Dinosaurs rule in philately

Philatelic Foreword by Jay Bigalke

On Aug. 29, the United States Postal Service will issue four new forever stamps featuring Tyrannosaurus rex. A special lenticular component is applied to the stamp designs, according to the Postal Service.

The Aug. 1 Postal Bulletin describes the printing process as “flexo [flexography], lenticular.” Lenticular usually refers to a motion effect. It will be interesting to see what the issued stamps look like.

The U.S. Tyrannosaurus Rex stamps will join a long list of dinosaurs, prehistoric animals and fossils on stamps issued worldwide. According to the American Topical Association, there are approximately 3,800 stamps on its dinosaurs/fossils checklist.

The subject is so popular we pictured a 2017 dinosaur souvenir sheet from China (People’s Republic of China Scott 4445) on the cover of Vol. 2A of the 2020 Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue.

In addition to a report on the new U.S. Tyrannosaurus Rex stamps, the Aug. 26 Linn’s also includes an article by Joe Brockert about the U.S. 1989 Prehistoric Animals block of four 25¢ stamps (Scott 2422-2425). Brockert, who was the USPS art director for this issue, provides insight into how the stamps took shape.

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