Postage Stamps and Postal History of The United States - Modern U.S. Stamps

Modern U.S. Stamps

The first self-adhesive stamp was a 10 cent stamp from the Christmas issue of 1974. It was not considered successful, and the surviving stamps, though not rare, are all gradually becoming discolored due to the adhesive used. Self-adhesives were not issued again until 1989, gradually becoming so popular that as of 2004, only a handful of types are offered with the traditional gum (now affectionately called "manual stamps" by postal employees).

The increasing frequency of postal rate increases from the 1970s on, and the necessity to wait for these to be approved by Congress, made it problematic for the Postal Service to provide stamps matching the increased costs in a timely manner. Until it was known, for example, whether the new first-class rate would be 16c or, instead, 15c, no denominated stamp could be printed. The Postal Service found a way to bypass this problem in 1978. Preparatory to that year’s increase, an orange colored stamp with a simple eagle design appeared bearing the denomination "A" instead of a number; and the public was informed that this stamp would satisfy the new first-class rate, whatever it turned out to be. Subsequent rate increases resulted in B, C and D stamps, which bore the same eagle design but were printed, respectively, in purple, buff-brown and blue-green. When it came time for an E stamp in 1987, the Postal Service commissioned a more elaborate design: a color picture of the globe as seen from space (E for Earth). Rises since have prompted F for Flower, G for Old Glory and H for Hat stamps, all appropriately illustrated. The F stamp in 1991 was accompanied by an undenominated "make-up" stamp with no pictorial design beyond a frame, which enclosed the words "This U. S. stamp, along with 25c of additional U. S. postage, is equivalent to the 'F' stamp rate."

The Great Americans series and the Transportation coils began appearing in 1980 and 1981, respectively. The transportation coils were used steadily for some 20 years, while Great Americans still appear regularly as of 2004.

The increasing use of email and other technologies during the 1990s led to a decline in the amount of first-class mail, while bulk mail increased. A large variety of commemorative stamps continue to appear, but more and more of them just go to collectors, while the stamps of the average person's daily mail are non-denominated types issued specifically for businesses.

In 2005, after 111 years of producing American postage stamps, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing ended its involvement with the postal service.

On April 12, 2007, the Forever stamp went on sale for 41 cents, and is good for mailing one-ounce First-Class letters anytime in the future—regardless of price changes. The postage on such letters is currently 45 cents (as of January 22, 2012). In 2011, the Post Office began issuing all new stamps for First-Class postage—both definitives and commemoratives—as Forever stamps: denominations were no longer included on them.

On February 25, 2010, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled 2-1 that Frank Gaylord, sculptor of a portion of the Korean War Veterans Memorial, was entitled to compensation when an image of that sculpture was used on a 37 cent postage stamp because he had not signed away his intellectual property rights to the sculpture when it was erected. The appeals court rejected arguments that the photo was transformative. In 2006 sculptor Frank Gaylord enlisted Fish & Richardson to make a pro bono claim that the Postal Service had violated his Intellectual property rights to the sculpture and thus should have been compensated. The Postal Service argued that Gaylord was not the sole sculptor (saying he had received advice from federal sources—who recommended that the uniforms appear more in the wind) and also that the sculpture was actually architecture. Gaylord won all of his arguments in the lower court except for one: the court ruled the photo was fair use and thus he was not entitled to compensation. Gaylord appealed and won the case on appeal. The case can now either be appealed to the United States Supreme Court or damages can be assessed by the lower court.

Later in the year, automated stamp and bank automatic teller machines began dispensing thinner stamps. The thin stamps were to make it easier for automated stamp machines to dispense and to make the stamps more environmentally friendly.From WRGB