The U.S. Postal Service typically issues a stamp for former presidents on their first birthday after their death. That would put a stamp for the 39th President on or about October 1. It has not yet been confirmed by the USPS.

Announced by the USPS on December 16, 2024:

Marking the 250th anniversary of the start of the Revolutionary War, this pane of 15 stamps invites us to witness and remember five turning points in the fight for American independence. Watercolor paintings depicting scenes of five battles appear alongside photographs of sites involved in each battle. Derry Noyes, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps with art by Greg Harlin and photographs by Jon Bilous, Richard Lewis, Tom Morris, Gregory J. Parker and Kevin Stewart.

Additional information will be posted below the line, with the most recent informaton at the top.

Full name of the issue: “Powwows: Celebrating Native American Culture.” Announced by the USPS on December 16, 2024:

The Postal Service strives to tell the stories of all Americans on its stamps, and issuing stamps that honor the living culture and heritage of Indigenous people is an important part of that goal. These stamps celebrate powwows, Native American social and ceremonial gatherings that feature music, dance and festive regalia. For this issuance, Cochiti Pueblo artist Mateo Romero created original paintings of four powwow dancers performing their craft against brightly colored backgrounds that highlight each dancer’s movement and traditional dress. Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps.

Additional information will be posted below the line, with the most recent informaton at the top.

Announced by the USPS on December 16, 2024:

Recreational fishing attracts more than 55 million anglers to America’s lakes, rivers, and oceans each year — and lure designs for different environments are part of its growing appeal. These stamps feature brightly detailed photographs by Sarah Cramer Shields showing five lures considered icons of the sport. Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps.

In addition, the USPS says these stamps will be issued March 13, 2025, in Springfield, MO.

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

Only 14 issues have been announced, many of them “mail-use” or “definitive” stamps. Undoubtedly, more issues will be announced.

What do you think will be in the program? What do you think should be in the program for 2025?

We’ll start: 2025 will be the 250th anniversary (“semiquincentennial” if you want to be fancy) of the Battle of Lexington & Concord, of the Second Continental Congress, and other American Revolution milestones. It will also be the centennial of a Great American Novel, The Great Gatsby. The radio program Grand Ole Opry went on the air in 1925, too.

American entertainers born that year include Gwen Verdon, Paul Newman, Elaine Stritch, Jack Lemmon, Kim Stanley, Hal Holbrook, George Kennedy, Rod Steiger, Tony Curtis, Maureen Stepleton, June Lockhart, Merv Griffin, Donald O’Connor, Mel Torme, B.B. King, Lenny Bruce, Angela Lansbury, Johnny Carson, Rock Hudson, Jonathan Winters, and Sammy Davis Jr. (Me, I’d put my money on Davis and — if they can figure out which wife has the rights — Carson.) Dick Van Dyke will turn 100 in 2025 but he’s still with us.

Remember that the U.S. Postal Service doesn’t like to commemorate disasters and other unpleasantness, so a stamp for the massive 1925 Ku Klux Klan rally in Washington is unlikely.

We used Wikipedia’s pages for 1925 and there are similar pages for toher years. The oft-ignored guidelines say anniversary increments of 50 years, not 25 or 75, and no corporations or organizations, which could seem to eliminate the Chrysler Corporation.

So what do you think?

As predicted by VSC, the USPS announced a new Priority Mail stamp on December 16^th:

USPS celebrates the continued exploration of deep space with an extremely high-definition image of a spiral galaxy 32 million light-years from Earth. The image, captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, helps researchers update their models of star formation and allows them to better understand the origins of our universe. Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp with an image from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, the Space Telescope Science Institute, Janice Lee (Space Telescope Science Institute), Thomas Williams (Oxford) and the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS Team. Upon favorable review by the Postal Regulatory Commission, the stamp will be denominated at the new Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope rate.

The stamp will be issued January 21 in Big Sky, Montana, with a “local ceremony.” Additional information will be posted below the line, with the most recent information at the top.

Updated January 13^th:
Here are the first-day postmarks for this issue:

[The Digital Color Postmark design and dimensions is not yet available.]Updated January 9^th:

On January 21, 2025, in Big Sky, MT, the United States Postal Service® will issue the $10.10 Spiral Galaxy Priority Mail® stamp, in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of four stamps (Item 123000). This stamp will go on sale nationwide January 21, 2025, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue.

This new Priority Mail stamp celebrates America’s continued exploration of deep space with another breathtaking image captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. The stamp features spiral galaxy NGC 628 located 32 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Pisces. This image helps researchers update their models of star formation and allows them to better understand the origins of our universe. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamp, using an image provided by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), ESA (European Space Agency), CSA (Canadian Space Agency), STScI (Space Telescope Science Institute), Janice Lee (STScI), Thomas Williams (Oxford), and the PHANGS (Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS) Team.

No automatic distribution.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office® or at The Postal Store® website at usps.com/shop. They must affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

FDOI – Spiral Galaxy Stamp
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service™ will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by May 21, 2025.

Technical Specifications:

Issue: Spiral Galaxy Stamp
Item Number: 123000
Denomination & Type of Issue: $10.10 Priority Mail Rate
Format: Pane of 4 (1 design)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: January 21, 2025, Big Sky, MT 59716
Art Director: Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
Designer: Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
Existing Image: NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), ESA (European Space Agency), Canadian Space Agency, Space Telescope Science Institute, Janice Lee (Space Telescope Science Institute), Thomas Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team
Modeler: Sandra Lane / Michelle Finn
Manufacturing Process: Offset, Microprint
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America
Press Type: Gallus RCS
Stamps per Pane: 4
Print Quantity: 2,400,000 stamps
Paper Type: Phosphor, Block Tag
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
Stamp Orientation: Horizontal
Image Area (w x h): 1.4200 x 1.0850 in. / 36.0680 x 27.5590 mm
Overall Size (w x h): 1.5600 x 1.2250 in. / 39.6240 x 31.1150 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): 4.1200 x 3.4500 in. / 104.6480 x87.6300 mm
Plate Size: 80 stamps per revolution
Plate Number: “B” followed by four (4) single digits
Marginal Markings:
Front: Plate number in two corners
Back: © 2024 USPS • USPS Logo • Four barcodes (123000) • Plate position diagram (10) • Promotional text

As predicted by VSC, the USPS announced a new Priority Mail stamp on December 16^th:

Featuring an image captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, this stamp shows a star cluster approximately 1,000 light-years from Earth. Hidden within the cloud of celestial dust are floating brown dwarfs — objects too small to be stars but larger than most planets. Studying these brown dwarfs will help scientists explore how star-formation processes operate for very small masses. Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp with an image provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, the Space Telescope Science Institute, Kevin Luhman (Penn State University) and Catarina Alves de Oliveira (European Space Agency). Upon favorable review by the Postal Regulatory Commission, the stamp will be denominated at the new Priority Mail Express Flat Rate Envelope rate.

The stamp will be issued January 21 in Big Sky, Montana, with a “local ceremony.” Additional information will be posted below the line, with the most recent information at the top.

Updated January 17^th:
The DCP postmark was revised due to an “artist correction.” The illustration in the next item has been replaced with the new version. The dimensions are the same.

Updated January 13^th:
Here are the first-day postmarks for this issue:The Digital Color Postmark measures 2.99″ x 1.50″This is the standard “killerbar” postmark.

Updated January 9^th:

On January 21, 2025, in Big Sky, MT, the United States Postal Service® will issue the $31.40 Star Cluster Priority Mail Express® stamp, in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of four stamps (Item 129400). This stamp will go on sale nationwide January 21, 2025, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue.

This new Priority Mail Express® stamp celebrates America’s continued exploration of deep space with another remarkable image captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. The stamp features star cluster IC 348, a formation approximately 1,000 light-years from Earth within the constellation Perseus. Hidden within the cloud of celestial dust are tiny, free-floating brown dwarfs — objects too small to be stars but larger than most planets. Studying these brown dwarfs will help scientists explore how star-formation processes operate for very small masses. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamp with an image provided by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), ESA (European Space Agency), CSA (Canadian Space Agency), STScI (Space Telescope Science Institute), Kevin Luhman (Penn State University), and Catarina Alves de Oliveira (ESA).

No automatic distribution.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office® or at The Postal Store® website at usps.com/shop. They must affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

FDOI – Star Cluster Stamp
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service™ will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by May 21, 2025.

Technical Specifications:

Issue: Star Cluster Stamp
Item Number: 129400
Denomination &Type of Issue: $31.40 Priority Mail Express Rate
Format: Pane of 4 (1 design)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: January 21, 2025, Big Sky, MT 59716
Art Director: Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
Designer: Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
Existing Photo: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Kevin Luhman (PSU), Catarina Alves de Oliveira (ESA)
Modeler: Sandra Lane / Michelle Finn
Manufacturing Process: Offset, Microprint
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America
Press Type: Gallus RCS
Stamps per Pane: 4
Print Quantity: 600,000 stamps
Paper Type: Phosphor, Block Tag
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
Stamp Orientation: Horizontal
Image Area (w x h): 1.4200 x 1.0850 in. / 36.0680 x 27.5590 mm
Overall Size (w x h): 1.5600 x 1.2250 in. / 39.6240 x 31.1150 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): 4.1200 x 3.4500 in. / 104.6480 x 87.6300 mm
Plate Size: 80 stamps per revolution
Plate Number: “B” followed by four (4) single digits
Marginal Markings:
Front: Plate number in two corners
Back: © 2024 USPS • USPS Logo • Four barcodes (129400) • Plate position diagram (10) • Promotional text

Nothing about this issue has been announced or confirmed, but The Virtual Stamp Club will go out on an evergreen limb and say that there will be such an issue and that it will likely be at least four stamps and have the word “holiday” in its name. While no references will be made in the promotional material to “Christmas,” the designs will have symbols associated with that holiday and the word “seasonal” will be used several times.

However, stamps for the Madonna and Child, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are unlikely, inasmuch as these seem to be on a two-year cycle and stamps for these subjects were issued in 2024.

A stamp or stamps will be issued to promote the upcoming International stamp show in the U.S. The first day will be either the first or second day of Great American Stamp Show, i.e., August 17 or 18. No announcement has been made by the USPS and no further details are available at this time. Shown here is the Boston 2026 logo, not the stamp design.