The upcoming United States presidential inauguration is an opportunity for collectors to create their own keepsake covers with the official inauguration postmark from the U.S. Postal Service. This edition of your monthly newsletter from Linn's Stamp News has the information you need to mark the historic day.

We're also uncovering the details about the U.S. stamps due out in January, and giving you a peek at stamps that will be issued by other countries during the coming year.

Happy holidays from all of us here at Linn's Stamp News, and best wishes for the new year!

Jay Bigalke
Linn's Online Editor

Presidential Inauguration Day postmark

Inauguration Day postmarks are avidly sought by many collectors. Now is the time to start preparing your own covers to obtain the Jan. 20, 2009, Washington, D.C., postmark commemorating the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States. The round Inauguration Day postmark features the eagle image from the presidential seal. (More...)

Here come January's United States stamps

Six postage stamps and one piece of postal stationery will kick off the United States stamp program for 2009. The first stamp to be issued will be the 42¢ Alaska Statehood stamp, on Jan. 3 in Anchorage, Alaska. (More...)

Part of the fun of using computers and the Internet is sharing full-color images of stamps used as computer desktop wallpaper. This month's Linn's wallpaper features a New Year 1997 stamp from Japan. (Click Here)

Some worldwide plans for 2009 stamps

In 2009, stamps from several countries will celebrate the Year of the Ox, focus on the Europa theme of astronomy, and call attention to the environmental impact of global warming. Other stamps will feature subjects that are a little more unusual. (More...)

How do I get the new United States stamps that I want?

Getting new United States stamps used to be easier than it is now. There was a time when you could walk into just about any post office, ask for the newest stamps, and the clerk at the window would be able to sell you exactly what you were looking for. (More...)

Kenya: Ancestral African homeland of an American president

History was made in November 2008 when Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) became the first person with significant nonwhite ancestry to be elected president of the United States. President-elect Obama is the son of Ann Dunham, a Kansas native of English, Irish and German ancestry, and Barack Obama Sr., a native of the East African nation of Kenya. (More...)