United States 2018 - Stamp Releases & Designers

Click on the images to and right click to save. Print quantities of 20 million or less are highlighted in yellow.

I've not been able to post much about United States postal stamp this year. It was a busy year with some unplanned travel and work, but given the regular and detailed updates on usps.com, Linn's and APS, collectors are always able to find the relevant information, unlike India Post stamps. I'm posting print quantities and stamp artist details for all stamps issued in 2018 in the table below. I've noticed that over the last few years the number of stamps with less than 20 million print run has increased a lot, likely reflecting reduced use of stamps and mail. Surprisingly there was no postal stationary released and a butterfly stamp that was previewed last year was not issued this year either. Has that series ended? We'll have to wait to hear from the post office for more details. Let me know in the comments below if anything is missing or you'd like to see something else posted on here.

India Post 2017 - Stamp Releases & Designers (Archived)

ARCHIVED POST

Click on the images below to enlarge and right click to save. Small print quantities are highlighted in yellow.

Update (17 Jan 2018): I've finally managed to find information for November and December 2017 stamp issues. This covers details for stamp printing formats and design information for the whole entire year. I've highlighted some of the stamp issues that have relatively low print runs and may be good for collectors to keep an extra few copies for future. There were excessive number of stamps issued by India Post and if the images below are not clear, I'd recommend to save a copy on your desktop and then zoom in or print as needed. I've also included MyStamp sheets in the second image below. There are several MyStamps that may not have made it to ePost or the market, but were likely printed over the last year. If you find any errors in this post, let me know in the comments below. I try to provide accurate information, but I'll happily update if needed.

Update (28 May 2017): It's taken a while to get all information for stamp releases in March and April 2017. A few MyStamp sheetlets were issued in February and March, but not available for purchase until late April. Dates for these stamps have been included below.

Update (04 Mar 2017): Information on stamps issued in February is included in the table below. Several MyStamp issues were also issued over the last few weeks and have been updated as well.

Update (03 Feb 2017): Here are the details for stamps issued by India Post during January 2017. Information for all issues became available relatively quickly and thus I can share now. Quite a few stamp issues are likely to be released throughout the year, so keep checking back.

United States 2017 Stamp Program (Archived)

Click on the images to and right click to save. Print quantities of 20 million or less are highlighted in yellow.

Update (15 Jan 2018): I've been remiss in updating this post for the last several months, but USPS does a good job in providing technical details in the Postal Bulletin so hopefully you've got most of the information from there. Details for all stamps and postal stationary from the last year are below. Three of the stamps issued in the latter half of 2017 were quite low in print run, and collectors may want to keep a few sheets/coils for future - Fr. Ted Hesburgh, National Museum of African American History & Culture and The History of Hockey. I will try to post 2018 details in another post within January. Enjoy.

 Update (10 Jun 2017): Here's an update for the second quarter of 2017. No new postal stationary was issued during the past three months.

Update (04 Mar 2017): Details for stamp issues in March 2017 are also available now. Two postal stationary items have been issued this year and design and print quantity for these two are also being shared below.

Update (18 Jan 2017): Here are details for stamps to be issued in Jan-Feb 2017. New information will be posted as it becomes available, likely in late February. Do check the other blog post for more regular updates and news on this year's stamp issues.

Note: Print quantities of stamp issues highlighted (yellow) are less than 20 Million.

Update (02 Oct 2016): So far, we've seen the release date for Ted Hesburgh stamp. It's supposedly going to be released on 01 Sep 2017. Let's wait and watch. Dates for no other stamps are yet known. We will be posting stamp subjects and relevant discussion in another blog post, but will share the stamp program at least once in a quarter starting Jan-Feb 2017.

Original post: USPS has announced quite a few stamp issues for 2017. More details coming soon!

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United States Stamps 2016: Favorite Stamp Poll

Choose your favorite (best design or subject) postage stamp issued by United States Postal Service in 2016. This poll will remain until 28th February 2017.

Choose your favorite stamp design/subject of 2016

Quilled Paper Heart Columbia River Gorge La Cueva Del Indio Pears Botanical Art United States Flag Richard Allen Year of the Monkey Grapes The Moon Saran Vaughan Shirley Temple USA Nonprofit Org World Stamp Show NY-2016

Repeal of the Stamp Act, 1766 The Service Cross Medals View of Our Planets Pluto - Explored! Classics Forever National Parks Colorful Celebrations Indiana Statehood Eid Greetings Soda Fountain Favorites Star Quilts Jaime Escalante Pickup Trucks Henry James

Pets Songbirds in Snow Apples Patriotic Spiral Star Trek Eastern Tailed-Blue Butterfly Jack O'Lanterns Kwanzaa Diwali Holiday Windows Wonder Woman Christmas (15th c. Florentine) Hanukkah Christmas (Nativity)

India's XI Definitive Stamp Series - Makers of India

Update 6 on 29 May 2016: One more of the four remaining definitive stamps - on Gopinath Bordoloi - in the Makers of India series is available for purchase on ePostOffice. It was likely supplied to post offices from mid-April 2017. Just three more stamps are pending to be issued to complete the series. There was discussion in the philatelic community about new Makers of India postcards and inland letters as well, but nothing has been seen so far.

Update 5 on 18 Dec 2016: It's been quite a while since this post was last updated. The key points to note is that most of the stamps, except four of the planned 27 stamps have been issued and available for purchase on ePostOffice or at the local post offices. The stamps that were put on sale in the second and third quarter of 2016 are listed below along with the ones that are yet to be issued. We urge India Post to put the remaining four stamps in circulation as soon as possible, to complete this new definitive series.

Released Q2 2016 onward
Bhimsen Joshi
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
Jawaharlal Nehru
Maharana Pratap
M. S. Subbulakshmi
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Subhash Chandra Bose

Pending stamps
Gopinath Bordoloi
Mother (Saint) Teresa
Rabindranath Tagore
Thiruvalluvar

Update 4 on 01 Apr 2016: A lot of the definitive stamps in this series are now available across many post offices and even online at ePostOffice. Just posting an update to the grid/list below. Green indicates that the stamp has been sold at at least one post office in India. Although not technically sound, it appears to be an overall good decision to have started a new definitive stamp series. It has a much needed freshness to it. Happy Collecting!

Update 3 on 23 Jan 2016: Sharing an image for 19 of the definitive stamps for this new stamp series. Only a handful of them (8 more) remain to be seen. Some of these might be available soon. Let's go looking for these stamps on mail or in local post offices.

Update 2 on 18  Dec 2015: Here's a major overhaul of the Makers of India Stamp Series. Below is a final version of the stamp series with a total of 27 personalities and one Yoga stamp. The denominations for all the stamps is shown as well. Better Philately is most likely the first source of this information for philatelists. Happy Holidays!

A few points of note: 
1. Gopinath Bordoloi has been included in the stamp series, so have Srinivasa Ramanujan, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Thiruvalluvar. 
2. Karpuri Thakur no longer features on the final list.
3. An additional stamp on Yoga (25 Paise) will also be released along with the personality series. There was even a mention of inland letter cards or airmail letter cards with the Yoga theme as well.
4. There will be no 2 Rupees or 15 Rupees stamps in this definitive series.
5. Removed references to release dates. Neither official dates for first day of issuance are being announced nor first day covers are being provided. So, it doesn't provide a fair opportunity to know the stamp release date for this series.

Update 1: Added Bhagat Singh, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Moulana Abul Kalam Azad and Ram Manohar Lohia stamp date and denomination. Appears to be an odd move to release a bulk of the new stamps in 5 rupees denomination.

As a response to the less representative Builders of Modern India stamp series, a new one is being put in place. As of early December 2015, seven 5 Rupees stamps have already been released. This new list has not been put out officially, but is a guess based on news information in the last few months. Mainstream media had enjoyed a week long spectacle when the Indira and Rajiv Gandhi stamp sales were halted in July 2015. Government officials presented their case during this time and provided insight into this new stamp series as well. Three of the guesses have so far been accurate based on this list. Additional updated for first known sale date will be added as it becomes available. There will be no first day covers (FDC) or an official release date for this series of stamps, so one has to be content with approximate release dates based on first availability of the stamps in post offices.

The number of personalities, presumably to be honored with the new stamp series is more than twice the previous definitive stamp series, but appears to cover a wider range of historical figures, political, social and spiritual leaders. Although more representative it is still missing a sports personality, a representative of North-East India and and an industrialist. If given a choice, the following should be included as well:

Dhirubhai Ambani, Aurobindo, G. D. Birla, Gopinath Bordoloi, Dhyan Chand, Satish Dhawan, Tenzing Norgay, Dadasaheb Phalke, Munshi Premchand and Vikram Sarabhai.

Although, not ideal, the best way to enable a larger series of stamps could be by printing limited quantities for each personality. This would prevent from a glut of the definitive stamps in post offices and could end up adversely impacting sale of commemorative stamps as well. Many post offices tend to sell overstock commemorative stamps along with the definitive stamps to remove dead stock and also provide variety to customers. Anyways, given that the new stamp series was initiated so soon after the public discussion, a blog post for initial thoughts and a way to track progress of the Makers of India stamp series seemed appropriate.

Makers of India – Eleventh Definitive Stamp Series (2015 onward)

Issue Description	Contribution to Making India	Denomination
Mahatma Gandhi	Indian Independence	25 Paise
Subramania Bharathi	Writer & Poet Indian Independence	50 Paise
Bal Gangadhar Tilak	Indian Independence – Home Rule League	Re 1
Bhimsen Joshi	Arts & Culture (Singer)	Rs 3
Bismillah Khan	Arts & Culture (Shehnai Player)	Rs 3
M. S. Subbulakshmi	Arts & Culture (Singer)	Rs 3
Ravi Shankar	Arts & Culture (Sitar Player)	Rs 3
Srinivasa Ramanujan	Mathematics	Rs 4
Bhagat Singh	Indian Independence – Socialist Republican Association	Rs 5
Deendayal Upadhyaya	Integral Humanism Led Bharatiya Jana Sangh	Rs 5
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar	Indian Constitution Modern Buddhist Movement	Rs 5
Gopinath Bordoloi	Indian Independence Assam Chief Minister	Rs 5
Jayaprakash Narayan	Indian Independence Total Revolution of 1970s	Rs 5
Jawaharlal Nehru	Indian Independence First Prime Minister	Rs 5
Lal Bahadur Shastri	Indian Independence Second Prime Minister	Rs 5
Moulana Abul Kalam Azad	Indian Independence First Education Minister	Rs 5
Rajendra Prasad	Indian Independence First President of India	Rs 5
Ram Manohar Lohia	Indian Independence Socialist Leader	Rs 5
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel	Indian Independence First Home Minister/Deputy Prime Minister Integrated 600 Small States	Rs 5
Subhash Chandra Bose	Indian Independence Pre-Independence National Army	Rs 5
Swami Vivekananda	Indian Philosophy – Vedanta & Yoga	Rs 5
Shyama Prasad Mukherjee	Indian Independence Founded Bharatiya Jana Sangh	Rs 5
Thiruvalluvar	Ancient Tamil Poetry & Philosophy	Rs 5
Chhatrapati Shivaji	Warrior & Ideal Rule of Maratha Empire	Rs 10
Maharana Pratap	Gallantry Warrior & Rule of Mewar Empire	Rs 10
Mother Teresa	Catholic Religious Sister Missionaries of Charity	Rs 20
Rabindranath Tagore	Indian Independence Indian Writing & Poetry India’s National Anthem	Rs 50

United States 2016 Stamp Program

Update (15 Jan 2018): I'm updating this post to add postal stationary details from 2016. A collector had found the Northern Cardinal stamped envelope late in 2016, which USPS eventually recognized as an item issued in 2016. See details for the two stationary items below.

Update (05 Oct 2016): This should be the final update for this year. Details for all known stamp subjects have become available. USPS made minor adjustments were made for release date and locations for the last few stamp releases, which is reflected in the table below. Hopefully all readers and collectors have ordered enough stock for posting holiday mail and keepsakes for gifts. At this point, no new issues are expected for 2016, so a favorite stamp poll will be the next item to be posted on the blog. Be on the lookout. Here's wishing Happy Holidays and Happy Collecting.

Update (15 Sep 2016): Here's another update, likely the second to last for 2016. Information for all stamp issues other than print run and printer for two subjects is available. Recent additions to the release calendar for 2016 are also included here. Click on the images below to enlarge.

Update (06 Aug 2016): There have been some last minute additions to the stamp program, which are scheduled for released over next two months. Release date for Apples 1 cent stamp is now known. Stamps on Patriotic Spiral (Booklet of 10 and Coil of 10k), Holiday Window Views (Booklet of 20) and Wonder Woman (Pane of 20) have been added to the 2016 program. Patriotic Spiral will be released on 19 Aug and the other two at the ASDA show in October. The next update to the release program will be provided in late-September when details for the remaining issues will become available. Until then, enjoy collecting.

Update (16 Jul 2016): A new stamp issue, Songbirds in Snow with 4 designs (booklet of 20) is now scheduled to be released at the APS Stamp Show in Portland on 04th August. Star Trek stamps (4 designs) will be released on 02 Sep in New York City. Highlighted issues have a print run of less than 20 million stamps and it is recommended to purchase these stamps before they are sold out. Click on the images below to enlarge.

Update (11 June 2016): Stamp release dates for all of July are also available now. See below for the dates from Jan to July 2016. Release dates for only a handful of stamps are to be decided.

Updating (07 May 2016) the stamp program for most of the issues for May 2016 as well. Will be attending the World Stamp Show in New York City from 28 May onward. Will provide another update in early June. Enjoy until then!

Highlighted issues have a print run of less than 20 million stamps.

Here is the stamp issue program from January to March 2016. This will be updated as additional details are available from USPS.

Keep checking here for additional updates:
http://betterphilately.blogspot.com/2015/12/stamp-issues-for-2016.html