{"id":19825,"date":"2025-10-29T15:44:36","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T19:44:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/virtualstampclub.com\/lloydblog\/?p=19825"},"modified":"2026-03-03T11:52:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T16:52:46","slug":"love-2026-u-s-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/virtualstampclub.com\/lloydblog\/?p=19825","title":{"rendered":"Love (2026) (U.S. 2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the USPS on October 29, 2025:<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Inspired by both mid-century American design and Japanese children\u2019s book illustrations, James Yang created the art for this year\u2019s Love stamps. His illustrations show pairs of stylized birds in a colorful world in which hearts appear, like love itself, in sweet and surprising ways. Ethel Kessler, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps.<\/p>\n

More details will be posted below the line, with the most recent information at the top.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Updated March 3rd<\/sup>:<\/strong><\/span>
\nHere are the Scott catalogue numbers for this issue:
\n\"\"<\/a>6046 red background
\n6047 gray background
\n6048 dark blue background
\n6049 light blue background<\/p>\n

Updated January 14th<\/sup>:<\/strong><\/span>
\nFrom the USPS’ StampsForever.com website, buried in the story “What Is a First Day of Issuance Cancellation?”<\/em>
\nIn addition to Kansas City, the special first-day cancellation for the newest Love stamps will also be available at the main Post Offices in Nashville, Tenn., and Reading, Pa<\/p>\n

Updated January 8th<\/sup>:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Wondering why the first-day city is Kansas City and not something like “Love,” “Valentine” or “Romance?” We asked Mike Henry, who coordinates first-day events. “U\"\"<\/a>SPS wanted to have the Kansas City Postmark in association with a social media marketing campaign developed around the 2026 Love Stamps.” And guess what company that might have an interest is headquartered in KC? Mike didn’t say, but my guess is Hallmark is involved.<\/p>\n

Updated January 8th<\/sup>:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Technical Specifications:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Issue: Love Stamps
\nItem Number: 582100
\nDenomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever\u00ae
\n\"\"<\/a>Format: Pane of 20 (4 designs)
\nSeries: N\/A
\nIssue Date & City: January 13, 2026, Kansas City, MO 64108
\nArt Director: Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
\nDesigner: James Yang, Brooklyn, NY
\nArtist: James Yang, Brooklyn, NY
\nModeler: Sandra Lane \/ Michelle Finn
\nManufacturing Process: Offset
\n\"\"<\/a>Printer: Banknote Corporation of America
\nPress Type: Alprinta 74
\nStamps per Pane: 20
\nPrint Quantity: 75,000,000 stamps
\nPaper Type: Phosphor, Block Tag
\nAdhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
\nColors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
\nStamp Orientation: Horizontal
\n\"\"<\/a>Image Area (w x h): 1.0500 x 0.7700 in. \/ 26.6700 x 19.5580 mm.
\nOverall Size (w x h): 1.1900 x 0.9100 in. \/ 30.2260 x 23.1140 mm.
\nFull Pane Size (w x h): 5.7600 x 5.5500 in. \/ 146.3040 x 140.9700 mm.
\nPress Sheet Size (w x h): 23.0400 x 22.2000 in. \/ 585.2160 x 563.8800 mm.
\nPlate Size: 320 stamps per revolution
\n\"\"<\/a>Plate Number: \u201cB\u201d followed by four (4) single digits
\nMarginal Markings:
\nFront: Plate number in four corners of pane
\nBack: \u00a9 2025 USPS \u2022 USPS logo \u2022 Two barcodes (582100) \u2022 Plate position diagram (8) \u2022 Promotional text<\/p>\n

Updated December 29th<\/sup>:<\/strong><\/span>
\nHere are the first-day postmarks for this issue:\"\"<\/a>The Digital Color Postmark measures 2.96″ x 1.54″\"\"<\/a>The Pictorial Postmark measures 2.46″ x 1.25″<\/p>\n

Updated December 27th<\/sup>:<\/strong><\/span>
\nOn January 13, 2026, in Kansas City, MO, the United States Postal Service\u00ae will issue the Love stamps (Forever\u00ae priced at the First-Class Mail\u00ae rate), in four designs, in a pressure-\"\"<\/a>sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 582100). These stamps will go on sale nationwide January 13, 2026, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue.<\/p>\n

In four scenes, the 2026 Love stamps feature pairs of stylized birds in a colorful world in which hearts appear, like love itself, in sweet and surprising ways. Whether the bird couples on these stamps are exploring branches adorned with hearts, offering a heart-\"\"<\/a>shaped flower as a token of affection, pecking at hearts that fall like spring petals, or nesting in peace under a heart-shaped moon, their behavior sends a universal message: that togetherness marked by small, thoughtful gestures is the essence of a true and loving bond. James Yang designed the stamps and created the original artwork that appears on them. Ethel Kessler served as art director.<\/p>\n

Item 582100, Pane of 20 Stamps<\/p>\n

Automatic distribution.<\/p>\n

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe 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) should be sent to the following address with the choice of Traditional or Digital Color Postmark identified. All orders must be postmarked by May 13, 2026.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>FDOI \u2013 Love Stamps
\nUSPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
\n8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
\nKansas City, MO 64144-9900<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Technical details will appear in a future edition of the Postal Bulletin<\/em>.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Updated December 12th<\/sup>:<\/strong><\/span>
\nThese stamps will be issued Tuesday, January 13, with no ceremony. The first-day city is Kansas City, MO.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the USPS on October 29, 2025: Inspired by both mid-century American design and Japanese children\u2019s book illustrations, James Yang created the art for this year\u2019s Love stamps. His illustrations show pairs of stylized birds in a colorful world in … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/virtualstampclub.com\/lloydblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/virtualstampclub.com\/lloydblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/virtualstampclub.com\/lloydblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/virtualstampclub.com\/lloydblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/virtualstampclub.com\/lloydblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19825"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/virtualstampclub.com\/lloydblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20356,"href":"https:\/\/virtualstampclub.com\/lloydblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19825\/revisions\/20356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/virtualstampclub.com\/lloydblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/virtualstampclub.com\/lloydblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/virtualstampclub.com\/lloydblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}