Announced October 23, 2023:
The radiant beauty of fall will be celebrated with 10 new stamps in a pane of 20, featuring a portfolio of brilliant photographs taken in a variety of locations around the United States. Ethel Kessler, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps with existing photographs by renowned nature and garden photographer Allen Rokach (1941–2021).
Further information will be posted below the line, with the newest information at the top.
Updated September 6th:
The Scott catalogue numbers for this issue
- 5929 Trees, Purple Shadow at Lower Right
- 5930 Trees Covering Wagon Path
- 5931 Trees and Grassy Path
- 5932 Canopies of Trees with Green, Yellow, Orange and Red Leaves
- 5933 Tree with Orange Brown Leaves and Trunk at Lower Right
- 5934 Grove of Trees with Purple shadowed Trunks Right
- 5935 Trees with Blue and Purple Shadows
- 5936 Tree with Red Orange Leaves, Tree with Green Leaves at Upper Right
- 5937 Tree with Brown and Green Leaves
- 5938 Tree With Orange Leaves, Blue Sky in Background
- b. Block of 10, #5929-5938
- c. Imperforate block of 10, #5929a-5938a
Updated July 11th: Jump to Details • Postmarks • Ceremony
On August 16, 2024, in Hartford, CT, the United States Postal Service® will issue the Autumn Colors stamps (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate), in 10 designs, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 485600). These stamps will go on sale nationwide August 16, 2024, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue. The Autumn Colors commemorative pane of 20 stamps must not be split and the stamps must not be sold individually.
Autumn Colors celebrates the radiant beauty of fall with 10 new stamps in a pane of 20, featuring images from a variety of locations around the U.S. taken by renowned nature and garden photographer Allen Rokach (1941–2021). Rokach often used what he called the “Rokach effect,” a technique that gives photos an impressionistic cast. Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamps.
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 store.usps.com/store/home. 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 – Autumn Colors Stamps
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 December 16, 2024.
Technical Specifications:
Issue: Autumn Colors Stamps
Item Number: 485600
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Pane of 20 (10 designs)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: August 16, 2024, Hartford, CT 06101
Art Director: Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
Designer: Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
Existing Photos: Allen Rokach
Modeler: Joseph Sheeran
Manufacturing Process: Offset, Flexographic
Printer: Ashton Potter
Press Type: Muller A76
Stamps per Pane: 20
Print Quantity: 30,000,000
Paper Type: Nonphosphored Type III, Block Tag Applied
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Colors: Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, PMS Cool Gray 7C
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): 7.5000 x 7.7300 in. / 190.5000 x 196.3420 mm
Press Sheets Size (w x h): 22.5000 x 23.1900 in. / 571.5000 x 589.0260 mm
Plate Size: 180 stamps per revolution
Plate Number: “P” followed by five (5) single digits in the bottom corners
Marginal Markings:
Front: Header: AUTUMN COLORS
Plate number in bottom corners
Back: © 2023 USPS • USPS Logo • Two barcodes (485600) • Plate position diagram (9) • Promotional text
Here are the first-day postmarks for this issue:
The Digital Color Postmark measures 2.66″ x 1.45″ 
The Pictorial Postmark measures 2.65″ x 1.13″ 
Also available on the first-day: This Americover pictorial, which measures 2.95″ x 1.56″
[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Autumn Colors Stamps to Be Issued at Great American Stamp Show
What: The U.S. Postal Service celebrates the radiant beauty of fall with Autumn Colors, new Forever stamps to be issued in conjunction with the Great American Stamp Show in Hartford, CT.
The first-day-of-issue event is free and open to the public. News of the stamps is being shared with the hashtag #AutumnColorsStamps.
Who: Heather Dyer, USPS vice president, chief information security officer
When: Friday, Aug. 16, at 11 a.m. EDT
Where: :
The Great American Stamp Show
Connecticut Convention Center
Hall AB
100 Columbus Blvd.
Hartford, CT 06103
RSVP: Attendees are encouraged to register at: usps.com/autumncolors
Background: In many parts of the United States, autumn rivals spring as the most resplendent time of year, thanks to the rich palette of reds, yellows and oranges that bursts onto the landscape every fall. The Postal Service celebrates this radiant annual display with its Autumn Colors stamps.
As days shorten and summer’s warmth begins to fade, the trees around us prepare for the biochemical changes that will soon transform their bright green foliage into the golden ochres, flaming vermilions and burnt oranges so characteristic of autumn.
During spring and summer, leaves appear green due to the continuous creation of chlorophyll, a result of photosynthesis. As the light diminishes and nights become crisper, photosynthesis begins to slow and finally stops altogether. Leaves lose their green color and reveal carotenoids, yellow and orange pigments that were present all year but masked by the abundant chlorophyll. Sunny, warm days and cool nights also trigger the production of anthocyanins, the vibrant red and purple pigments observed in trees such as the black gum, red maple and sumac.
The pane of 20 stamps shows a portfolio of 10 brilliant photographs taken by renowned nature and garden photographer Allen Rokach (1941–2021). Rokach often used what he called the “Rokach effect,” a technique that gives photos an impressionistic cast. In addition to the classic autumn colors of orange, red and yellow, the photographs show flashes of vermilion, ocher, violet and cobalt in different landscapes.
There are many places across the United States to experience autumn leaves in all their glory. New England, where weather conditions provide the optimal environment for the range of intense colors, attracts millions of “leaf-peepers” each fall, and the Blue Ridge Parkway and Maryland’s Eastern Shore follow the patterns of their leaf cousins in the northeast.
Other places with spectacular fall color include Aspen, CO, named for the golden aspens that surround this Rocky Mountain town; Taos, NM, and surrounding desert; the Great Smoky Mountains; and the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon.
Ethel Kessler, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps with existing photographs by Allen Rokach.
Autumn Colors stamps are being issued in panes of 20. Because they are Forever stamps, they will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce price.
Updated December 19th:
These stamps will be issued Friday, August 16, at Great American Stamp Show in Hartford, Conn.
