What exactly are vintage stamps?
Simply put, vintage stamps are stamps from the United States Post Office that are no longer in circulation on the USPS website.
Let's break this down –
USPS releases new stamp designs a few times a year. They’ll print many of these stamps and offer them at your local post office and online. Then, they’ll release new designs and remove the old ones from the website.
Those ‘old’ stamp designs that are no longer available, are now considered vintage stamps.
So, going back hundreds of years, there are vintage stamps the Post Office once had in circulation but are no longer available to purchase directly.
Why use vintage stamps?
The Post Office has very limited stamp designs at a time, and often they aren’t super cute (especially for weddings). Vintage stamps offer the opportunity to create more beautiful and eye-catching envelopes.
My absolute favorite thing about vintage stamps is that they can tell a story. If you are getting married, you can tailor your vintage stamps to personal elements about you and your partner. For instance, you might get stamps from the states you are from. Or if you love to travel, there are stamps for lots of national parks. Or, if you love sports, there are stamps for nearly every sport.
Value
Stamps hold the value that is listed on the stamp. So if the stamp says ‘20’ on it, that’s a 20-cent stamp. No matter when the stamp was made, it will always be worth 20 cents to the post office.
However, now that these stamps are ‘vintage,’ they are rare and will cost more than the value of the stamp. There are only a limited number left, and therefore, their value goes up. Most vintage stamps will cost 2-3X their face value (so that 20-cent stamp may cost you 40+ cents to buy), but some can be even greater in the 10X face value category.
Scott #
All stamps from USPS are given a Scott #. The Scott number is the numbering system the post office gives to define every single stamp. It’s similar to a SKU number, and is used to identify and categorize that specific stamp design.
Mint Vs Used
A ‘mint’ stamp is a stamp that has never been used on an envelope and gone through the mail. When a stamp goes through the mail at the post office, it gets canceled. Typically, this looks like a black stamp over the stamp and tells the Post Office that this stamp is now used and can not be used again.
So if you want to buy vintage stamps to use on your own envelopes, make sure you buy mint stamps, not used ones .
Want to learn how to use vintage stamps?
I have an online course where I break down everything you need to know to start using vintage stamps on your envelopes.
In the 4 modules, you will learn where to find stamps, how to create curated sets, how to buy stamps, and how to adhere & mail them.