Postal Facts - U.S. Postal Service
PEOPLE, PLACES, POSTAGE
Postage stamps are miniature works of art designed to reflect the American experience. Stamps highlight heroes, history, milestones, achievements and natural wonders. There’s a story behind every stamp.
Learn more.
The Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum in Washington, DC, includes the world’s largest gallery dedicated to philately. For more information, go to postalmuseum.si.edu.
In 2024, USPS launched stampsforever.com, a website focusing on the stories behind the stamps.
1ST AMERICAN
woman on a stamp
The first American woman on a U.S. postage stamp was Martha Washington in 1902.
1ST HISPANIC
American on a stamp
The first Hispanic American on a stamp was U.S. Navy Adm. David Farragut in 1903.
1ST NATIVE
American on a stamp
The first Native American on a stamp was Pocahontas in 1907.
1ST AFRICAN
American on a stamp
The first African American on a stamp was educator, author and orator Booker T. Washington in 1940.
No troglodytes here! The Stamp Fulfillment Services facility, located in Kansas City, MO, is housed in a limestone cave 150 feet beneath the ground. It is the Postal Service’s only facility located underground.
All 50 states have been commemorated on postage stamps. They are each honored in 50-year increments from their founding date.
In 1992, pressure-sensitive, self-adhesive stamps rolled out nationally. By 2005, 98 percent of all stamps were this type. Today, all stamps are sticky.
The Postal Service’s first Forever stamp featured an image of the Liberty Bell and was issued on April 12, 2007, at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall.
Semipostal stamps are First-Class Mail stamps sold at a price above the cost of a regular stamp to raise funds for designated causes. The dollar amounts below represent the funds we have transferred to the causes listed.
USPS
13.8 billion
postage stamps printed
In 2024, 13.82 billion U.S. postage stamps were printed, and USPS received $4.01 billion in revenue from stamps and stamp product orders received by mail, telephone at 1-800-STAMP-24 and online at usps.com/stamps.
USPS
OUTER SPACE
postage stamp
A postage stamp was onboard NASA's New Horizons spacecraft that made a flyby of Pluto in July 2015. That’s the farthest distance traveled by a postage stamp — more than 3 billion miles, as noted by Guinness World Records.
We’re patriotic. The Postal Service employs nearly 70,000 military veterans, making it one of the largest employers of veterans in the country.
For 78 cents, anyone can send a letter, regardless of geographic location, to anywhere in the United States and its territories.
(Stamp price effective July 14, 2025.)
usps.com
$98 million
for breast cancer research
The Breast Cancer Research semipostal stamp has raised nearly $98 million since 1998. More than 1.1 billion Breast Cancer Research stamps have been sold.
Trademarks
The Sonic Eagle Logo, the trade dress of USPS packaging, the Letter Carrier Uniform and the Postal Truck and the following marks are among the many trademarks owned by the United States Postal Service: Click-N-Ship®, Deliver The Win®, EDDM®, ePostage®, Every Door Direct Mail®, Express Mail®, First-Class™, First-Class Mail®, First-Class Package International Service®, Forever®, Global Express Guaranteed®, IMb®, Informed Delivery®, Intelligent Mail®, Label Broker™, Parcel Select®, P.O. Box™, Post Office®, Pony Express®, Postal Inspection Service™, PostalOne!®, Postal Police®, #PostalProud®, Priority Mail Express International®, Priority Mail Flat Rate®, Priority Mail International®, Priority: You®, Registered Mail™, Standard Mail®, The Postal Store®, United States Postal Inspection Service®, United States Postal Service®, U.S. Mail®, U.S. Postal Inspector™, U.S. Postal Service®, USPS®, USPS BlueEarth®, USPS Mobile®, USPS Operation Santa®, USPS Tracking®, usps.com®, We are people delivering to people™, ZIP+4® and ZIP Code™. This is not a comprehensive list of all Postal Service trademarks.
Non-Postal Trademarks
Dollar General®, Forest Stewardship Council®, How2Recycle®, McDonald’s®, National Dog Bite Prevention Week®, Starbucks®, Subway®, Sustainable Forestry Initiative®, The Climate Registry®.
Postal Facts 2024 provides the public with information about the U.S. Postal Service. The facts in this publication may be reproduced for the purpose of stating the fact itself, in a business, informational or academic context and the like, and in the body of text discussing factual subject matter relevant to the fact being presented. However, these facts may become outdated after publication and seeking the latest information is advised.
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