USA postcrossers: the stamps are out! 🎉📮
The new USPS Postcrossing stamps are officially out in the world today, and we’re so happy and excited about them! These ridiculously cool triangles are about to make those postcard corners look extra sharp! 😍
If you’re in Boston, today is the big day: we’ll be at the First Day of Issue ceremony at the Boston 2026 World Expo, and we really hope to see lots of you at the dedication ceremony or at the Postcrossing meetup later. There are meetups happening all throughout the week of the show too, so even if you can’t make it today, you can still drop by on another day to say hi, sign postcards, and enjoy the atmosphere.
We asked the stamps’ illustrator, Jackson Gibbs, a few quick questions about how these stamps came together. His answers were short and sweet, giving us a peek into his process:
- How did you go from first sketches to final art?
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“I start with an egregious amount of coffee, while simultaneously surfing the web and scribbling in a sketchbook. I do this for a while, maybe days, until something clicks. Then I piece together illustrations like putting together a puzzle or following a recipe.”
- Had you ever illustrated a stamp before? Was the small size a challenge?
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“I have not. It is definitely a ‘bucket list’ project. The size worked in my favor. I love simplifying and saying the most, with the least.”
- How did the collaboration work between you, Antonio Alcalá, and USPS?
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“I just did the art, while Antonio did the heavy lifting and back and forth with USPS.”
- Do you have a favourite stamp in the set?
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“My favorite in the set has to be the Cowgirl and Horse. Being from the desert, that one hits closest to home.”
- What’s your relationship with mail?
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“I love the mail, and have sent countless postcards from my time traveling around the US in my truck. Although, I had no idea how large the mail community was until this project. It’s special.”
- And are you ready to see these travel the world?
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“I can’t wait to see the turnout!”
Same, Jackson, same! 😄
We hope everyone in the USA is celebrating with us, by sending a few postcards with these shiny new stamps. Millions of them were printed by USPS, so it’s a matter of time until everyone in Postcrossing makes a “bingo” by receiving all four of them on their incoming postcards!
Here are some photos of the stamp dedication ceremony and meetup in Boston, all by USPS photographer Daniel Afzal:
94 comments so far
If only I could be in Boston…. but I will be ordering a lot of the postcrossing stamps!! :)
I pre-ordered mine, so I can't wait for them to show up in my mailbox soon!!
Every Postcrossing stamp is a party, a joy, a reason to celebrate when adding it to a postcard or receiving a card with one. These ones are incredible nice by designs. Looking forward for my personal 'bingo'!
I ordered some. Right now I am sitting on a bus on the way to a post office that reliably gets all the stamps that come out. I am going to splurge.
I pre-ordered to have some waiting for me at home … but I’m also in queue, waiting for the doors of the expo showroom to open so I can make a beeline to the event post office and buy my stamps! 🤩
I preordered the postcards….now, I need to order the stamps!!
Hello! I wish that I could be in Boston to meet you, and other Postcrossers! How special would that be! :)
I pre-ordered some - extra exciting mailbox watching & waiting!
I ordered quite a few!! Wishing I was at the expo in Boston!!!
Is someone so kind and would send me these stamps to Austria or Germany? It would be great to get these stamps, my collection is getting hungry of them :D
Too bad I can’t teleport (yet). For now, I’ll just have to experience the Boston/Postcrossing stamp fun vicariously. Looking forward to the blog posts and waiting for my preorder to arrive… 🥲😍
I pre-ordered and I'm already gathering my coordinating washi tapes! 🤗
I pre-ordered mine too! So excited! Have been waiting for this for a long time! yay!!!
I ran to the local post office this morning and was the first to buy these stamps there (the nice postal lady had to go to the back and fetch the "Do Not Sell Until 5/26" envelope!). The stamps are awesome, but larger than I expected -- the long side of the triangle is 2.75 inches (7 cm) -- so they're still not going to be great for small postcards. :(
Anyway, if you're in the USA and want to get these stamps quickly, your nearest post office might very well have them already this morning. I was a little surprised that this small-town office had them! :)
I'm very excited, if I get one of this stamps with one of the next postcards. Cetainly I can't go directly to Boston.
I stopped at my local office today to get some. I wasn’t expecting them to have any as it’s a small town and any time there are new stamps they don’t have them. They had one sheet. They don’t even bother ordering any. One sheet was just automatically sent so I took it.
My post office claimed they weren't sent any. 😔 I had planned to get some postcards hand canceled on the release date.
Went to two post offices — no luck!! :(
I think those are best to get on the stamps.com website with their shop...
If someone can send me a full sheet, message me, of course I'm paying the sheet and the additional global forever stamp needed to ship it further.
I preordered the stamps and the postcard set. Now I’m staring at my mailbox going “come on… gimme…”
So nice to meet you, Paulo and Ana, these days at the exhibition. Six meetup cards with the stamp and first day of issue cancel went out today from me. The only two countries they are going to is Germany and Russia!
I pre ordered, but also visited my local post office this afternoon to grab a few sheets. (I didn't want to wait patiently as I wanted in on the first day fun).
Sent 2 out to Germany already! Happy USPS Postcrossing Stamp Day!
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CB2gSUdZB/
Can't wait to receive them!!!
Bought some today at the show! I missed the First Day ceremony, though, thanks to Google Maps being absolute JUNK. Saw TONS of Postcrossers at the meetup upstairs, too.
These are absolutely beautiful! I love the shape! Wish we had them in Germany.... hoping I'll receive a postcard with them :D <3
So excited for these Cool Stamps! I ordered online all that the USPS has to offer for the Postcrossing Stamps for Collecting and Sending! Love the Postcards too! Can't wait to get them soon! I should stop by the post office tomorrow to pick up a few more sheets! So glad the USPS finally did this for Postcrossing!
Looking forward to receiving one - or all four!
I can't wait to see them on a card(s)
already ordered and some maxi cards too 😍
My postal clerk will have them for sale at her window the first week in June and I intend on buying them then.
Congratulations, it’s a great set of stamps. Unfortunately I’ll have to wait for US mail to arrive at my door. My postcrossing postcards from the US are only second to Germany by percentage sent and received. Cheers!
Great interview, cool to see some of the initial sketches! Today was so fun, excited to have sent out a few cards already and meet so many postcrossers :)
Absolutely Amazing!
Today, I purchased 168 of the US Postcrossing Global Stamps. Tomorrow, I start using them. :)
Wow…..I wish I could be in Boston for this! I am going to purchase many of these stamps, along with the corresponding maxi-cards to send out to Postcrossers.
I am so excited about the new stamps!! I wish I could have come to Boston. Please let us know if there will be a recording available of the event, especially Paulo's speech.
Amazing one. Looking forward to get these in Post crossing cards soon
I see myself and my brother in the picture! We’re in the back with the water bottle being held up.
So cool!! Can't wait to start sending international cards with these stamps!
What an incredible accomplishment, and the stamp artwork is amazing! Congrats on a huge milestone with the USPS Postcrossing stamp release and the record-breaking meetup turnout! Thank you, Ana and Paulo for creating such an amazing project that connects so many people around the world and brighten everyone's lives. Looking forward to using these stamps.
I wish I had been able to make it to the Postcrossing stamp ceremony but I'm so excited I bumped into Ana and Paulo at the exhibition hall and had a nice chat before my flight back from Boston. Definitely a highlight of my trip.
This made me smile!
Wonderful - I hope to get these nice stamps with the next postcards from the USA - thank you.
This stamp got me to reactivate my account here - already sent one card out with one of the new stamps this afternoon on the first day!
I was so happy to be able to make it to the expo and attend the ceremony for the release of this stamp. It was so incredibly wonderful to meet you and Paulo too. I sent out several postcards with the new stamp and special postmarks. I’m excited for these to make it to their destinations around the world. Thank you so much for this wonderful project started all those years ago.
Great article! Looking forward to receiving one - or all four!
Also, I have exciting news for stamp lovers, history buffs, and postcard collectors! On May 24th, Romania’s National Post Company and Romfilatelia officially joined the global countdown to the 250th anniversary of United States independence #Freedom250.
The new philatelic issue, beautifully titled "Boston 2026 World Stamp Exhibition: Romania Celebrates 250 Years of U.S. Independence," was officially unveiled during a special ceremony held right on the US Postal Service stage. The collection features four unique stamps, a souvenir sheet, and special first-day covers—making them the perfect, eye-catching addition for your next transatlantic postcard swaps! 💌✨
More about on these links:
https://romfilatelia.ro/en/boston-2026-world-stamp-exhibition-romania-celebrates-250-years-of-u-s-independence/
https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2026/0512-usps-to-honor-nations-250th-anniversary-with-american-icons-stamps-curated-by-ralph-lauren.htm
xoxo
:) :D
Heading to a post office later today, hoping they will have some of these stamps in stock! I love the other designs that did not make it. If i could have one of those, the first one, top left, is very very pretty and Americana. :)
Ana & Paulo - Did you ever in your wildest dreams imagine what the exchange of postcards with a few friends would grow into? That you would be traveling to another country to celebrate the issuance of a stamp celebrating an exchange of postcards?! What a wonderful adventure. A lot of work, but an adventure nonetheless. I'm already using the new stamps!
I went on Sunday, I only wish I could've gone yesterday!! What a once-in-a-lifetime event! <3
It was such an amazing event. Glad to have witnessed it all! Most importantly, I'm the happiest to have met the two people who I have been looking up to for so many years now. <3 <3 and a huge shoutout to Trevor & Jake for pulling off this once in a lifetime event!
Congratulations to everyone who joined this event. And to everyone who will get these stamps over the years in their mailboxes :)
Wonderful photos and story. Thank you for sharing.
What a joy to see the gathering and the great designs of these new stamps! I will be ordering and using them very soon!
Thank you for the interesting interview. It's a whimsical variety of PostCrossing postage stamps which I'm sure will delight the recipient.
I was only able to attended the show on Sunday. However, I was there in spirit yesterday :)
I preordered custom postcards and stamps so I could make Maxi Cards. Cannot wait to get the stamps!!!
Great photos!
Congratulations from New Zealand!
That's so awesome - I love reading all the comments and see the photos. Thank you for sharing.
Must be a fantastic and exciting day! And we all waited so long... I remember sending postcards to the US postal service to ask for it.
I'm so happy for you!
And fingers crossed that I get one or four of those super sweet stamps and postcards. Love it!
So awesome to see that my Postcrossing friend Tracey or Unicorn11 was one of the 200 people that made it to this historical Postcrossing meetup. I'm really looking forward to my 'bingo' day of receiving all 4 of these stamps on postcards. Bring it on. I'm happy to do swaps too.
A postcrosser in India told me about the stamp expo a year ago, and I was thrilled that it was near my home. I met so many delightful postcrossers and won a Lego set in the meetup raffle, but meeting Paulo and Ana was the highlight for me. I have sent the new stamps on cards to Malaysia, Estonia, China, Finland, and more, through direct swaps.
Hurray!!!
Love seeing this! I see some friends! I bought mine!
We had so much fun at this event, it was truly something special. I'm not sure I would recommend attending the record largest meetup as a first timer though, it was pretty crazy. Everyone was super nice, though. Next time we'll have an auto-stamp for sure!
The day after the stamp was issued, I went to our local Post Office, and was surprised to be told that they didn't have them. They told me that each post office has to order the stamps they want to stock, and they did't think their "ordering guy" had ordered them. I would have assumed that the USPS would automatically send stamps and sales material to all their post offices beforehand so the stamps could be sold locally! No wonder USPS loses money! They don't know how to market their own products! I did preorder some for mail delivery, but those often take many weeks or months before I get them. Disappointing!
Yes, I like them and have bought them and used them. I have one more wish, that they would issue a Postcrossing stamp for the US postcard rate as there are many postcards that go from USA members to other USA members.
How exciting to see the turn out for the meetup and ceremony! Oh how I’d been there! To meet Ana and Paolo would be a dream come true. We have them to thank for the beauty in connections that have come from Postcrossing…and now a US Postcrossing stamp!
The stamps are sooo cool! I hope to see them on cards from America!
What a great event, I wish I could have been there. Just love to see our community thriving 😍
I pre-ordered mine and am awaiting their arrival! I am glad I pre-ordered because I have been to several post offices and they do not have them. Come on pony express! Bring me my stamps!
I attended the event in Boston and I had a wonderful time. We had to round up extra tables and chairs to fit all of us in the meeting room! We had lots of first-time Postcrosser too, so hopefully membership will grow. Ana and Paulo were there and they were very friendly and charming!
Wow oh wow oh wow!
I hope everybody enjoys these brand new Postcrossing stamps!
200 people at a meetup! That is fantastic. Wish I could have been there but at least I can send some of the stamps on postcards from our own little meetup here in Utah.
awesome stamps. I hope I will receive a card soon, decorated with one of them!
Yay! Finally, we have the USA Postcrossing stamps. It is about time. I ordered mine, and hopefully it will arrive soon. It is good to see the founder of Postcrossing and how lucky those postcrossers who attended the meet-up. I am so happy to see the founders of Postcrossing, Paula and Ana. What a memorable event that was.
I had preordered some first day issue items and stamps, but also went to my local post office in Warren, Michigan on the first day of issue to pick some up - I wanted it to be "official" per se. When I asked them at the counter for the postcrossing stamps, they had absolutely no clue what I was talking about... Clerk went to get a supervisor who also knew nothing about them. She eventually found them in the back and I had to wait for her to check them into their inventory so they could sell me some... What a fiasco! But, in any case, I got two books and more on the way from my preorder!
I stood in line and stood in line and stood in line, at our 3 main post offices. No luck, and I'm in a major city. USPS doesn't seem interested in selling these stamps. Thankfully, I had pre-ordered lots of them, but they are still not delivered to me yet. I've been trying locally to buy some to send out right away while I wait for my pre-order, but the P. O.s seem unaware. I described them to one postal worker and she finally said, "Oh yes, I saw them just yesterday, the triangles. My co-worker got them out of the safe for his drawer and offered me some for my drawer. But I passed. I told him, "Who is going to buy any of THOSE." I said, Millions of Postcrossers! Her co-worker had gone to lunch and his drawer was locked. Frustrating USPS hasn't told their post offices about our new International stamp, nor that it's the first Postcrossing stamp for us in the USA. My pre-order is supposed to arrive in my mailbox on Monday, so I've given up after striking out at another P.O. again today.
My first Postcrossing stamp will be off to Australis soon!
Reading all the comments makes me feel even luckier that I had the opportunity to go to Boston. Not many of my dreams come true, but this one, for some reason, did.
Even better, my youngest son, who is 24, joined me on the trip and showed me Boston. His company made the trip so much more special.
I bought as many Postcrossing stamps as I wanted, joined a meetup for the first time ever, and you can even see me in the picture — if you know my face - among 200+ fellow Postcrossers. I met so many interesting people. I met Tanya, who has a sister named Natasha, the same name combination as my sister and me, though she has nothing to do with Russia. I also met Paulo and Ana - yay! I sent postcards with special stamps and cancellations. Wow.
The next two days were also very special, as I had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend them with my big baby, spoiled and tired after walking around Boston. What a wonderful event it was - one that brought so many more wonderful moments with it. I will cherish them for the rest of my life.
wow it is so amazing
I really love the peace dove design! How can I get one?
Congrats! A real milestone.
Have pre-ordered a bunch of the stamps and Maxicards which should arrive this week. Look out, world!
I absolutely loved seeing 200 people sharing the very special celebration for the unveiling of the U.S.A.’s first Postcrossing stamp. How extra special to see Ana, Paulo, and Jackson participating with everyone. I imagined a souvenir photo postcard of this Meetup, signed by all who were in Boston...wish I could have been there in person, too.
Congratulations to all Postcrossers writing encouragements which made the beautiful stamp set a reality. Here’s to many more...including one(s) for the regular U.S. postal rate.
I was able to attend the postcrossing meet-ups in Boston on May 25, 26 and 27 and all 3 days were amazing. The US postcrossing stamps are just gorgeous.
This is such a wonderful community and I’m glad to be a part of it.
Tracey :)
Aw I see my dad in the meetup photo :) he was so excited and told me about it like 5 times.
I spent four awesome days in Boston May 25-28. I sent the Postcrossing stamp on the event meetup cards for that day to Austria, Singapore, Costa Rica, and Germany (x3) on the first day of issue (5/26/26). And I used the stamp to send to some American friends that day, too. (Higher postage than needed, technically.) I also sent the Postcrossing stamp on other meetup cards at the event to Ukraine, Japan, the UK, and The Netherlands on May 27 and May 28. All these were sent to swapping friends and pen pals.
But my future draws of Postcrossing addresses will also receive these stamps as well.
It was exciting to meet Paulo and Ana at the meetups!
I pre-ordered mine and—since I’m in the US—I hoped to get them quickly. Maybe tomorrow?
They are beautiful and having four stamps makes it so much more fun!
Really hope future postcards I'll receive from the U.S will come with one of these cool stamps! 🔺️🔻🔺️🔻
I pre-ordered the stamps and they're finally coming today!
I got two sheets today!
This stamp release event and the meetup were a blast to be a part of! Thank you so much for building this community and letting us all connect!
Woohoo!! My Postcrossing stamps and postcards just arrived, and they are such a delight! 😊
To my worldwide friends, something special is coming your way!
If you're one of my Postcrossing matches, your mailbox is about to get a little happier. 🌍✉️
Ordered some from USPS. They came and are smaller than I expected
Got mine today! I hope I make some Postcrossers smile with them.
I’ve received mine!!! So cool and compact. I’ve already sent 9 postcards with them.
I visited our two local post offices earlier this week: one reported that “current international stamps” must sell first before “new” ones could be ordered; and the other reported they had them, but they were “in the (locked) vault” and couldn’t be retrieved until the “key holder” came on duty. I gave them the “I’LL BE BACK” (with the same famous line from that 🎥 ). 😊. I returned yesterday and everyone at the counter not only recognized me, but they had the stamps in hand for me. (P.S. This being my go-to post office, they always know me with my history for purchasing the latest stamps).
Postcard received! Thank you so much, Ana.
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