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

Recent Stamp Series in United States

There are four stamp series that were recently completed or on-going. The War of 1812 stamp series has not been recognized by USPS as an official series, but it does make sense to consider these issues to have been planned and released as a series of four stamps. Another stamp series, Civil War Sesquicentennial was initiated in 2011 and completed after 5 years of stamp issuance in 2015. A total of 10 stamps were released in four panes of 12 stamps. The Lunar New Year stamp series and Music Icons stamp series were initiated in 2008 and 2013 respectively. The new Lunar New Year stamps are released in pane of 12 stamps. Stamp in this series uses three main motifs - paper cut animals (based on the first Lunar New Year stamp series that went from 1992-2006), Chinese calligraphy and a common feature of Chinese New Year celebrations (kumquat, lanterns, etc.). This series will end in 2019. Details for another series provided in this blog post is the new Music Icons stamps. So far six stamps have been released in this series with another one commemorating Sarah Vaughan being released in March 2016. Details for stamp artist, art director and printer will be added later.

The War of 1812 Bicentennial (Panes of 20 Stamps)

Date	Issue Description	Issue City	Print Quantity
18 August 2012	USS Constitution	Boston, MA	25 Million
10 September 2013	Battle of Lake Erie	Put-in Bay, OH	26 Million
13 September 2014	Fort McHenry	Baltimore, MD	30 Million
08 January 2015	Battle of New Orleans	Chalmette, LA	30 Million

The Civil War 1861-1865 – Sesquicentennial – Stamp Series (Panes of 12 Stamps)

Date	Issue Description	Issue City	Print Quantity
12 April 2011	Fort Sumter (April 12-13, 1861) First Bull Run (July 21, 1861)	Charleston, SC	60 Million
24 April 2012	New Orleans (April 24-May 1, 1862) Antietam (September 21, 1862)	New Orleans, LA	30 Million
23 May 2013	Vicksburg (April 16-July 4, 1863) Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863)	Vicksburg, MS Gettysburg, PA	10.8 Million
30 July 2014	Petersburg (June 15, 1864-April 3, 1865) Mobile Bay (August 5, 1864)	Petersburg, VA Mobile, AL	10.8 Million
09 April 2015	Five Forks ( April 1, 1865) Appomattox Court House (April 19, 1865)	Appomattox, VA	10.8 Million

Celebrating Lunar New Year – Stamp Series (Panes of 12 Stamps)

Date	Issue Description	Issue City	Print Quantity
09 January 2008	Year of The Rat	San Francisco, CA 94188	72 Million
08 January 2009	Year of The Ox	New York  City, NY 10199	60 Million
14 January 2010	Year of The Tiger	Los Angeles, CA 90052	40 Million
22 January 2011	Year of The Rabbit	Morrow, GA 30260	80.64 Million
23 January 2012	Year of The Dragon	San Francisco, CA 94188	72 Million
16 January 2013	Year of The Snake	San Francisco, CA 94105	31.2 Million
15 January 2014	Year of The Horse	San Francisco, CA 94108	17.6 Million
07 February 2015	Year of The Ram	San Francisco, CA 94108	17.6 Million
05 February 2016	Year of The Monkey	Jamaica, NY 11439	15 Million
2017	Year of The Rooster	TBD	TBD
2018	Year of the Dog	TBD	TBD
2019	Year of the Pig	TBD	TBD

Music Icons – Stamp Series (Panes of 16 Stamps)

Date	Issue Description	Issue City	Print Quantity
15 May 2013	Lydia Mendoza	San Antonio, TX	30 Million
05 June 2013	Johnny Cash	Nashville, TN	60 Million
23 September 2013	Ray Charles	Los Angeles, CA Atlanta, GA	60 Million
13 March 2014	Jimi Hendrix	Austin, TX	60 Million
08 August 2014	Janis Joplin	San Francisco, CA	50 Million
12 August 2015	Elvis Presley	Memphis, TN	100 Million
29 March 2016	Sarah Vaughan	New York City, NY	20 Million