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By Charles Snee
On July 23 the United States Postal Service will celebrate its 250th anniversary with a new stamp picturing Benjamin Franklin (1706-90), the nation’s first postmaster general.
[Editor’s note: On the same day, the Postal Service will issue a pane of 20 250 Years of Delivering stamps as part of the 250th anniversary celebration.]The new nondenominated (78¢) Benjamin Franklin stamp will be issued as part of a 32-page prestige booklet containing two panes of 10 of the stamp, along with descriptive text and illustrations. The booklet is titled “Putting a Stamp on the American Experience.”
An official first-day ceremony for the Benjamin Franklin stamp is scheduled for noon Eastern Time at the headquarters of the USPS, 475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, D.C.
Collectors wishing to attend the ceremony are encouraged to register online with the USPS. Each attendee may invite up to four additional guests, the Postal Service said.
“Every stamp tells a story, with each one offering a glimpse into the creativity, culture, and history that shape our nation,” the USPS said. “With the issuance of the Putting a Stamp on the American Experience prestige booklet, the U.S. Postal Service proudly commemorates the 250th anniversary of our nation’s postal system while celebrating the enduring impact of stamps on our shared heritage.”
According to the Postal Service, the 2025 Benjamin Franklin stamp features an engraved image based on the 1875 reproduction (Scott 3) of the 1847 5¢ Franklin (1), the nation’s first regular-issue postage stamp. George Washington is the subject of the second U.S. stamp, the 1847 10¢ (2).
“As one of the first two honorees on U.S. stamps, Franklin is a longtime icon of the stamp program, appearing on more than 100 releases in the 178-year history of American stamps,” the USPS said. “Appointed postmaster general of the Colonies by the Second Continental Congress in 1775, Franklin appreciated that the postal system could help unite the Colonies — and the nation they became. As a printer, scientist and diplomat, he played a monumental role in shaping American culture, and his postal legacy of adaptability and innovation continues to inspire the modern-day Postal Service.”
The Putting a Stamp on the American Experience prestige booklet will be available exclusively through the USPS Postal Store, by calling Stamp Fulfillment Services at 844-737-7826 or by mail through the USA Philatelic catalog.
Melissa Chavez, a senior public relations representative for the USPS, told Linn’s Stamp News that the booklet will be available for purchase at the Postal Service booth at Great American Stamp Show, which takes place Aug. 14-17 in Schaumburg, Ill.
The cost of the booklet is $20.95, $5.35 more than the $15.60 face value of the 20 Benjamin Franklin forever stamps.
According to production details published in the June 26 issue of the Postal Bulletin, Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd., one of the Postal Service’s contract printers for postage stamps, is producing 750,000 prestige booklets containing a total of 15 million Benjamin Franklin stamps. …
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