Stamp Announcement 22-19: Mighty Mississippi Stamps

©2021 USPS

On May 23, 2022, in Memphis, TN, the United States Postal Service^® will issue the Mighty Mississippi stamps (Forever^® priced at the First-Class Mail^® rate) in 10 designs, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 10 stamps (Item 580300). These stamps will go on sale nationwide May 23, 2022, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue. The Mighty Mississippi commemorative pane of 10 stamps may not be split and the stamps may not be sold individually.

This stamp issuance honors the Mighty Mississippi with a portfolio of ten different photographic images. Arranged on the pane in five rows of two stamps each, the images correspond to the states’ north-south and west-east sequence along the Mississippi River. Small type on the margin of each stamp indicates its location:

n Top row: Minnesota and Wisconsin;

n Second row: Iowa and Illinois;

n Third row: Missouri and Kentucky;

n Fourth row: Arkansas and Tennessee; and

n Bottom row: Louisiana and Mississippi.

In the selvage, three photographic riverscapes frame the stamps. From top to bottom: the Julien Dubuque Bridge, Illinois/Iowa; St. Louis, Missouri; and a Mississippi bayou. The verso features a map of the central United States detailing the river’s course and its major tributaries. It is superimposed on a blue monochromatic version of the selvage images. Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamp pane with existing photographs.

Availability to Post Offices: Item 580300, Mighty Mississippi (Forever Priced at the First-Class Mail Rate) Pane of 10 Stamps

Stamp Fulfillment Services will not make an automatic push distribution to Post Offices. Post Offices may begin ordering stamps before the first-day-of-issue through SFS Web at sfsweb.usps.gov/sfsweb.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark

Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office™ or at The Postal Store^® website at store.usps.com/shop. They must affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

FDOI – Mighty Mississippi Stamps
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service™ will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by September 23, 2022.

How to Order First-Day Covers

The Postal Service also offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the USA Philatelic catalog and online at store.usps.com/shop. Customers may register to receive a free USA Philatelic catalog online at usps.com/philatelic.

Locally produced items are not authorized. Only merchandise that has been approved and assigned an item number by Headquarters Retail Marketing may be produced and sold.

— Stamp Services, Marketing, 4-21-22