MyStamps: Customized & Personalized Stamps of India

Update (20 Jan 2019): It's time for another update to the MyStamp listing. In addition to listing all issues from 2018, I've been able to find print quantities for several more sheetlets. Like 2017, a large number of customized/corporate MyStamps were printed by India Post last year as well. This trend appears to continue even in 2019, but given the exorbitant cost to complete this collection, and Scott Catalog not listing the customized stamps, I'm not sure about purchasing all sheetlets this year. It would be best if India Post could make single MyStamp sets available for collectors. The Indian Journal of Ophthalmology MyStamp printed in 2017 is still nowhere to be seen and I haven't heard anything about its availability so far. Let me know if you'd like to see any other details or want to share other MyStamp information with fellow collectors.

Update (28 Jan 2018): Two things I should have pointed out earlier - one for the LIC MyStamp and another for Indian Journal of Ophthalmology MyStamps. The MyStamp on Life Insurance Corporation of India was released in 2016, but I've recently learned that LIC may have ordered another print of 8000 sheets in 2017. I will confirm this soon, but this is likely to have happened. The second mention is for the IJO MyStamp, which was printed in 2017, but never issued by the proponent. Given that the stamp has not been made available for purchase or no release event has occurred, I may wait until 2018 or later to include on the list of MyStamps. That's all. There are new MyStamp sheetlets already being released, but that discussion is for a later date.

Update (21 Jan 2018): Given that most of the MyStamp issues from 2017 are known now, I've updated the list below. This past year saw further increase in the total number of MyStamp sheetlets put out by India Post, albeit one less personalized sheet when compared with 2016. Before I go further about some new things about the MyStamp issues from last year, let me make it clear that these are new and valid postal stamps and are likely to be part of a complete Republic of India collection. India Post is ripping off collectors by selling the sheets at such high premium. Now, for some new observations from 2017. The personalized sheet on Rose (issued on Valentines Day) had a floral fragrance embedded on the sheets, which was the first time on a MyStamp sheet. In order to celebrate Dr. MGR's birth centenary, Tamil Nadu state government ordered customized sheetlets for 4-5 events in various districts. The main stamps show monuments from these districts, but the blank label has an image of MGR. A complete collection of these sheets will be a good item for MGR fans. Yet another personality, second one after V. Ramakrishna in 2016, Banarsi Dass Gupta was depicted on a customized MyStamp sheet. Last point is about the design of MyStamps. Majority of these stamps were decently designed, but the Wedding wishes, Happy anniversary and Happy birthday stamps needed more thought than just printing in different fonts. I've started to collect data for print quantity of these stamps, which you can see below. If there is anything else that you'd like to share, let me know in the comments below.

Click on image to enlarge and right click to save

Update (07 Jan 2017): The updated list of MyStamps for covering all of 2016 is posted below. In the last quarter of 2016, seven new MyStamp sheetlets were put for sale. Among them was the first MyStamp on a personality (V. Ramakrishna of KCP Limited, Chennai). Majority of the rest were corporate institutions, barring the one on World AIDS Day 2016. The MyStamp on ECGC and Indian School of Business was released by the President of India, the one on World AIDS Day 2016 by the Health Minister of India, V. Ramakrishna by the Urban Development Minister of India, National Insurance Company and State Bank of Mysore by the respective companies' leadership. The cost of collecting one sheetlet of each kind in 2016 exceeded Rs 10,000 and will likely deter stamp collectors from purchasing these stamps if the cost and number of issues remain similarly high in 2017. Let's wait and see what the cataloging companies list for these new MyStamps.

Click on the image to enralge

Update (25 Sep 2016): Quite a few MyStamp sheetlets have been issued in  the last few months. Most of these stamps have been made available for purchase on ePostOffice. Prices for these sheetlets vary between Rs 300 and Rs 1000, with most of the customized sheets being sold for Rs 500. The list below is now being categorized as Personalized and Customized along with the known sale price. Curiously, the Western Union MyStamp was released in May 2016, but not made available for sale until July and the design on the sheetlet being sold is different from what was published in news articles back in May. Customized MyStamps are here to stay. In reply to a question in Lok Sabha, MoS Communications informed the house that this was a planned scheme introduced by India Post to allow corporate and educational institutions to order a minimum of 5000 MyStamp sheetlets with a logo or design of their choice. No wonder a spate of customized sheetlets have been released this year. Collecting MyStamp sheetlets is indeed an expensive affair, so hopefully collectors can buy individual MyStamps from the secondary market to complete their collections. Linn's that publishes the Scott catalog has listed MyStamps with catalog numbers. See below for the catalog numbers.

Scott Catalog Numbers for India's MyStamps (Linn's Stamp News)
Click on the images to enlarge

Western Union MyStamp - Original design (left) and stamps sold on ePostOffice (right)

Update (26 Mar 2016): MyStamps have all been issued in sheetlet format. Some of the sheetlets contain more than one design as well, forming se-tenants of 2 or 4. Each of the MyStamps released so far have been in Rs 5 denomination. MyStamps are sold as complete sheetlets only, individual stamp are not sold by the post office. Price of each sheetlet ranges from Rs 240 to Rs 300,  rendering cost of each stamp to be between Rs 20 and Rs 25. Most of these stamps released after 2012 have been made available only in the relevant postal circles. For e.g. Ajanta Caves (2014) sheetlets were available only in Mumbai Maharashtra Circle, Red Fort (2014) in Delhi Circle and so on. This poses a challenge for philatelists to complete their Republic India collection. Now that ePostOffice is working well, it would be ideal to put up these sheetlets for sale online making it much easier to purchase MyStamps.

On a different note: Although, the Avila Convent, Coimbatore MyStamp release was delayed from 21 Mar, it was issued the very next day on 22 Mar 2016, by the Postmaster General and Jagat Shah (Mentor on Road) in Coimbatore. The school is selling the sheetlet in two different packs for Rs 1000 and Rs 2000. Similar to the recent Hindustan Aeronautics MyStamp sheetlet, this is also a customized stamp sheetlet and surprisingly contains Avila's email and website as well.

This approach of issuing customized MyStamps can be clearly seen to be going the Customized Greeting Card route that India Post had ventured in the early 2000s. Given that the MyStamps are actual stamp and not just pre-paid envelopes, it is important for India Post to restrict the total number of such customized postage stamps being released in a year. It is highly recommended that these stamps be made available to a stamp collectors at a minimum price and online.

Original Post: By now all philatelists with interest in Republic of India (Post-independence) stamps would be aware of MyStamps that India Post has been issuing since early 2011. The first set of stamps were released during the Indepex 2011 International Stamp Exhibition held in February 2011 in New Delhi. After success at this premier stamp show, other regional stamp exhibitions asked for the same stamps to be distributed in other cities as well. Since 2012, other philatelic events and even philatelic bureau have been providing there personalized or customized stamp sheetlets for collectors.

MyStamps have blank space next to an official India Post stamp. The post office upon submission of a photograph prints the image in the empty column of stamps on the sheet of MyStamps. Initially, it was unclear whether the MyStamp themes were modifications to previous issues or were new stamp releases. Over the last few years, it has become clear that one needs to collect MyStamps in order to have a complete collection of Republic India stamps.

Below is a list of MyStamps issued by India Post. Recently, the first customized MyStamp sheetlet was released to celebrate 75 years of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

South Africa-India Joint Stamp Issues

Update (29 Sep 2018): A total of three joint stamp issues have now been issued between India and South Africa, possibly among the most India Post has with any country other than Russia. Two of these were released in June and July this year itself. Two of the three collaborations have also prominently featured Mahatma Gandhi, a key figure in India's freedom movement who spent his formative years in South Africa as a lawyer.

The first joint stamp issue was released in 1995, couple of years after South Africa held its democratic elections. The theme for this commemoration was closing of 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Both countries issued identical stamps, designed by Alan Ainslie and the Indian Post office. The stamps showed Gandhi as young barrister in South Africa and as Mahatma during the 20th century freedom struggle in India. Along with individual stamps, India issued a souvenir sheet containing the se-tenant stamp pair, but South Africa's miniature sheet contained only one stamp. At a later date in June 1997, South Africa issued a second souvenir sheet with the stamp that was not on the first souvenir sheet (see images below).

After a gap of 23 years, philatelic cooperation picked up again this year. Since early 2017, the Indian embassy had been planning a joint stamp issue with South Africa and I'd shared some initial plans on Twitter as well. I'd thought a set of 4 stamps showing Deendayal Upadhyaya, Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo (all three birth centenaries from 2016-2018) and Mahatma Gandhi (150th birth anniversary) would be issued at once, but there were two separate issues in store.

A set of 2 stamps designed by Alka Sharma for India Post was issued in early June during the 125th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's Pietermaritzburg Station Incident. These stamps commemorated 20 years of strategic partnership and 25 years of diplomatic relations, while showing images of Deendayal Upadhyaya and Oliver Tambo on the stamps. Background image in the souvenir sheet shows national flowers of both countries (lotus and protea) along with unknown mountains. Stamps and souvenir sheets for both the countries were printed at SPP Hyderabad, and surprisingly South Africa post office is yet to receive their supplies, almost four months after actual issuance. It is not confirmed, but South Africa will likely only put souvenir sheets for sale and no individual stamps.

Deendayal Upadhyaya (1916-1968) was an eminent thinker and political leader of India's right of center ideology post-independence. He espoused the thought of integral humanism and social welfare of poor, downtrodden ('last person in line'). Even though he lived only 50 years, his philosophy left a deep impact on developing a new idea of India.

Oliver R. Tambo (1917-1993) was a socio-political leader from South Africa that led African National Congress (ANC), the foremost political organization fighting Apartheid. Tambo started his political journey in 1943 forming the youth wing of ANC. The youth wing had developed new ways of protests and was working in tandem with ANC. Tambo was appointed as the secretary of ANC in 1955, deputy president in 1958. He was then tasked to garner support from other countries and international organizations by traveling abroad. He was then appointed as acting President of ANC in 1967, and president in 1969, a position he held until 1991. For majority of his life in ANC, Tambo was working in exile, but returned to South Africa in 1990, after having spent 30 years out of his home country. He handed over the reigns of ANC to Nelson Mandela, who was eventually also elected as the first President of post-Apartheid South Africa in 1991.

The third and most recent stamp set shows Pietermaritzburg train station located near Durban in South Africa. In June 1893, Mahatma Gandhi, then Mohandas K. Gandhi, was removed from a first class train compartment due to his color and asked to moved to end of the train. The young Gandhi did not board the train and spent the night at the station waiting room. This event led to Gandhi fighting for racial equality for Indians in South Africa, eventually giving birth to Satyagraha - the concept of non-violent resistance or holding firmly to the truth using civil resistance. This year is 125th anniversary of the train station incident, and is being commemorated on the identical stamp sheets issued by both the countries.

Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) was also a socio-political leader from ANC like Oliver Tambo that led protests and political movement to fight Apartheid in South Africa. He started in the youth wing of ANC in 1944, going on to become its president in 1951. His struggle to abolish Apartheid took shape from 1952 onward, where he devised various plans for defying the minority white government, some actions even turning violent. After several skirmishes and arrests, Mandela was imprisoned at Robben Island from 1964 to 1982. He was transferred to other prisons until his release in February 1990, totaling to 27 years of incarceration. Immediately after release, he begins negotiations with the government to end racial discrimination and establish an equal democracy. He was elected as the first President of democratic South Africa in 1994, a position he held until 1999. Thereafter he immersed in social improvement through his foundation. He continued to remain in public life, until his passing due to ill health in late 2013. Mandela was awarded the Bharat Ratna and Nobel Peace Prize for his work in abolishing Apartheid peacefully and establishing a new democracy in South Africa.

It appears that India Post designed the June 2018 stamps (Alka Sharma), and South African artists did the July 2018 issue (Thea Clemon and Alan Ainslie). Nenu Gupta from India is also credited with the July 2018 stamps, but that's likely for adjusting the images and fonts. The basic design likely came from South Africa. These stamps have tried to commemorate so many events and personalities, it's difficult to clearly explain everything. See below for all possible reasons that I think can be cited.

List of events for 2018 India-South Africa joint stamp issues:
1. 20 Years of Strategic Partnership (1997-2017)
2. 25 Years of Diplomatic Relations (1993-2018)
3. 50 Years of Deendayal Upadhyaya's passing (1968-2018)
4. Birth Centenary of Deendayal Upadhyaya (1916-2016)
5. Birth Centenary of Oliver Reginald Tambo (1917-2017)
6. Birth Centenary of Nelson Mandela (1918-2018)
7. 125th Year of Mahatma Gandhi's Pietermaritzburg Station Incident (1893-2018)
8. 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi (1969-2019)

Latest collaboration between India & South Africa post offices for a joint stamp issue (July 2018)

Second joint stamp issue between India and South Africa (June 2018)

Joint Issue between India and South Africa issued in 1995 and another souvenir by SA Post in 1997

Update (07 Jul 2018): I will post details for all the joint stamps issued between India and South Africa here. I've previously shared - on another post and on Twitter - with fellow collectors that the two countries have been working on commemorating several personalities in 2018 and turns out there will be two joint issues in 2018 itself - one each in June and July.

Can Philatelists help India Post plan for 2018-2022? (Archived)

ARCHIVED

I'm moving over to two new posts - a BetterPhilately wishlist and another one with India Post's pending stamp proposals. This was necessary because both the lists were getting quite long and it was difficult to maintain clear distinction between my suggestions and pending proposals. Clink on the links below to see the new posts:

BetterPhilately Wishlist
India Post Pending Stamp Proposals

Updates on 20 Sep 2018
Updates on 09 June 2018
Updates on 23 March 2018

Update (21 Jan 2018): This is a new post, but with majority of the old dates and such removed. I'm starting to track old approved issues and ideas for new stamp subjects here. I've added a new sub-section for issues that are unlikely in the near future, but may be revived at a later date. You can see the previous version by clicking here.

Text from the old blog post: There are numerous stamp issues that were put out by India Post for release in a particular year, but have not yet been released. Since the subjects were shared with the public, I am assuming these issues were approved for release. Many of these morphed into different stamp subjects. There could be various views about the list below, but one can be objective about it to help increase accountability and transparency in the process of selecting and issuing stamps.

I will try provide perspective to some of the stamp subjects hoping that these stamp releases languishing in Dak Bhawan (India Post HQ) will see the light of day. The stamp for Mumbai Stock Exchange was to commemorate 125 years of the stock exchange. Was this pulled out because it could be seen as an anti-poor move? Other issues for 2001 should be brought back, redesigned and released. Especially, the Jataka Tales and Hitopadesha stamps. The Panchatantra Stories stamps released in 2001 were quite popular and I remember hearing from our philatelic bureau those stamps being the highest seller for 2001. The Jataka Tales and Hitopadesha stamps can be released in two sets and complete a Folktales of India series (comprising of all these three folktales).

Joint issues were planned with Oman (2005) and Peru (2013), but were never released. I believe the issue with the Peru joint issue was that Peru released their stamp in March and India Post was not ready with its version. Although planned to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations, the joint issue with Oman was also not released as planned.

SAARC could have had two stamp issues - one for 20 years celebration in 2005 and the other one for South Asian Postal Union. SAARC has had a troubled history with little progress made on the ground. It would not be surprising if the Charter Day issue was abandoned due to political reasons. The SAPU stamp was overcast with the Wild Flowers of India issue during the APPU Congress in New Delhi (2013). In the past some SAARC stamps had good themes and designs - Year of Youth (1995), Year of Shelter (1991), 10 year celebrations (1996). Planning to release the pending issues will add to the new vigor with neighborly relations.

Pramathesh Barua was part of the Legendary Filmmakers series planned for release in 2006. Neither was this series started, not was a stamp released on Barua. Instead, stamps on  most other filmmakers were released individually (A. V. Meiyappan, Bimal Roy, Mehboob Khan, Ritwik Ghatak, L. V. Prasad).

On the other hand, the Himalayan Lakes, Landmark Bridges and Horses of India series were put in place, but some of the originally included subjects were not released. It would be ideal if these series can be continued with newer additions along with the ones that were intended for release but not included in the first issuance. A similar issue existed with stamps issues under the Festivals of India and Textiles of India stamp series. Honest opinion for Textiles stamps - Tat and Chanderi textiles were dropped to include Kalamkari (Andhra; Panbaka Lakshmi was MoS Textiles in 2009) and Apa Tani textiles (Arunachal; attempt to include North-East India).

A large set of stamp subjects (Calendar Stamps) were publicized in 2009 in the short lived Phila Post magazine. None, make note, none of these stamps have been released so far. Like the India Post-PCI collaboration on the magazine, PAC's idea of Calendar Stamps did not take off. The stamp subjects were terrific and would have done yeomen service to spread Indian culture across the world, but sadly nothing was achieved.

This post is getting quite long. I will rest my case here. This list should be used for furthering discussions with India Post and Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad (MoCIT) about stamp issues and recommendations for future releases. These stamp subjects alone should provide enough material for the next few years, leading up to the 75th Year of India's Independence (Amrut Mahotsav in 2022).

Update (10 Sep 2016): A sub-section has been added toward the end of this post to list all the stamps that eventually get released from the proposals listed below. A few minor updates to some stamp subjects have been added as well. Appreciate the feedback and comments from all the readers. Keep'em coming.

Update (06 Aug 2016): Just re-organized this post while keeping all the information unchanged. Dates and colors indicated below will allow easy navigation.  Black font was the original post and additions or updates are in different colors and each color represents a specific date. Post a comment if there's a question. Enjoy.

Stamp Issues Approved, but Not Released
2001
Set of 4 stamps on Greetings
Set of 4 stamps on Dances of India
Set of 4 stamps on Hitopadesha and Jataka Tales (Approved)

2005
India-Oman Joint Issue
SAARC Charter Day

2006
Himalayan Lakes – Loktak, Suraj Tal, Naini Tal
Landmark Bridges – Coronation Bridge, Kandrour Bridge, Laxman Jhula, Godavari Bridge
Pramathesh Barua

2007
Battaqh Ali Ansari

2008
Festivals of India – Kulu Dussehra
Infantry Soldier – Year of Infantry
Jammu & Kashmir Light Regiment
Maulana Atikur Rehman Alvi
Mahanamrata Brahmachari
Textiles of India – Tat, Chanderi, Ikat, Paithani, Maheshwari, Jamdani, Kota, Sambalpuri, Angami Weaves

2009
Architectural Splendor – Ujjayanta Palace, Patwon ki Haveli, Mattancherry Palace
Buddha Jayanti
Caves (Tracing Civilizations) – Bhimbetka, Barabar, Udaigiri, Nagarjuna
Children’s Fables – Vikram & Betal, Mogli, Tenali Rama, Birbal
Hill Stations (Colonial Heritage) – Gulmarg, Darjeeling, Ooty, Shimla
Endangered Species – Ganges River Dolphin, Nilgiri Tahr, Lion Tailed Macaque, Himalayan Musk Deer
Greetings – Christmas, New Year
Horses of India – Spiti and Kati
House Boats – Kerala, Kashmir
National Gallery of Modern Art
Seasons of India
Shakti Temples – Kalighat, Meenakshi, Vaishno Devi, Kamakhya (Approved)
Unique Villages of India – Toda, Kutch
UN Convention on the Rights for Persons with Disabilities

2012
Asiatic Black Bear and other wild animals (Set of 4 stamps)
Boats of India (Set of 4 stamps)
Flowers of India (Set of 2 stamps)
Government College, Ajmer
Railway Bridges of India (Set of 4 stamps)
Traditional Embroideries of India - Chikankari, Kutchi, Kashmiri, Phulkari, Kantha
Tribal Dwellings (Set of 4 stamps)

2013
Dr. Nilratan Sircar
India-Peru Joint Issue
South Asian Postal Union

2014
Machali, The Tigress

The following subjects should be/are being considered for release in the next few years as well:
BetterPhilately Wish List

2016

Banda Singh Bahadur
Bishop Cotton School, Bengaluru
Delhi High Court - Golden Jubilee
Gaurishankar Govardhan Joshi 'Dhumketu' (Approved)

2017
100 Years of Kheda Movement
100 Years of Sabarmati Ashram
200 Years of Paika Rebellion (Approved)
Air Force Marshal Arjan Singh
Amritlal Nagar
Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute
Bombay Scottish School, Mumbai
Dayalbagh
Gir Wildlife Sanctuary
Hindu School, Kolkata
India-UN Joint Issue: International Day of Yoga
Laxmanrao Inamdar
Presidency University, Kolkata
Queen Heo Hwang-ok (Korean queen from Ayodhya)
Swami Abhedananda

2018
50 Years of Commercial Nuclear Power - Tarapur
Bhagvadgita
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (Approved)
Bose Institute
Chandrakant Patel
ISRO - Golden Jubilee
Jyotirlinga Temples
Maharshi Mahesh Yogi
Maniram Dewan
Osmania University, Hyderabard (100 Years) - MyStamp
Rajkumar School, Rajkot
Ramamand Sagar
Ravenshaw University, Cuttack (150 Years) - MyStamp
Sikander Bakht
Srimant Sankardev
The Maihar Band (100 Years)
The Yoga Institute, Mumbai (100 Years)
Vinda Karandikar

2019
150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi (Approved)
High Court of Punjab & Haryana Centenary
Sherwood College, Nainital
St. Aloysius Senior Secondary School, Jabalpur
Amrita Pritam
Maharani Gayatri Devi
Guru Nanak Dev - 550th Parkash Utsav
International Film Festival of India (Golden Jubilee)

2020
36th International Geological Congress
ASSOCHAM
Modern School, New Delhi
Pandurang Shastri Athavle
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

2021
75 Years of India's Independence
India-Bangladesh: Joint Issue (50 & 75 Years of Independence)

BetterPhilately Wish List (Personalities)
B. D. Jatti
Balasaheb Thackarey
Balasheb Deoras
Chinmayananda Saraswati
Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy
Eknath Ranade
Gopal Swarup Pathak
I. K. Gujral
J. Jayalalithaa
K. R. Narayanan
Khushabhau Thakre
Mohammad Hidayatullah
N. Sanjeeva Reddy
P. V. Narasimha Rao
Shivmangal Singh Suman
Siyaram Sharan Gupt
V. P. Singh

Dead Issues
Bhupesh Gupta
D. Devaraj Urs
Jyoti Basu
International Year of Pulses
FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017
St. Mary's School, Pune
St. Mary’s Convent Inter College, Allahabad

Stamps, Eventually Issued
Auroville (Golden Jubilee) - Released on 25 Feb 2018
CISF - Central Industrial Security Force - Released on 08 Mar 2018
B. Nagi Reddi - Released on 23 Feb 2018
Oliver Reginald Tambo - Released on 07 Jun 2018
Lions International Centenary - Released on 25 May 2018
Patna University - Released on 25 Aug 2018
Nelson Mandela - Released on 26 Jul 2018
Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha - Released on 17 Jun 2018
India-Armenia: Joint Issue - Released on 29 Aug 2018

United States Stamp Subjects for 2017 (Archived)

Update (15 Jan 2018): Given that not a lot of information was posted here, I'm archiving this post and will not provide any updates here. Let's see if I can do a better job in 2018.

Update (08 April 2017): Two new wedding and celebration stamps will be issued in a ceremony to be held at the Missouri Botanical Gardens in St. Louis on 02nd May 2017. USPS is organizing this event, which is free and open to attend. With this update, issue dates for only 5 of the previously announced stamps are pending. These are listed below.

New Stamp Issue Dates:
02 May - Celebration Corsage (Two Ounce)
02 May - Celebration Boutonniere

Issue Dates Pending:
California Dogface Butterfly
Flowers from the Garden
Have a Ball!
National Museum of African American History & Culture
Sharks

Update (28 Mar 2017): The Postal Service recently added two previously unannounced stamps for issuance in the second quarter. A new Global Forever non-denominated stamp will be dedicated in San Francisco, CA on 28th April. This stamp shows an image of echeveria, a succulent native to the Americas. The second stamp appears to be part of the Fruit-theme definitive series of stamps. It will be issued on 05th May in Acton, MA. This 3 cents stamp shows several strawberries, a white flower, leaves and bulbs from the strawberry plant. This stamp will be issued in coils of 10,000 only.

New Stamp Issue Dates:
28 Apr - Green Succulent Global Forever
05 May - Strawberries (3 cents)

Images for recent stamp dedication ceremonies can be found on the Better Philately twitter feed (click here to follow).

Update (18 Mar 2017): Several stamps have been issued by USPS in February and March. Details for these stamp issues can be found in another blog post. Dates for stamp releases in Q2/Q3 were recently provided by USPS to philately media and those are listed below.

New Stamp Issue Dates:
11 Apr - Robert Panara (Two Ounces)
20 Apr - Delicosio (6 designs)
23 May - Henry David Thoreau
12 Jul - Andrew Wyeth (12 designs)
03 Aug - Protect Pollinators (5 designs)
01 Sep - Fr. Ted Hesburgh
04 Oct - 'The Snowy Day' (4 designs)
05 Oct - Christmas Carols (4 designs)

Update (22 Jan 2017): Two high denomination stamps should have been put for sale today, but were not to be found on USPS.com. Both, the Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express stamps were available for pre-order in panes of 4 each, last two weeks. These stamps should likely be available at the post offices and online tomorrow onward. No dedication ceremonies are planned for these two issues. First-class mail rates are going up 2 cents from 47 to 49 cents from today. Booklets panes of 20 will now cost $9.80 and increase of 40 cents from the previous $9.40 rate. The only other changes appear to be in the priority mail rates, which will be covered with the two new stamps. We've updated the details for January and February 2017 stamp issues in another blog post. Click here to check it out. As soon as more information on the issue dates or new subjects becomes available, we will share it here.

While discussing new issues, it's worth noting that the CSAC stamp subject list that was leaked on Washington Post in 2014 still continues to provide enough hints about potential stamp issues. Many of the stamp subjects disclosed for issuance in 2017 were mentioned in some form on that list. Below are the subjects that were on the leaked list and the ones that remain as potential topics. Stamps issued over the past 3 years (2014-16) are not shown.

Update (06 Jan 2017): The Post Office announced five new stamp subjects for issuance in 2017 on 28th December 2016. These are listed below. Issue dates for many of the Q1 2017 stamps were known as of 05th Jan 2017, covering about half of the stamp subjects announced by USPS so far. Two other make-up denominations under the Fruit definitive series were also announced. No dedication ceremonies are planned for the high denomination stamps on 22nd January. Dedication ceremonies for most other stamps are planned in places associated with the stamp subject or at stamp shows. The stamp on Oscar de la Renta will be issued during the New York Fashion Week, WPA Posters at Hyde Park and JFK stamp in Boston.

Additional stamp subjects:
Gateway Arch (Priority Mail Express, $23.75)
Grapes (5c)
Lili'Uokalani Gardens (Priority Mail, $6.65)
Oscar de la Renta (Pane of 11 designs)
Patriotic (USA) Nonprofit
Pears (10c)
Azulillo Stamped Card

New Stamp Issue Dates:
22 Jan - Gateway Arch (Priority Mail Express, $23.75)
22 Jan - Lili'Uokalani Gardens (Priority Mail, $6.65)
10 Feb - Patriotic (USA) Nonprofit
16 Feb - Oscar de la Renta (Pane of 11 designs)
18 Feb - Uncle Sam's Hat (Additional Ounce)
20 Feb - John F. Kennedy
24 Feb - Grapes (5c)
01 Mar - Nebraska 1867 Statehood
03 Mar - Barn Swallow Stamped Envelope
07 Mar - WPA Posters (10 designs)
23 Mar - Pears (10c)
31 Mar - Mississippi 1817 Statehood

FDOI Ceremony Announcement for Year of Rooster Stamp on 05th Jan 2017

Update (23 Dec 2016): Issue dates for two more stamps was provided in the latest Postal Bulletin by USPS. The U. S. Flag Forever stamp will be dedicated on 27th January at Norcross, GA during the Southeastern Stamp Expo. This stamp will be issued in  booklets of 10, 18 and 20 as well as a Coil of 100 stamps. Both, BCA and Ashton Potter will print the booklets of 10 and 20 and the Coil stamps, but details for the ATM booklet pane were not yet available. The next day, on 28th Jan, the Postcard-rate stamp on Seashells will be issued in San Diego, CA likely during a stamp show as well. These stamps in 4 designs will be made available in panes of 20 and in coils of 100 stamps.

27 Jan - U. S. Flag
28 Jan - Seashells (4 designs)

Update (17 Dec 2016): A couple of other stamp issue dates have become available. The stamp on Dorothy Height will be issued on 01st February in Washington, DC. Release dates for Andrew Wyeth and Father Ted Hesburgh stamps are now known as well. The pane of 12 stamps on Andrew Wyeth will be dedicated at the Brandywine River Museum of Art, PA on 12th July, as reported on ARTFIXdaily. United States Postal Service also revised the design because one of the stamps (bottom right) was repeated twice in the original art work shared on 22nd November. See the original and the revised designs below. Issue date for Fr. Hesburgh was announced on Notre Dame's Facebook page and via a press release.

ARTFIXdaily link - http://www.artfixdaily.com/artwire/release/6046-usps-to-mark-centennial-of-andrew-wyeths-birth-with-12-forever%C2%AE-s

Notre Dame Press Release - http://news.nd.edu/news/notre-dames-father-john-jenkins-responds-to-a-postage-stamp-to-honor-father-hesburgh/

01 Feb - Dorothy Height (40th stamp in Black Heritage series)
12 Jul - Andrew Wyeth
Sep ('Fall 2017') - Father Ted Hesburgh

Update (10 Dec 2016:): Issue dates for the first two stamps have been announced in the latest Postal Bulletin. See the dates below. The Lunar New Year stamp will be issued at the Wing Luke Museum of Asian Pacific American Experience in Seattle, WA and the Love Skywriting stamp will be issued at the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, CA.

05 Jan - Celebrating New Year - Year of the Rooster (Lunar New Year series)
07 Jan - Love Skywriting

Update (22 Nov 2016): Additional stamp subjects were announced by USPS today. With this update the Postal Service has revealed 26 stamp subjects with a total of 78 stamp designs.

Andrew Wyeth (Souvenir Sheet of 12 designs)
Celebration Boutonniere
Celebration Corsage
Christmas Carols (4 designs)
Dorothy Height (Black Heritage Series)
Have a Ball! (8 designs)
Henry David Thoreau
Mississippi 1817 (Statehood Series)
Nebraska 1867 (Statehood Series)
Protect Pollinators (5 designs)
Robert Panara (Distinguished American Series)
'The Snowy Day' (4 designs)

Original Post (02 Oct 2016): The following stamp subjects and associated images have been announced by the Postal Service. This information was made available in the public domain via a press release on 20 Sep 2016. This blog post will be used to provide updates and other information for our readers for all stamp subjects for 2017. Another blog post will list the stamp issues once all the relevant information for printing and designs are available. Do continue to follow both the posts regularly once the new year begins. Until then, enjoy the upcoming holiday season and keep collecting.

Barn Swallow Stamped Envelope
California Dogface Butterfly (7th in a series)
Celebrating New Year - Year of the Rooster (Lunar New Year series)
Delicosio (6 designs) - Latin American and Caribbean cuisine
Father Ted Hesburgh (Birth Centenary)
Flowers from the Garden (4 designs)
John F. Kennedy (Birth Centenary)
Love Skywriting (Love series)
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Seashells (4 designs)
Sharks (5 designs)
Uncle Sam's Hat
U. S. Flag
WPA Posters (10 designs)

It appears that the Flowers of the Garden, Delicosio and WPA Posters could be issued at 'booklet' panes of 20, Uncle Sam's Hat, Seashells and U. S. Flag could come in rolls and others appear to be issued as panes of 20, except for the Lunar New Year stamp.

Stamp Issue Updates for 2016

Update (02 Oct 2016): This could be the last update for the year. A few minor adjustments were made to the stamp release dates. Another change for the Christmas (15th. c. Florentine) from 11 to 18 Oct, but the city of release remained unchanged (Washington DC). The Hanukkah stamp will now be released on 01 Nov in Boca Raton, FL and the Christmas (Nativity) stamp on 03 Nov in Washington, DC. At this point, it is believed the entire stamp program is known for the year. See the release dates for all the stamp below. Surprisingly, little to no postal stationery was released over the entire year. Signs of times to come? The other blog post with details on the stamp printing and designers will be updated soon.

Update (05 Sep 2016): Another stamp issue has been added for release this year. It's a greeting card-rate stamp in the butterfly series (sixth in the series). A 68c stamp non-machinable rate stamp on Eastern Tailed-Blue butterfly will be released in 2016. Although a special rate stamp, it will remain valid 'forever' for it's intended use. No release date or place of issue has been announced yet.

Update (28 Aug 2016): CSAC and United States Postal Service have heard all your voice. A new postage stamp will be issued on 05 October to celebrate Diwali, a Hindu festival. Petitions for this stamp subject have been made for over 10 years and a decision was eagerly awaited by the Indian American community. It's a highlight for this blog because of it's focus on India Post and USPS, and because Diwali brings both the countries and it's culture together. The stamp featuring a traditional lamp called 'diya' was designed by Greg Breeding using a photograph by Sally Anderson-Bruce. William Gicker was the art director for this project. The stamp will be released  at the Indian Consulate in New York. Diwali will be celebrated on 29-30 October this year. In other news, dates for a few stamp issues have been adjusted and release locations updated as well. These updates and the high level stamp program is below. Happy Diwali and Happy Collecting!

01 Oct - Kwanzaa at Charleston, SC (Previously, 07 Oct at New York, NY)
05 Oct - Diwali at New York, NY (Previously unannounced)
11 Oct - Christmas (15th c. Florentine) at Washington, DC (Previously 07 Oct at New York, NY)

Update (06 Aug 2016): This post had not been updated in the last few months, mainly because USPS did a good job disseminating information to philatelists and there were other posts on this blog that contained new on recent stamp issues, especially the ones released during the World Stamp Show in New York. At this point, dates for all known stamps for 2016 have been announced. The last one to be announced was for the 1 cent Apples definitive stamp (12 Aug 2016 release date). Following stamp issues were added beyond the ones made known earlier. The updated stamp program is posted below as well. As mentioned earlier, the detailed version of the stamp program will be posted in another blog.

04 Aug - Songbirds in Snow (4 designs)
19 Aug - Patriotic Spiral (1 design)
06 Oct - Holiday Window Views (4 designs)
07 Oct - Wonder Woman (4 designs) - Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age & Modern Age

Here's the stamp issue program, in an easy to read set of two images (03 Apr 2016).

Moving the detailed schedule to a new post (04 Mar 2016).

Update (27 Feb 2016): Added dates for Indiana Statehood, Holiday stamps (4 issues), Jaime Escalante and Soda Fountain Favorites (to be release in Nashville, TN).

Date	Issue Description	Format
07-Jun	Indiana Statehood	Pane of 20
May	Repeal of the Stamp Act, 1766	Pane of 10
May	NY2016 Souvenir Sheets (2 designs)	2 Panes of 12 each
May	Views of Our Planets (8 designs)	Pane of 16
May	Pluto - Explored (2 designs)	Souvenir Sheet of 4
TBD	Apples (1c)	N/A
07-Oct	Christmas (15th c. Florentine)	Pane of 20
06-Oct	Christmas (Nativity)	Pane of 20
TBD	Eid Greetings	Pane of 20
19-Feb	Grapes (5c)	Coil of 10k
06-Oct	Hanukkah	Pane of 20
TBD	Jack O'Lanterns (4 designs)	Pane of 20
13-Jul	Jaime Escalante	Pane of 20
07-Oct	Kwanzaa	Pane of 20
TBD	Pets (20 designs)	Booklet of 20
TBD	Pickup Trucks (4 designs)	Booklet of 20
TBD	Shirley Temple	Pane of 20
30-Jun	Soda Fountain Favorites (5 designs)	Booklet of 20
TBD	Star Quilts (Presorted First Class, 2 designs)	Coils of 3k/10k
TBD	Star Trek (4 designs)	Pane of 20

Update (13 Feb 2016): Just separating out Q1 2016 from the remaining months. This should help keep a track of the issues until March and then add on as more first day of issue dates are available. Happy Collecting!

Date	Issue Description	Format
March?	Indiana Statehood	Pane of 20
May	Repeal of the Stamp Act, 1766	Pane of 10
May	NY2016 Souvenir Sheets (2 designs)	2 Panes of 12 each
May	Views of Our Planets (8 designs)	Pane of 16
May	Pluto - Explored (2 designs)	Souvenir Sheet of 4
TBD	Apples (1c)	N/A
TBD	Christmas (15th c. Florentine)	Pane of 20
TBD	Christmas (Nativity)	Pane of 20
TBD	Eid Greetings	Pane of 20
19-Feb	Grapes (5c)	N/A
TBD	Hanukkah	Pane of 20
TBD	Jack O'Lanterns (4 designs)	Pane of 20
TBD	Jaime Escalante	Pane of 20
TBD	Kwanzaa	Pane of 20
TBD	Pets (20 designs)	Booklet of 20
TBD	Pickup Trucks (4 designs)	Booklet of 20
TBD	Shirley Temple	Pane of 20
TBD	Soda Fountain Favorites (5 designs)	Booklet of 20
TBD	Star Quilts (Presorted First Class, 2 designs)	Coils of 3k/10k
TBD	Star Trek (4 designs)	Pane of 20

Update (30 Dec 2015 & 23 Jan 2016): USPS appears to have provided a major update to the stamp issues for 2016 a couple days ago over a call with stamp news editors. This information actually enables to move to the tabular format for stamp releases in 2016. Information for print quantity, printer, designers and city of release will be added later. Among the new subjects introduced in this recent update, quite a few (highlighted in red below) were mentioned in the Washington Post's leaked CSAC stamp list. The Grapes and Pears stamps are considered as the '5 & 10 cent low denomination designs'; Views of Our Planets could be the 'Solar System' from the CSAC list.

Date	Issue Description	Format
12-Jan	Quilled Paper Heart	Pane of 20
17-Jan	Columbia River Gorge ($22.95)	Pane of 10
17-Jan	La Cueva Del Indio ($6.45)	Pane of 10
29-Jan	Botanical Art (10 designs)	Booklets of 10 & 20
22-Feb	The Moon (Global Forever)	Pane of 10
29-Jan	United States Flag	Booklets of 10, 20 & Coil of 100 (SSP)
29-Jan	United States Flag	Booklet of 10 & Coil of 100 (APU)
2-Feb	Richard Allen	Pane of 20
5-Feb	Celebrating Lunar New Year	Pane of 12
29-Mar	Sarah Vaughan	Pane of 16
March	Indiana Statehood	Pane of 20
May	Repeal of the Stamp Act, 1766	Pane of 10
May	NY2016 Souvenir Sheets (2 designs)	2 Panes of 12 each
May	Views of Our Planets (8 designs)	Pane of 16
May	Pluto - Explored (2 designs)	Souvenir Sheet of 4
TBD	Apples (1c)	N/A
TBD	Christmas (15th c. Florentine)	Pane of 20
TBD	Christmas (Nativity)	Pane of 20
TBD	Eid Greetings	Pane of 20
TBD	Grapes (5c)	N/A
TBD	Hanukkah	Pane of 20
TBD	Jack O'Lanterns (4 designs)	Pane of 20
TBD	Jaime Escalante	Pane of 20
TBD	Kwanzaa	Pane of 20
17-Jan	Pears (10c)	Coil of 10k
TBD	Pets (20 designs)	Booklet of 20
TBD	Pickup Trucks (4 designs)	Booklet of 20
TBD	Shirley Temple	Pane of 20
TBD	Soda Fountain Favorites (5 designs)	Booklet of 20
TBD	Star Quilts (Presorted First Class, 2 designs)	Coils of 3k/10k
TBD	Star Trek (4 designs)	Pane of 20

Original Post
The new year will soon be here. USPS has already announced several stamp issues. This list includes some stamp subjects from the Washington Post leaked stamp list.

Adding stamp release dates below as they are announced or confirmed.

United States Stamp Issues in 2016:

January 12 - Quilled Paper Heart

January 29 - Botanical Art (Booklet of 20)
February 02 - Richard Allen

February 05 - Year of the Monkey

March 29 - Sarah Vaughan

May - NY2016 Souvenir Sheet

May - Repeal of the Stamp Act, 1766

Indiana Statehood

Jaime Escalante

Pets (Booklet of 20)

Other potential subjects for 2016 (CSAC leaked list from The Post):

A Leon Higginbotham, Jr.

Barn Swallow Envelope

Biplane Stamped Card

Columbia River Gorge

Common Buckeye Butterfly

Elizabeth Taylor

Henry James

Mushrooms

NPS

Sesame Street

Skywriting

X-Ray Flowers

Yes,Virginia