Latest information on this issue
Overwhelming winner, by 40,000 more votes than the next-highest issue. More details to come. Thanks to Jim McKean of the USPS and Foster Miller of the AFDCS for additional information.
It is being issued both in a pane and a souvenir sheet.The souvenir sheet has four new stamps on it. The single reprint has a “2026” year date. The city in the first-day postmark is Pittsburgh, where the original stamp was issued on March 23, 2018.
Here’s the USPS press release; VSC’s notes follow it.
[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Welcome Back to the Neighborhood, Mister Rogers
USPS announces Stamp Encore contest winner
BOSTON — Today at the Boston 2026 World Exposition, the Postal Service announced the winner of its Stamp Encore contest: the Mister Rogers stamp from 2018. To celebrate 
the organization’s 250th anniversary, and gear up to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary, the public was invited to vote on their favorite of 25 stamp panes from the Postal Service’s recent past.
The Mister Rogers stamp was re-issued — along with a new, four-image Mister Rogers souvenir sheet — in a ceremony as part of the exposition’s favorite stamp theme day. The stamps and souvenir sheet are exclusively on sale at the Boston 2026 Expo through May 30, and will then be available at Post Office locations nationwide and online at The Postal Store starting June 1.
“When we issued the Mister Rogers stamp in 2018, we ordered a print run of some 12 million. That may sound like a lot, but Mister Rogers really took us by surprise,” said Isaac Cronkhite, the Postal Service’s chief processing and distribution officer and executive vice president. “Within just a few weeks, the stamps 
honoring this humble, softspoken man had sold out completely.”
“Fred Rogers often shared the idea that ‘You are not just the age you are. You are all the ages you ever have been.’ In this context, I believe the Mister Rogers stamp resonated with the child in each of us — and the children and former children who cast so many votes,” Cronkhite said, linking the positive public response to how Rogers addressed childhood insecurities in a calm, reassuring manner that helped viewers feel safe in a sometimes-frightening world. “Although his show allowed him to speak to millions, his gift was communicating in a way that spoke directly to each child, on subjects both serious and silly,” he said. “He showed tremendous respect and compassion for everyone and knew how to nurture the best in all of us. It seems especially 
fitting that Mister Rogers is the winner because Fred Rogers was a passionately loyal postal customer and a huge advocate for the power of mail.”
“Fred Rogers considered the space between the television set and a viewer to be ‘holy ground,’” said Emma Lee, Director of the Fred Rogers Institute. “The mail children sent to Mister Rogers, and his letters back, became an essential extension of that sacred connection. Reissuing this stamp beautifully honors the enduring ties he built with his television friends.”
“Celebrating Fred Rogers’ legacy as the Stamp Encore honoree during such a historic year for our nation is a profound privilege,” said Paul Siefken, President and CEO of Fred Rogers Productions. “When people use this stamp, we hope it serves as a small, daily reminder of Fred’s enduring belief in the inherent worth of every human being.”
Photo: The unveiling. From left, Lisa Bobb-Semple, manager of USPS Stamp Services, Isaac Cronkhite, USPS chief processing and distribution officer and executive vice president, and others.]
The Stamp Encore competition gave the public 10 weeks to vote on their favorite stamp by mail, in-person at first-day-of-issue ceremonies and online. Over 500,000 votes were received, with the Mister Rogers stamp securing the win by more than 40,000 votes over the next highest contender.
Fred McFeely Rogers was born on March 20, 1928, in Latrobe, PA. Envisioning the potential for creating quality programming for children, Rogers helped found the educational television station WQED in Pittsburgh in 1953. There, Rogers co-produced “The Children’s Corner,” a 1-hour show for which he was musical composer, organist and puppeteer. In 1963 Rogers was hired by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to host a daily children’s television show, “Mister Rogers.” He shortly thereafter began to produce a half-hour version of the show for WQED. The following year, several East Coast public television stations aired the program, which was later renamed “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”
Every episode of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” began with Mister Rogers welcoming the audience into his television house as he put on his trademark cardigan, changed into sneakers, and then introduced the day’s topic. The show featured a Trolley visit to “The Neighborhood of Make-Believe,” where the personalities and interactions of many characters helped impart real-life lessons. Rogers addressed young children’s concerns and emotions, helping them to feel good about who they were, to appreciate others, and foster curiosity about the world.
After the announcement of the Stamp Encore competition last July, the city of Pittsburgh campaigned for the stamp to make a comeback. Social media posts highlighting the potential return earned over 20,000 likes and shares, and even more votes. Rogers’ influence can 
still be seen today in the award-winning PBS KIDS series “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” produced by Fred Rogers Productions and featuring characters based on those from the original “Neighborhood of Make-Believe.”
Derry Noyes, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp. “It’s all about the man, and his universal appeal, which will carry on,” Noyes said, “The best I can do as a graphic designer is to portray him clearly, straightforward, without special gimmicks, just as he 
would have wanted.”
The original stamp features Walt Seng’s photograph of Rogers in a red cardigan and includes King Friday XIII, a puppet character hailing from “The Neighborhood of Make-Believe.” To mark the occasion, Noyes also designed a Mister Rogers souvenir sheet with four new stamps, featuring additional images by Seng with other characters from the “Neighborhood,” a fitting 
keepsake to further honor Rogers.
USPS has produced several exclusive Boston 2026 Exposition products featuring Mister Rogers. In addition to the Fred Rogers souvenir sheet, there is a writing kit, a premium stamp pin, a Field Notes memo pad and many more. All show exclusive products will be available online at The Postal Store starting
June 1.
The Mister Rogers stamps are being issued as Forever stamps in a pane of 20. The Mister Rogers souvenir sheet is being issued as Forever stamps in a pane of four. These Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce rate.
News of the stamps is being shared with the hashtag #StampEncore.
VSC Notes: (The earlier information about the first-day postmark was incorrect. The city is Boston.)
Probably the featured speaker at the first-day ceremony was David Newell, who played Mr. McFeely the letter carrier, on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” [photo right] His first words were “speedy delivery!” Then he added, “It certainly is a beautiful day in your stamp expo neighborhood.”
Newell said Rogers hated having his photograph taken, so to satisfy all the requests for different photos from the media, he scheduled a picture-taking session in the studio in which many pictures were taken. The 2018 stamp design (and presumably the others) is from that photo session.
He also said that his (Newell’s) youngest son Alex, whom Fred met on the day after his birth, is now a letter carrier.
After beginning his remarks, Cronkhite [right, below] put on a cardigan sweater — “Don’t worry, I won’t take off my shoes.” — and noted that he began his career in Boston: “Go Red Sox!”
“I grew up with ‘Mister Rogers,’ inspiring my love of mail and factories,” Cronkhite said. “It’s no wonder I became an industrial engineer for the United States Postal Service.”
From his exclamation when he opened the envelope with the name of the winning stamp, I get the feeling Cronkhite voted for the Mister Rogers stamp, although he assured the ceremony audience that his vote counted no more than anyone else’s.
Bobb-Semple noted that the envelope with the name of the winning stamp had been at 
every first-day ceremony in 2026, and expressed relief that she no longer had to worry about it or its security.
“It was no secret that Fred Rogers loved mail,” said Lee, Director of the Fred Rogers Institute. She said the institute has hundreds of thousands of pieces of mail that were went to him. “He always brought home copies of letters to share with” his wife,” Lee said.
Additional information will appear below the line, with the latest at the top.
Updated July 8th, 2026:
Here are the Scott catalogue numbers for this issue:
6097 Mister Rogers
6098 Mister Rogers souvenir sheet
6098a Orange Sweater
6098b with King Friday XIII
6098c with two puppets
6098d with lion puppet
Updated July 1st, 2026:
Here are the first-day postmarks for this issue:
The Digital Color Postmark measures 2.44″ x 1.23″
The B&W Pictorial (which I’ve called “trolley”) measures 2.02″ x 1.58″
The souvenir sheet pictorial (which I’ve been calling “Letters”) measures 1.75″ x 2.43″ 
The “special” postmark measures 2.97″ x 1.12″
Updated June 11th, 2026:
From the Postal Bulletin:
On May 24, 2026, in Boston, MA, the United States Postal Service® issued the Mister Rogers stamp (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate), in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 488600). This stamp went on sale nationwide June 1, 2026.
Chosen by popular vote in an unprecedented Stamp Encore competition, this USPS® issuance reprises the Mister Rogers stamp first issued in 2018. The stamp features Walt Seng’s photograph of Rogers in a red cardigan with King Friday XIII, a Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood puppet character from “The Neighborhood of Make-Believe.” Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamp.
Automatic distribution.
How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
The first-day-of-issue postmark is a postmark notating the day a stamp is first authorized for use by the Postal Service™. Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. All requests for first-day-of-issue postmarks (Traditional or Digital Color Postmark) must be sent to the following address with the choice of Traditional or Digital 
Color Postmark identified. All orders must be postmarked by September 24, 2026.
FDOI Mister Rogers Stamp
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900
Technical Specifications:
Issue: Mister Rogers Stamp
Item Number: 488600
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Pane of 20 (1 design)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: May 24, 2026, Boston, MA 02205
Art Director: Derry Noyes, Washington, DC
Designer: Derry Noyes, Washington, DC
Existing Photo: Walt Seng
Modeler: Sandra Lane / Michelle Finn
Manufacturing Process: Offset / Flexographic/Microprint
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America
Press Type: Gallus RCS
Stamps per Pane: 20
Print Quantity: 35,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Phosphor, Block Tag
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black, PMS 7675 C
Stamp Orientation: Vertical
Image Area (w x h): 0.8400 x 1.4200 in. / 21.3360 x 36.0680 mm.
Overall Size (w x h): 0.9800 x 1.5600 in. / 24.8920 x 39.6240 mm.
Full Pane Size (w x h): 5.9200 x 8.0000 in. / 150.3680 x 203.2000 mm.
Press Sheets Size (w x h): 11.8400 x 16.2500 in. / 300.7360 x 412.7500 mm.
Plate Size: 80 stamps per revolution
Plate Number: “B” followed by five (5) single digits
Marginal Markings:
Front: Header: Mister Rogers • Plate number in bottom two corners of pane
Back: © 2017 USPS • USPS logo • Two barcodes (488600) • Plate position diagram (4) • Promotional text
On May 24, 2026, in Boston, MA, the United States Postal Service® issued the Mister Rogers Souvenir Sheet (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate), in four designs, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) souvenir sheet of four stamps (Item 583100). These stamps went on sale nationwide June 1, 2026.
This Mister Rogers Souvenir Sheet offers four new stamp designs to complement the revival of the popular Mister Rogers stamp, first released in 2018, to honor the beloved children’s television host. Issuance of this souvenir sheet is synchronized with the return of the Mister Rogers stamp pane, winner of the unprecedented USPS Stamp Encore competition. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamp pane and souvenir sheet using Walt Seng’s existing images.
Not available in post offices.
How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
The first-day-of-issue postmark is a postmark notating the day a stamp is first authorized for use by the Postal Service™. Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. All requests for first-day-of-issue postmarks (Traditional or Digital Color Postmark) must be sent to the following address with the choice of Traditional or Digital Color Postmark identified. All orders must be postmarked by September 24, 2026.
FDOI Mister Rogers Souvenir Sheet
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900
Technical Specifications:
Issue: Mister Rogers Souvenir Sheet
Item Number: 583100
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Souvenir Sheet of 4 (4 designs)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: May 24, 2026, Boston, MA 02205
Art Director: Derry Noyes, Washington, DC
Designer: Derry Noyes, Washington, DC
Existing Photos: Walt Seng
Modeler: Sandra Lane / Michelle Finn
Manufacturing Process: Offset / Flexographic
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America
Press Type: Gallus RCS
Stamps per Pane: 4
Print Quantity: 7,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Phosphor, Block Tag
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
Stamp Orientation (1): Horizontal
Image Area (1) (w x h): 1.4200 x 1.08500 in. / 36.0680 x 27.5590 mm.
Overall Size (1) (w x h): 1.5600 x 1.2250 in. / 39.6240 x 31.1150 mm.
Stamp Orientation (2): Vertical
Image Area (2) (w x h): 1.08500 x 1.4200 in. / 27.5590 x 36.0680 mm.
Overall Size (2) (w x h): 1.2250 x 1.5600 in. / 31.1150 x 39.6240 mm.
Full Pane Size (w x h): 6.3000 x 4.9000 in. / 160.0200 x 124.4600 mm.
Plate Size: 36 stamps per revolution
Marginal Markings:
Front: Header: Mister Rogers
Back: © 2026 USPS • USPS logo • Barcode (583100) • Plate position diagram (9) • Promotional text
Updated June 4, 2026:
In response to a VSC inquiry, the USPS declined to provide vote totals for the Stamp Encore contest nor reveal what the second-place finisher was.
Updated May 24, 2026:
From Foster Miller, here are the two first-day pictorial postmarks available at Boston 2026: 
The 2018 postmark is in the comments below.
Format: Pane of 1 (1 design)
Artist: James Hautman
James Hautman, Bufflehead©” (4 locations) • Plate number (4 corners)
