The US Postal Service’s history is filled with ups and downs due to wars, economic fallout, and government changes. The first official stamp was issued in 1847, with a fixed price of five cents for any letter traveling less than 310 miles. The government introduced a 10-cent stamp and lowered prices in 1851, creating the first 1 cent stamps. These early stamps featured Benjamin Franklin’s photo and became popular with philatelists.
The history of the US Postal Service is a long one, filled with many ups and downs caused by wars, economic fallout, and government changes. The first postage stamps were created in 1840 in Great Britain and became an instant success. Despite this, it wasn’t until 1845 that some local postmen in the United States began using postage stamps, with the first official stamp being issued in 1847.
This meant that each local postmaster had to design his own stamp as he saw fit, resulting in a variety of fee-based systems, from prepaid envelopes to rough designs with the local postmaster’s signature. The government, however, set the general price at five cents per stamp for any letter traveling less than 310 miles (499 km).
The first stamps issued were confined to the east coast. Virginia, Maryland, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut started the trend, with a few other states following suit. Those early stamps had a fixed price, as there was little chance anyone would send a letter beyond the eastern seaboard settlements. Overseas stamps were not available at the time and would not be for several decades. All mail traveling by ship to other countries does not need an official stamp to be delivered.
The first officially issued stamps did not arrive until 1847, when the federal government signed a contract with the Rawdon, Wright, Hatch and Edson printing house to produce an official design. While the five-cent stamp remained in effect, the government also introduced a 10-cent design. The five cent became a standardized design, featuring an image of Benjamin Franklin on a red background, while the 10 cent stamp featured George Washington.
In 1851, the government had decided to lower postage prices, which led to the creation of the first 1 cent stamps. These early stamps retained Benjamin Franklin’s photo, but changed the design to an all-blue color. Three and twelve cent stamps were also introduced at the time. Those early stamps, especially the one-cent one, became hugely popular with philatelists, with some variations of the stamp fetching as much as $200,000 US dollars at auctions.
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