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As early as 1899, the Post Office Department had considered marking stamps to help identify those stolen from post offices. Printing technology during the early years of the twentieth century, however, made implementation of the idea unfeasible.The development of the rotary press changed that. In 1929 a postal inspector again advanced the idea of marking stamps, stressing that $200,000 worth of stolen stamps had been "fenced" the previous year. His argument convinced postal officials, and a plan …

The first US Airmail stamps, or US definitive postage stamps issued for use on airmail letters, were issued in early 1918. They are shown above (Sc. #C1-3), arranged in the order of their issue dates.Note that the stamps are inscribed "U.S. POSTAGE". They were available for use on regular letter mail, as well as on airmail, which was still highly experimental. The central designs feature a "Curtiss Jenny" Biplane in Flight. The "Jenny" was originally produced as an Army training aircraft duri …

Beginning a stamp collection can be a fairly simple endeavor, or if not thought out properly an overwhelming task. A few basic questions have to be asked. #1) What age is this collection going to be geared for? #2) How extensive (or complete) do I want the collection to be. #3) Are there any areas of concentration that I want focus on. #4) What is my budget or budget guidelines.For a young beginning collector, the answers can be quite simple. Beginner albums and stamp packets can be the …

The first characters fans meet in the first “Star Wars” film, “Star Wars: A New Hope,” are droids — namely C-3PO and R2-D2 — and droids have continued to play pivotal roles throughout the “Star Wars” galaxy.With 10 dazzling new character-inspired stamps, the Postal Service salutes beloved droids from the “Star Wars” galaxy and the imagination that brings these technological marvels to the screen.Representing more than four decades of innovation and storytelling, the droids featured in this pane …

America’s First Postage Stamps In the 1840s, United States postal authorities were carefully watching the world’s reaction to Great Britain’s Penny Black, the first adhesive postage stamp. An adhesive stamp was being considered for use in the U.S. When Robert H. Morris, postmaster of New York, proposed issuing a provisional stamp, there were no objections. Morris assumed the printing cost, and in 1845, the first U.S. postmaster’s provisional was issued. Other postmasters followed suit, prov …