent legacy and current VJs and see the newest Canada Post stamps wrapped on an iconic Canada Post delivery truck.

Toronto – MuchMusic stamp
When: Thursday, October 10 between 10 am and noon
Where: Bell Media Studios
299 Queen Street West, Toronto

Montréal – MusiquePlus stamp
When: Thursday, October 10 between 9 am and noon
Where: Former MusiquePlus studio
201 Sainte-Catherine Street East, at the corner of Hôtel-de-Ville Avenue in Montréal

by Danforth Guy

Another first look: The stamp marking Eid (Eid al-Fitr) from Canada Post acknowledges the end of the fast of Ramadan with cakes and sweets that are typically enjoyed.

Eid occurs this year on April 9-10. One postal source says the stamp is set to come out in a few days. A national stamp organization says April. The Virtual Stamp Club says November, which doesn’t coincide with the holiday. [That was from a Canada Post release on December 20th.]

The stamps will sell in booklets of 6 at the domestic rate of 92c (‘P’). There is no first day location information.

This image comes from a post office placemat, hence the low quality. (But we have cleaned it up. Click on this image for a larger version.)

Updated March 28th:
[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Stamp showcasing maamoul commemorates Islamic festivals of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha
Canada Post is proud to mark two festivals, celebrated by more than
a million Muslims in Canada, with stamp featuring the popular treat

OTTAWA – Canada Post issued a new stamp today to mark two important Islamic holidays: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. The commemorative stamp features maamoul, Middle Eastern cookies, and a traditional carved wooden mould used to make them.

Melt-in-your-mouth cookies stuffed with a delicious walnut, pistachio or date filling, maamoul are a sweet staple during Eid celebrations. They are traditionally handmade from semolina and flavoured with fragrant rose or orange-blossom water andmahlab – a spice made from ground cherry pits. Before baking, the balls of dough are stuffed with walnut, pistachio or date filling and formed with specially carved wooden moulds.

Early versions of maamoul can be traced back to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Today, family and friends often gather before Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha to bake the cookies together. Served to guests and given as gifts, maamoul are also made across much of the Middle East to celebrate other holidays, such as Easter and Purim.

This year, Eid al-Fitr – the Festival of Breaking the Fast – begins in April, after the end of Ramadan. The stamp was issued today, so that it can be used to send greetings before the festival. Eid al-Adha, or the Festival of Sacrifice, marks the end of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest Muslim city. In 2024, Eid al-Adha begins in June.

Celebrated by more than one million Muslims in Canada, both events can last several days and include communal prayers and feasts, visits with family, gift-giving and acts of charity.

Celebrating Canada’s culturally diverse population
The 2024 issue is Canada Post’s sixth Eid stamp; the others were issued in 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

The Eid stamp is one of several stamps Canada Post issues each year to mark annual celebrations important to Canada’s culturally diverse population – others include Diwali, Hanukkah and Christmas.

About the stamp
The stamp was designed by Kristine Do, photographed by Maya Visnyei, with food styling by David Grenier. Printed by Colour Innovations, the issue includes booklets of six Permanent™ domestic rate stamps and an Official First Day Cover cancelled in London, Ontario.

The new stamp and collectibles are available at canadapost.ca and postal outlets across Canada.

[en Francais pour les médias d’information]
Un timbre consacré aux maâmouls souligne les fêtes islamiques de l’Aïd al-Fitr et de l’Aïd al-Adha
Postes Canada est fière de souligner deux fêtes célébrées par plus d’un million de personnes au Canada avec un timbre mettant en vedette ces biscuits populaires.

OTTAWA – Postes Canada a émis un nouveau timbre aujourd’hui pour souligner deux fêtes islamiques importantes : l’Aïd al-Fitret l’Aïd al-Adha. Le timbre commémoratif met en vedette des maâmouls, des biscuits du Moyen-Orient, et le moule en bois sculpté traditionnel utilisé pour les façonner.

Les délicieux biscuits sablés fourrés de noix de Grenoble, de pistaches ou de dattes sont un incontournable lors des fêtes de l’Aïd. Ils sont traditionnellement fabriqués à la main à partir de semoule et parfumés avec de l’eau de rose ou de fleur d’oranger et du mahaleb (de l’arabe mahlab), une épice faite à partir de noyaux de cerise broyés. Avant la cuisson, les boules de pâte sont fourrées de noix de Grenoble, de pistaches ou de dattes, et modelées à l’aide de moules en bois spécialement sculptés.

Des versions antérieures remontent à l’Égypte ancienne et à la Mésopotamie. Aujourd’hui, membres de la famille et autres proches se rassemblent souvent avant l’Aïd al-Fitr et l’Aïd al-Adha pour préparer les biscuits ensemble. Servis aux convives et offerts en cadeau, les maâmouls sont également cuisinés au Moyen-Orient à l’occasion d’autres fêtes, comme Pâques et Purim.

Cette année, l’Aïd al-Fitr, ou fête de la rupture du jeûne, commence en avril, après le ramadan. Le timbre a été émis aujourd’hui afin qu’on puisse l’utiliser pour envoyer des vœux avant la fête. L’Aïd al-Adha, ou fête du sacrifice, souligne la fin du pèlerinage du Hajj à La Mecque, en Arabie saoudite, la ville musulmane la plus sacrée. En 2024, elle commence en juin.

D’une durée de plusieurs jours, les fêtes sont célébrées par plus d’un million de fidèles au Canada. Elles sont généralement synonymes de prières communes, de visites familiales, de festins partagés, de cadeaux et d’actes de charité.

Célébrer la diversité culturelle du Canada
L’émission de 2024 est le sixième timbre de l’Aïd de Postes Canada; les autres ont été émis en 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022 et 2023.

La vignette consacrée à l’Aïd fait partie des nombreuses émissions annuelles soulignant des fêtes importantes pour la population diversifiée du Canada, notamment Diwali, Hanoukka et Noël.

À propos du timbre
Le timbre a été conçu par Kristine Do, la photo prise par Maya Visnyei et le stylisme culinaire réalisé par David Grenier. Imprimée par Colour Innovations, l’émission comprend un carnet de six timbres Permanents🅪 au tarif du régime intérieur et un pli Premier Jour officiel oblitéré à London, en Ontario.

Le timbre et les articles de collection sont en vente sur postescanada.ca et dans les comptoirs postaux partout au pays.

Updated March 31st: [click to see a larger view]