US Stamps
Official Stamps of 1911-2009
New US stamps were issued, beginning in 1910, for Postal Savings Official Mail, and beginning in 1983, for U.S. Official Mail.
Postal Savings Official Stamps
The Act of Congress, approved June 25, 1910, establishing Postal Savings Banks (depositories), provided for the Post Office Department to issue official stamps to be used for the processing of Postal Savings mail. These depositories were located at major post offices throughout the country.
These were NOT Postal Savings stamps, but Post Office Department official stamps issued to track the federal costs of postage on Postal Savings matter sent between the Postal Savings Banks (depositories) throughout the nation.
The three Postal Savings official US stamps shown above were issued between December 1910 and February 1911. These official stamps were engraved, watermarked double-lined USPS, and perforated 12.
Their catalog details are as follows:
- 02 C. (1910 - Sc. #O121) - Black.
- 50 C. (1911 - Sc. #O122) - Dark Green.
- 01 D. (1911 - Sc. #O123) - Ultramarine.
The three Postal Savings official US stamps shown above were issued during 1911. These official stamps were engraved, watermarked single-lined USPS, and perforated 12.
Their catalog details are as follows:
- 01 C. (1911 - Sc. #O124) - Dark Violet.
- 02 C. (1911 - Sc. #O125) - Black.
- 10 C. (1911 - Sc. #O126) - Carmine.
In October 1914, the use of Postal Savings official stamps was discontinued. The remaining stocks of unused stamps were recalled and destroyed.
Official Mail Stamps
The U.S. Postal Service began issuing Official Mail stamps during 1983, in an effort to help improve government postage use accountability.
All of the designs feature the Great Seal of the United States, but, in other respects, these Official Mail stamps are uniquely different from each other. The progression of the denominations on these stamps also reflect the rapidly increasing postage rates of the later part of the 20th Century and the first decade of the 21st Century.
Government departments also use penalty envelopes and metered mail, so the official use of these stamps has not been widespread. In fact, quite a few of these stamps are worth considerably more in used condition than they are in mint condition.
The eight sheet-format Official Mail US stamps shown above were issued between January 12, 1983 and May 15, 1985. They are all engraved, unwatermarked, and perforated 11.
Their catalog attributes are as follows:
- 01 C. (1983 - "USA 1c" - Sc. #O127) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 04 C. (1983 - "USA 4c" - Sc. #O128) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 13 C. (1983 - "USA 13c" - Sc. #O129) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 14 C. (1985 - "USA 14" - Sc. #O129A) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 17 C. (1983 - "USA 17c" - Sc. #O130) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 01 D. (1983 - "USA $1.00" - Sc. #O132) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 05 D. (1983 - "USA $5.00" - Sc. #O133) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 14 C. (1985 - "Postal Card Rate D" - #O138) - Red, Blue, and Black.
The seven coil-format Official Mail US stamps shown above were issued between January 12, 1983 and June 11, 1988. They are all engraved or lithographed, and they are perforated 10 vertically.
Their catalog attributes are as follows:
- 20 C. (1983 - "USA 20c" - Sc. #O135) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 22 C. (1985 - "USA 22" - Sc. #O136) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 15 C. (1988 - "15" - Sc. #O138A) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 20 C. (1988 - "20" - Sc. #O138B) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 22 C. (1985 - "Domestic Letter Rate D" - Sc. #O139) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 25 C. (1988 - "Domestic Mail E" - Sc. #O140) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 25 C. (1988 - "25" - Sc. #O141) - Red, Blue, and Black.
The six sheet-format Official Mail US stamps shown above were issued between July 1989 and September 1993. They are all lithographed and perforated 11.
Their catalog attributes are as follows:
- 01 C. (1989 - "1" - Sc. #O143) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 04 C. (1991 - "04" - Sc. #O146) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 10 C. (1993 - "10" - Sc. #O146A) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 19 C. (1991 - "19" - Sc. #O147) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 23 C. (1991 - "23" - Sc. #O148) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 01 D. (1993 - "$1" - Sc. #O151) - Red, Blue, and Black.
The four coil-format Official Mail US stamps shown above were issued between January 22, 1991 and May 9, 1995. They are all lithographed, and they are perforated 10 vertically or perforated 9.8 vertically.
Their catalog attributes are as follows:
- 29 C. (1991 - "For U.S. addresses only F" - Sc. #O144) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 29 C. (1991 - "29" - Sc. #O145) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 32 C. (1994 - "For U.S. addresses only G" - Sc. #O152) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 32 C. (1995 - "32" - Sc. #O153) - Red, Blue, and Black.
The three sheet-format Official Mail US stamps shown above were issued on May 9, 1995. They are all lithographed and perforated 11.2. These stamps also have a line of microscopic text below the eagle and the year-date in the lower-left corner.
Their catalog attributes are as follows:
- 01 C. (1995 - "1¢" - Sc. #O154) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 20 C. (1995 - "20" - Sc. #O155) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 23 C. (1995 - "23" - Sc. #O156) - Red, Blue, and Black.
The five coil-format Official Mail US stamps shown above were issued between October 8, 1999 and June 25, 2007. They are all lithographed or photogravure, and they are perforated 9 3/4 vertically or perforated 10 vertically. These stamps all have the year-date in the lower-left corner.
Their catalog attributes are as follows:
- 33 C. (1999 - "33" - Sc. #O157) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 34 C. (2001 - "34" - Sc. #O158) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 37 C. (2002 - "37" - Sc. #O159) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 39 C. (2006 - "39" - Sc. #O160) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 41 C. (2007 - "41" - Sc. #O162) - Red, Blue, and Black.
The sheet-format and self-adhesive-format Official Mail US stamps shown above were issued between 2006 and 2009.
The one dollar denomination stamp is lithographed, perforated 11 1/4, and the eagle is on a solid background.
The one cent denomination stamp is self-adhesive, and it has the year-date in the lower-left corner.
Their catalog attributes are as follows:
- 01 D. (2006 - "$1" - Sc. #O161) - Red, Blue, and Black.
- 01 C. (2009 - "1¢" - Sc. #O163) - Red, Blue, and Black.
On January 27, 2013, the use of Official Mail stamps was officially discontinued.
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