We're excited to release the second of 12 postcards in our Commemorative Collection celebrating 250 years of postal service in the United States.
Each postcard highlights a pivotal moment in U.S. postal history—complete with fascinating facts and trivia providing historical context.
Our newest postcard highlights the first issuance of postage stamps by the U.S. Post Office in 1847:
This historic event marked the beginning of prepaid postage in the United States.
Two stamps were introduced:
- A 5-cent stamp featuring Benjamin Franklin for letters weighing less than 1/2 ounce and traveling up to 300 miles.
- A 10-cent stamp depicting George Washington for deliveries to locations greater than 300 miles or for letters twice the weight of those covered by the 5-cent stamp.
Here's a fun bit of trivia—prior to the introduction of postage stamps, postage was paid in one of three ways:
- Prepaid by the sender
- Collected from the recipient upon delivery
- Partially paid in advance and partially upon delivery
As you may recall, each month in 2025, we're releasing a new postcard in this commemorative series.
When you collect all 12 postcards and align them in the pattern shown above, they'll reveal a timeline spanning from 1775 to 2025, highlighting the Post Office's amazing history.
(And here's something exciting: as you collect these postcards, a hidden image will gradually emerge. The first two postcards are already starting to reveal this cool design.).