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By Charles Snee
On Jan. 21, the United States Postal
Service will issue two new stamps for expedited mail.
The preliminary images of the Spiral
Galaxy and Star Cluster stamps shown nearby show a specific denomination. The
USPS proposed a $10.10 denomination for the Spiral Galaxy stamp and a $31.40
denomination for the Star Cluster stamp. Both of those proposed denominations
received approval from the Postal Regulatory Commission.
Preliminary images of the new stamps
with “0.00” denomination inscriptions were first shown in the Jan. 6 issue of Linn’s.
The $10.10 Spiral Galaxy Priority
Mail stamp and the $31.40 Star Cluster Priority Mail Express stamp are the
latest additions to the Stellar Formations series that the USPS launched in
2024 with the $9.85 Pillars of Creation Priority Mail stamp (Scott 5827) and
the $30.45 Cosmic Cliffs Priority Mail Express stamp (5828).
Although no official USPS first-day
ceremony is planned for the two stamps, the designated first-day city is Big
Sky, Mont., an appropriate location, given the vastness of the stamps’
subjects.
Kim Frum, a senior public relations
representative for the Postal Service, told Linn’s Dec. 22 that no
first-day event or ceremony is planned in Big Sky.
Both stamps should be available for
purchase at the Big Sky post office on the Jan. 21 first day.
Both stamps are to be issued two days
after new postal rates go into effect on Sunday, Jan. 19.
Flat-rate Priority Mail postage rose
from $9.85 to $10.10. The increase in the flat rate for Priority Mail Express
was just under $1, jumping from $30.45 to $31.40. Postage for a first-class
letter remained at 73¢.
The $31.40 Star Cluster now has the
highest face value of any regular postage stamp issued by the United States. It
dethrones the $30.45 Cosmic Cliffs (Scott 5828) issued Jan. 22, 2024.
All stamps in the series illustrate
dramatic photos taken by the James Webb Space Telescope.
The new $10.10 Spiral Galaxy Priority
Mail stamp will feature “an extremely high-definition image of a spiral galaxy
32 million light-years from Earth,” according to the Postal Service.
Pictured on the $31.40 Star Cluster
Priority Mail Express stamp is a star cluster roughly 1,000 light-years from
Earth, the USPS said.
Both stamps were designed by USPS art
director Greg Breeding using photos credited to several sources.
“From the beginning, we’ve been
interested in showcasing the incredible new images from the Webb Telescope
(JWST) and we’ve been working with NASA to acquire new imagery,” Breeding told Linn’s
Stamp News. “As we review new images on NASA’s website, we are also looking
for what might make good stamp images.”
Breeding eventually settled on photos
of a …
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