Additional 2025 U.S. stamp program subjects include powwows, fishing lures, American Revolution battlefields

By Charles Snee

On Dec. 16, the United States Postal Service announced five new subjects for its 2025 stamp program.

Four stamps will be issued in celebration of powwows, which the USPS describes as “Native American social and ceremonial gatherings that feature music, dance and festive regalia.”

Each of the stamps features an original painting of a powwow dancer by Cochiti Pueblo artist Mateo Romero. Postal Service art director Antonio Alcala designed the Powwows: Celebrating Native American Culture stamps.

“The Postal Service strives to tell the stories of all Americans on its stamps, and issuing stamps that honor the living culture and heritage of Indigenous people is an important part of that goal,” the USPS said.

Two new stamps will be added to the Stellar Formations series of Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express stamps that the USPS launched in 2024. All stamps in the series illustrate dramatic photos taken by the James Webb Space Telescope.

The new Spiral Galaxy Priority Mail stamp will feature “an extremely high-definition image of a spiral galaxy 32 million light-years from Earth,” according to the Postal Service.

Pictured on the Star Cluster Priority Mail Express stamp is a star cluster roughly 1,000 light-years from Earth, according to the USPS.

The preliminary images of the Spiral Galaxy and Star Cluster stamps shown here don’t show a specific denomination. However, the USPS has proposed a $10.10 denomination for the Spiral Galaxy stamp and a $31.40 denomination for the Star Cluster stamp. Both of those proposed denominations require approval from the Postal Regulatory Commission.

Both stamps were designed by USPS art director Greg Breeding using photos credited to several sources.

Also added to the 2025 program are five stamps featuring photographs of freshwater fishing lures by Sarah Cramer Shields.

According to the USPS, the five lures are “considered icons of the sport.” Breeding designed the quintet of Freshwater Fishing Lures stamps.

A pane of 15 stamps will highlight battlefields of the American Revolution.

“Marking the 250th anniversary of the start of the Revolutionary War, this pane of 15 stamps invites us to witness and remember five turning points in the fight for American independence,” the Postal Service said. “Watercolor paintings depicting scenes of five battles appear alongside photographs of sites involved in each battle.”

USPS art director Derry Noyes designed the Battlefield of the American Revolution stamps using paintings by Greg Harlin and photographs by Jon Bilous, Richard Lewis, Tom Morris, Gregory J. Parker and Kevin Stewart, according to the Postal Service.

The Postal Service also announced issue dates and first-day locations for stamps scheduled to be issued in January, February and March.

Boston, Mass., will host the Jan. 14 first-day ceremony for the Year of the Snake stamp being issued in the Postal Service’s ongoing Lunar New Year series.

A local ceremony for the Love stamp will take place Jan. 17 in Kutztown, Pa., hometown of artist Keith Haring whose artwork appears on the stamp.

For days later, on Jan. 21, the new Spiral Galaxy Priority Mail and Star Cluster Priority Mail Express stamps will debut during a local ceremony in Big Sky, Mont.

The new nondenominated ($1.65) 1794 Compass Rose global forever stamp will be issued Jan. 24 in Peachtree Corners, Ga. That date coincides with the first day of the Southeastern Stamp Expo show, which takes place in that location.

The 48 Black Heritage stamp honoring acclaimed rhythm and blues artist Allen Toussaint will be issued Jan. 30 in New Orleans, La.

The two nondenominated (10¢) American Vistas coil stamps for presorted standard mail are set to arrive Feb. 21 in San Diego, Calif.

Dawsonville, Ga., will host the Feb. 28 first-day ceremony for the 15 commemorative forever stamps being issued in celebration of the centennial of the Appalachian Trail.

On March 13, the USPS will issue the five Freshwater Fishing Lures in Springfield, Mo.

The five nondenominated (56¢) Vibrant Leaves postcard-rate coil stamps will be issued March 14 at the Garfield-Perry March Party stamp show in Strongsville, Ohio.

Los Angeles, Calif., is the location for the March 27 first-day ceremony for the commemorative forever stamp celebrating television icon and comedian Betty White (1922-2021).

Additional details about these and other issues in the 2025 U.S. stamp program will be published in future issues of Linn’s.

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