United States Postage Stamps Trivia Quiz

Answer: Benjamin Franklin and George Washington

The United States issued its first national postage stamps on July 1, 1847. The five cent orange stamp carried the portrait of Benjamin Franklin, and the ten cent black stamp pictured George Washington. These stamps are not especially rare, but because of very high demand among stamp collectors, they are still quite valuable.

Here's a hint for non-collectors: if you find one of these stamps, or any other old and valuable stamp in your attic, or tucked away in an old book, leave it attached to its envelope. Old stamps that are "on cover," or attached to their original envelopes, are usually worth more than stamps that have been soaked off and placed in albums.

Another thing to be aware of is that the Post Office reissued these stamps in 1947; the colors on the reprinted stamps are not the same as the originals.

The reprinted stamps have very little value.

Answer: The Civil War

The United States did not want supplies of its postage stamps to fall into the hands of the Confederacy. Of course, the old stamps had to be used until new stamps were printed, despite the decree. The Post Office issued a new series of stamps in August, 1861 and declared all previously issued stamps to be invalid for postage. Customers were given a limited time to exchange their old stamps for new ones. What is pretty remarkable is that this is the last time that U.S. postage stamps have been demonetized. Any stamp issued by the United States government from August, 1861 on is still valid for postage today.

Answer: True

As soon as the Civil War broke out, people began hoarding gold and silver coins. Eventually, even the smaller coins, such as pennies and three-cent pieces, became scarce. The mint tried to keep up with demand, but as soon as new coins were released, they disappeared from circulation.

This created a lot of problems for merchants. People began using postage stamps as a substitute for small change, but stamps are fragile, and wore out quickly. A man named John Gault invented a brass holder with a clear window made of mica that could hold a stamp and prevented it from being damaged.

In addition, merchants could stamp their names and addresses on the back of the container, and get free advertising. These "encased postage stamps" are popular with some collectors.

Answer: An embossed pattern of small indentations

After the Civil War, the government became concerned that people were using various chemicals to remove the postmarks from stamps, and reusing them. In 1867, they began experimenting with a process that that would use pyramid-shaped points to emboss the stamps with a pattern called a grill.

It was thought that the grill would break up the paper fibers and allow them to absorb more ink. The experiment was not successful, and was abandoned after a few years. There were a wide variety of grilles used, and some of the rarest U.S. stamps are these grill varieties.

Other countries experimented with water-soluble inks and special paper coatings to discourage the reuse of postage stamps.

Answer: Columbus' discovery of America

The Columbian stamps were issued in connection with the World Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893 to mark the 400th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of America, and are considered by most collectors to be the first commemorative stamps of the United States.

The stamps first went on sale January 2, 1893. The stamps were very attractive, but many collectors complained that the cost of a complete set of sixteen stamps - $16.34 - was too high for them to afford. Very few of the $2, $3, $4, and $5 stamps were sold, and most were later destroyed, making them rare and valuable today.

The lower denominations, however, are quite plentiful and inexpensive. Over one billion of the two cent stamp, and almost half a billion one cent stamp, were printed, and many millions of each survive, making them almost worthless to collectors in used condition.

Answer: Parcel post stamps

The United States began offering parcel post service for packages weighing over one pound, but not more than 70 pounds, on January 1, 1913. It actually began issuing some values of the stamps designed for this purpose in late 1912. There were a total of twelve different stamps issued, ranging in value from one cent to $1. All of the stamps were red in color; a special set of green postage due stamps was also issued. Someone eventually realized that regular postage stamps could be used on parcels, and no more stamps were printed after the initial issue.

There were so many left over parcel post stamps that the Post Office decided to allow them to be used to pay postage on other classes of mail.

Answer: Pan-American flight of Graf Zeppelin

This set of stamps is both famous and unusual. The Graf Zeppelin was scheduled to make an historic flight from Germany to South America to the United States and back to Europe in May, 1930. The Post Office quickly produced three stamps specifically for mail to be carried from the United States to Germany onboard the Graf Zeppelin, in denominations of 65 cents, $1.30, and $2.60. Each stamp carried a picture of the zeppelin. In an unusual arrangement, the Post Office agreed to pay the German Zeppelin Airship Works 93.5% of the profits from the sale of stamps used to actually carry mail. It was hoped that many of the stamps would be bought by collectors who would never use them as postage, resulting in a windfall for the Post Office.

Unfortunately, things did not work out that way. The Post Office printed one million stamps of each denomination, but the effects of the Great Depression were already being felt. Very few people could afford to pay the $4.55 required to purchase this expensive set of stamps. Only 227,000 stamps were sold, out of the three million printed. The remaining stamps were destroyed, making the Graf Zeppelins some of the most rare and sought after U.S. airmail stamps today.

Answer: First African-American to appear to appear on a U.S. postage stamp

The Famous American series honored notable people in seven fields: authors, poets, educators, scientists, composers, artists, and inventors. Booker T. Washington, one of the founders of Tuskegee University, was honored on the ten cent stamp of the educators group.

Although it took 93 years from the time they were first issued for an African-American to be honored on a U.S. postage stamp, over one hundred have subsequently had that distinction.

Answer: Breast cancer research

A semipostal is a stamp that is valid for postage, but is sold for more than its actual value. The additional money is used to fund some worthy cause. The first semipostals date back to the 19th century, but the United States did not issue one until 1998.

The stamp sold for 40 cents at a time when the first class postage rate was 34 cents; the additional six cents were donated to breast cancer research. Interestingly, the stamp was designed in part by Ethel Kessler, a breast cancer survivor. The stamp was very successful, raising over $80 million for breast cancer research through 2014.

Other causes that have benefited from U.S. semipostal stamps include survivors of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, domestic violence prevention, and wildlife conservation.

Answer: Forever stamps

From 1932 through 1958, the rate for a one ounce first class letter in the United States was three cents. Since 1958, there have been numerous postage rate increases; the price to mail a letter often increases every year, and in 1981, it went up twice in one year! These rate increases made it difficult to design new stamps, and consumers were often required to purchase one cent, two cent, or three cent stamps in order to use remaining stocks of stamps issued at a previous rate.

In 2007, the Post Office began issuing what are called Forever stamps.

These remain valid as postage for a one ounce first class domestic letter, even if the rate increases after they are issued. These stamps have proved very popular with consumers. In 2013, a similar stamp for international use was issued.