Whether you're a serious stamp collector or you just enjoy seeing all the different designs, you're probably well-aware that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) releases new stamps every year. This is a serious endeavor, too, as many of the designs are planned and created long before they're actually available for customers to purchase. In fact, the agency has already revealed several of the stamps it plans to release throughout 2024.
"As always, our stamp program features a broad array of subjects and designs. Stamps are miniature works of art and often tell a story that highlights our American culture, our people or an important point in our history," Lisa Bobb-Semple, the newly-named Stamp Services director for USPS, said in an Oct. 2023 statement. "Stamps also allow us to show what’s important to us as we carefully select which stamp adorns our mailpieces. The 2024 stamps were designed to offer the American public a broad array of choices for those looking to collect stamps or send a special message."
But two of the designs dropping this month have gotten people talking more than usual. Read on to discover more about the new USPS stamps that have customers divided.
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The USPS just dropped a new stamp for Valentine's Day.
USPSLove is in the air at your local post office. On Jan. 12, the USPS released its newest design in what it call its "popular Love stamp series." The 2024 Love stamp—which features a digital illustration of a white bird carrying a pink envelope sealed with a red heart—was released in time to allow customers to use it for their Valentine's Day messages, according to the agency.
"The envelope carried by the bird on this stamp serves a purpose similar to the stamp itself, hinting at a fond greeting from a loved one even before the letter or card has been opened," the agency stated. "The red, white, and pink of this design call to mind the traditional colors of Valentine’s Day cards and decorations, but as with all previous Love issuances since the series began in 1973, this stamp encourages us to open our hearts and express our feelings on any occasion—especially when it comes as a welcome surprise."
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The agency is also releasing a Lunar New Year design this month.
USPSThe Year of the Dragon will soon get its own commemoration from the Postal Service as well. In honor of the Lunar New Year, the USPS announced that it would release a "colorful new stamp" on Jan. 25. The Year of the Dragon will run from Feb. 10 to Jan. 28 of next year.
"The fifth of 12 stamps in the latest Lunar New Year stamp series celebrates the Year of the Dragon," the agency said. "Calling to mind the elaborately decorated masks used in dances often performed in Lunar New Year parades, this three-dimensional mask depicting a dragon is a contemporary take on the long tradition of paper-cut folk art crafts created during this auspicious time of year."
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People are praising the new Love stamp on social media.
The new Love stamp is getting, well, a lot of love. On Jan. 11, Allison Leighposted a video to her TikTok account @therobotsdaughter about the release, and it has already garnered over 442,000 views.
"They are actually releasing cute Forever stamps," Leigh said in her video. "I think these would be so good for brides—RSVPs, save-the-dates, invites, thank you notes, whatever. So get them before they sell out."
Many people in the comment section said they were immediately influenced to buy the 2024 Love stamp after watching Leigh's TikTok. "The way I ran and purchased it," one person responded.
Another wrote, "Not a bride but just ordered five books because I love hearts!!!"
But the Lunar New Year design is getting pushback.
ShutterstockThe Postal Service's upcoming Lunar New Year stamp is not getting the same warm reception, however. A new report from The San Francisco Standard revealed that the design has actually sparked backlash from the city's Chinese community.
"It doesn’t look like an Asian dragon at all," Leland Wong, a San Francisco Chinatown-based artist, told the news outlet. "I thought it was a monkey."
According to The San Francisco Standard, Wong posted a news article about the stamp in a private Chinatown community Facebook group, which prompted more criticism from the community about the design. Even Claudine Cheng, the president of the Asian Pacific American Heritage Foundation, who advocated for the Lunar New Year stamp decades ago, has spoken out about the stamp.
"People are celebrating the Lunar New Year and like to see an image that brings happiness and good luck. When you look at this interpretation, it doesn't evoke that kind of emotion,” Cheng told the outlet.
