Colorado Statehood stamp to debut Jan. 24 at History Colorado Center in Denver

By Charles Snee

The United States Postal Service announced Dec. 17 that a forever (78¢) commemorative stamp honoring the 150th anniversary of Colorado statehood will be issued Jan. 24 in Denver, Colo.

A first-day ceremony is planned for 9 a.m. Mountain Standard Time at the History Colorado Center, 1200 Broadway, in Denver.

Amber F. McReynolds, chair of the Postal Service’s board of governors, will serve as the dedicating official.

The ceremony is free and open to the public. Those desiring to attend are encouraged to register online at www.usps.com/coloradostamp. All attendees must register individually, the USPS said.

According to the Postal Service, the ceremony will take place in conjunction with the opening of the “Mountains Majesty: On the Summit with John Fielder” exhibition. The exhibition runs Jan. 24 to Jan. 10, 2027.

Fielder (1950-2023) was a highly acclaimed nature photographer. His stunning photo of Jagged Mountain is featured on the new 2026 Colorado Statehood stamp.

The History Colorado Center’s website (www.historycolorado.org) provides an overview of the exhibition:

“Ascend through sun-dappled valleys, explore rugged slopes, and take in our state’s colorful scenery on this photographic journey through the mountains with John Fielder.

“Celebrated nature photographer John Fielder never forgot his first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains as a young student, a glimpse that sparked his passion for Colorado’s great outdoors. During his decades-long photography career, Fielder hiked across the Centennial State, enduring difficult weather and waiting for hours to capture awe-inspiring images of the mountain peaks and summits that make Colorado so special. History Colorado’s members selected their favorite John Fielder mountain photographs for this exhibition as part of Colorado’s 150th anniversary of statehood in 2026.

“Experience the majesty of Colorado’s mountains through John Fielder’s lens in this exhibition of breathtaking photographs.”

According to the center, Fielder’s Colorado collection comprises more than 5,000 photographs that showcase landscapes in each of Colorado’s 64 counties.

“This collection represents Fielder’s life work and was distilled from the more than 200,000 photographs taken by Fielder over the last 50 years,” the center said. “Donated by Fielder in January 2023, in the coming months it will be digitized and cataloged by History Colorado to make it easily accessible and searchable by the public.”

Colorado became the 38th state in the Union on Aug. 1, 1876.

“Nicknamed the Centennial State, Colorado joined the Union 100 years after the United States declared independence from Great Britain,” the Postal Service said. “Its average elevation is approximately 6,800 feet, the highest of all the states.”

“The name ‘Colorado’ comes from ‘colored red (or ruddy)’, which is how Spanish explorers described the silt of the Colorado River,” the USPS said. …

Two pictorial first-day cancels for the Colorado Statehood stamp are being offered by the Postal Service, one in black and the other in color.

The black postmark is applied free, up to a quantity of 50, to most collector-submitted covers. There is a 5¢ charge for each additional postmark over 50.

The black postmark features the first-day details and a stylized scene of three mountains and a partially obscured sun at left and two pine trees at right. The first-day details are rendered in an elongated sans serif font.

A colorful painting of Jagged Mountain, similar to Fielder’s photo on the stamp, highlights the digital color postmark. The first-day details are shown below the painting in the same bluish gray used on the mountains in the painting.

The color postmark can be obtained by collectors on envelopes made from laser-safe paper. There is an order minimum of 10 envelopes with a fee of 50¢ per postmark. The Postal Bulletin provides additional ordering information.

Both postmarks are also applied to first-day covers manufactured and sold by the Postal Service.

Standard ordering instructions apply. Collectors requesting first-day cancels are encouraged to purchase their own stamps and affix them to envelopes. The first-day cover envelopes should be addressed for return (a removable label may be used) and mailed in a larger envelope addressed to FDOI — Colorado Statehood Stamp, USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services, 8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300, Kansas City, MO 64144-9900.

USPS item numbers for stamps and FDCs appear in Linn’s 2026 U.S. Stamp Program when they become available.

All requests for the Colorado Statehood first-day cancels must be postmarked by May 24.

Further Colorado Statehood issue products are available from the online USPS postal store at https://store.usps.com/store/home.

Technical details for the 2026 Colorado Statehood forever commemorative stamp were not available at the time of publication. They will be published in a future issue of Linn’s.

To read the full story about the Colorado Statehood stamp, subscribe to Linn’s Stamp News.

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