Wonders of America Sheet
On May 27, 2006, the USPS issued a stamp sheet honoring 40 American natural and man-made superlatives.
The stamps were issued in Washington, DC during the 2006 World Philatelic Exhibition. While they don’t honor each of the 50 states specifically as previous large se-tenant sheets had, they do represent every region of the country.
Artist Lonnie Busch, who had created the artwork for the 2002 Greetings from America issue, illustrated the stamps. Each of the Wonders of America stamps features large lettering describing the superlative plus smaller type detailing the name or location of the featured subject. More information about each of the wonders was also printed on the backs of the stamps.
To accompany the stamps, the USPS also produced a 52-page coloring book for school children. The book was filled with neat information about all the stamps and their subjects, fun activities, and black and white versions of the stamps for children to color. You can find a PDF of the booklet here.
You can also click on the sheet above to read about each of the specific wonders.
Click here to see what else happened on This Day in History.
I remember when the Wonders Of America stamps were released, they were a really fun and colorful way to brighten up my letters when paying my bills through the mail. I purchased several sheets and, of course, they’re all gone now.
A footnote and a personal complaint to these wonderful stamps. Two of the stamps (Yosemite Falls, and Oroville Dam) are described as being in the “Sierra Nevada mountains.” In Spanish, Sierra means mountains or mountain range (Nevada means snowy). To say Sierra mountains is redundant.. It’s like saying Rio Grande river. The correct phrase for these wonders is that they are located in the Sierra Nevada of California.