On February 1, the United States Postal Service issued its first new nonprofit stamps since 2017: a pair of non-denominated coil stamps picturing two varieties of garden flowers, scbiosas and cosmos. I figured it might be a while before I began seeing these on inbound mail, but used examples of each turned up on mailings this month from Meals on Wheels San Antonio.
Meals on Wheels San Antonio cover bearing 2022 Nonprofit Scabiosas stamp
After five years of the Patriotic Nonprofit stamp, the new designs are a bit of a breath of fresh air. We may all very well eventually grow bored of these, but for now, they’re something new and therefore exciting.
The new nonprofit issue includes two different designs, which seems like a step in the right direction toward providing some variety. As someone who receives quite a bit of “junk mail” from various charities, though, I would really like to see even more. Why not five, 10, or even 50 different designs in a single issue? Considering how infrequently the USPS updates its nonprofit stamps, we would have several years to collect the whole set.
New Hampshire-based Purgatory Post on March 3 issued its latest local post stamps, a pair of 14-sola designs picturing two American authors and poets: Jack Kerouac and Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
Purgatory Post 14-sola Jack Kerouac & Lawrence Ferlinghetti stamps
Kerouac (1922–1969) achieved the greatest notoriety for his 1957 novel, On the Road, while Ferlinghett’s (1919–2021) best-known work is A Coney Island of the Mind, a collection of poems published in 1958. Both men are recognized as being part of the post-World War II “Beat Generation” of authors.
The typewriter-style font that Purgatory Post operator Scott A. used ties in very well with these stamps and looks like a good choice to me.
Minnesota’s Como Park Post last month issued a new 5¢ local post stamp featuring an interesting “punched-out” design. It’s a feature I’ve never previously seen on a local post stamp.
Como Park Post 5¢ stamps with punched-out designs
Como Park Post operator Tom B. explains that each stamp is comprised of two layers of paper, and he did the punch-outs from the top layer prior to gluing the two layers together. While the bottom layer appears to be a consistent orange, Tom used several different colors and textures of paper for the top layer, and in my opinion, the lighter colors show off the punch-outs most clearly.
I’ve shared examples of Tom’s work here in the past, and his dedication to handcrafting each of his designs is impressive.
Jefferson Territory Ghost Post celebrates LPCS anniversary
World Local Post Day came in January, but new stamps commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Local Post Collectors Society are still showing up in the mail. The latest entry is from Colorado-based Jefferson Territory Ghost Post, which on February 22 issued a black and red .01-dwt Au stamp celebrating the LPCS’s golden jubilee.
Jefferson Territory Ghost Post Local Post Collectors Society 50th Anniversary stamp
This update naturally include spaces for the postage stamps issued by the United States Postal Service from January through early March of this year. In addition, for the revenue collector, there are also new pages for the motor vehicle use tax stamps that the United States used from 1942–1946.
It has been slow going, but I still plan to add additional pages for fiscal stamps as time permits, so stay tuned for more…and I hope you enjoy The Philosateleian’s spring supplement.
