Mystic Stamp Learning Hub

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  • Kiauchau

    Throughout the late nineteenth century Germany was as involved as any European power in the fight to carve up China for political and commercial advantage. They contracted for land by the bay of Jiaozhou (or as they spelled it, Kiauchau) in northern China in 1898.
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  • Inverted Jenny Position 63

    Position 63 from the sheet of 100 #C3a stamps purchased in 1918 by William Robey is, in my opinion, the Jenny Invert with the most tantalizing history.
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  • Officials

    Another area in which United States philately differs from nearly all the rest of the world is in our Official Stamps. In 1873 the Post Office issued a series of stamps for the various government agencies that used stamps.
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  • United States Stamps

    Because of its familiarity to most American philatelists, we tend not to appreciate just how difficult collecting United States stamps is compared to collecting the stamps of most other countries.
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  • The First United States Postage Stamp

    The issuance of postage stamps was one of the great technological and commercial innovations of the nineteenth century.
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  • USPS Unveils Barbara Bush Stamp

    At the White House on May 8, the US Postal Service revealed the artwork of a commemorative Forever stamp to celebrate the centennial year of former first lady Barbara Bush’s birth.
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  • Hermes and the Stamps of Greece

    There is no more appropriate stamp design than the portrait of Hermes, the messenger god in his winged helmet, on the first stamps of Greece.
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  • U.S. Postal Service Announces Stamps Celebrating Its 250th Anniversary

    On July 26, 1775, the Second Continental Congress established a postal system for the United Colonies and appointed Benjamin Franklin as the first postmaster general.
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  • Check Letters

    Check letters are simple a way of indicating where in the sheet a stamp was printed.
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Frequently Asked Questions

Got a question that needs to be answered? You’ll find what you’re looking for here in our FAQ.

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This Day in History

Learn about the history of US stamps with a daily snapshot of this day in US stamp history.

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  • May 22, 2025

    Looney Tunes Series and the Rare Bugs Bunny Imperforate Sheet
    On May 22, 1997, the USPS issued the first stamp in the Looney Tunes Series, honoring Bugs Bunny. It was the first US stamp to picture a cartoon character. There’s also a 10th stamp imperforate pane that’s the most rare stamp issued in 70 years!
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