USA Philatelic arrives in mailboxes

When I checked my post office box earlier this evening, one of the items inside was the Quarter 1 issue of USA Philatelic, the United States Postal Service sales catalogue.

My reaction to most of the new stamps announced so far for this year has been, "Eh." The exceptions to that are the vintage flower stamps being issued this weekend.

My personal opinion is that the whole flower thing has kind of been overdone, but the vintage rose Forever stamp and the 70¢ vintage tulip are being printed from engraved plates! I’m not even certain without consulting a catalogue when the USPS last issued intaglio-printed stamps intended primarily for mail use, but I’m thinking it has been a decade or more. Sure, there was the Inverted Jenny from 2013, and it’s valid for postage, but let’s face it: that stamp was issued primary for collectors like you and me. In the illustrations I’ve seen of the new stamps, at least, they look sharp.

If you’ve received your new copy of USA Philatelic, what’s your take? Did you see anything that particularly strikes your fancy?

Published 2015-02-12