July 1: On This Day in 1847 - 1st US Postage Stamps Issued

July 1, 1847: The first US postage stamps were issued by the US Postal Service on this day; a 5-cent stamp picturing Benjamin Franklin and a 10-cent stamp honoring George Washington. Stamps had been issued by private postal services in the US prior to this date.  At the time, James K. Polk was the US President and Cave Johnson was the Postmaster General.

The postage rates from July 1, 1847 to June 30, 1851 for Domestic Letter Rate per 1/2 oz. were as follows:

• 5 cents for under 300 miles
• 10 cents for over 300 miles
• 40 cents to Pacific Coast (California)

Comments

[Diane]

I have to check my old papers and envelopes. Seems like I have a 3-cent stamp. Could that be possible??? Your articles are so interesting!

Mom