The year 2018 will soon come to a close — a year with a number of important stories involving stamps and the collector groups supporting the stamp hobby.

Proposed in 1950, a design featuring Washington crossing the Delaware River on the night of Dec. 25, 1776, was suggested for use on the first United States Christmas stamp.

Among the editorial changes found in the new 2019 Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers is a revised listing for certain varieties of the 1985 50¢ brown Chester W. Nimitz stamp.

Multiple stories related to the United States stamp program were among our top stories over the past week.

The final stamp in the current Celebrating Lunar New Year series will be issued Jan. 17 in Houston, Texas.

First-day ceremony details for the first United States stamp of 2019 have been revealed.

A major theme for the November cartoon caption contest featuring the 1968 6¢ Support Our Youth commemorative was the ways in which support might be given.

At first glance, the featured cover in U.S. Stamp Notes looks genuine, but a closer look reveals that it, too, is an artfully created fantasy, designed to be used as a Christmas card.

Also in the Dec. 24 issue are articles about Jordan overprinting stamps for use in Palestine and stamps with connections to Kalmykia, Europe’s only Buddhist majority nation.

New Scott catalog number listings for the United States and a tip about a bicolor classic stamp were our top stories over the past week.

The United States Postal Service has announced issue dates for five of its stamps or stamp sets planned for early 2019.

The stamp picturing Linus, Charlie Brown and his rather threadbare Christmas tree (Scott 5028) will be the cartoon caption contest stamp for December.

If tradition holds true, a U.S. memorial postage stamp honoring former United States President George H.W. Bush should be issued in the coming months.

Wonder Woman, Holiday Windows, and Jack-O’-Lanterns are among the five stamps going off sale Dec. 31.

United States stamps celebrating Christmas and other holiday observances comprise this month’s new listings.

The Scott National Album line is adding album pages for baseball stamps of United States, Canada and Mexico.

Innovations in printing technology were used for a number of United States stamps issued in 2018.

The 2019 Scott U.S. pocket catalog is the perfect size to bring with you to a stamp show.

What should you do when an expertizer is taking months to provide an opinion on a stamp or cover you have submitted for examination?

U.S. Stamp Notes columnist John M. Hotchner shares a 1952 cover/help-wanted ad for Santa's helpers.