A phenomenon on covers of the World War I era is the blue star banner on mail from families with members in the military.

In the article, Lawrence tells the story of a July 2, 1847, cover franked with one of the first two United States stamps (Scott 2) and sent from New York City to Indianapolis.

Also this week, tools and terms for finding your stamps, and a magical tip of the week.

Linn's editor-in-chief Jay Bigalke’s tribute to George W. Linn appears in the 5,000th issue Linn's Stamp News, which Linn founded in 1928.

On April 30, 1904, the U.S. Post Office Department issued a set of five Louisiana Purchase Exposition stamps. The 5¢ dark blue stamp commemorates William McKinley (1843-1901), the 25th president of the United States.

The vertical commemorative features the signature red, white and blue colors of the U.S. flag.

The stamp for the July contest was the 39¢ stamp inscribed “B. Free Franklin, Postmaster” from the 2006 block of four commemorating Franklin’s 300th birth anniversary.

La Posta provides research, news and information regarding all aspects of American postal history. The deadline for submission is Oct. 15.

Journal editors and authors are encouraged to submit articles of fewer than 8,000 words no later than Dec. 1.

The system was not limited to mail from the United States. When this method was in operation, any mail coming into the United Kingdom could receive the diamond marking.

The “E-Stamp” version is not supposed to be released until March 10, 2025, and was unknown to collectors until it appeared online.

A member of the UPSS for decades, Porter Venn held the combined office of secretary and treasurer from 2002 until 2016 and then treasurer from 2016 to 2021.

The 1936 American Philatelic Society convention cinderella label has a beautiful design and was printed by the American Banknote Company.

Having these numbers handy will allow you to easily locate these stamps in the Scott catalogs and learn about their production and values.

Aside from the position miscue, the bogus Emilio Sanchez pane is a near clone of its genuine counterpart.

The 2024 Indypex will feature a special cachet honoring the solar eclipse that passed through Indiana on April 8, 2024.

There will be two prizes given to the winners: one for the best philatelic line and one for the best nonphilatelic line.

The Flag stamps have four designs and were issued June 14 in four formats printed by two printers, Ashton Potter and Banknote Corporation of America.

Each of the new Autumn Colors stamps showcases a picture taken by Allen Rokach (1941-2021), a highly acclaimed nature and garden photographer.

Every person touring the truck was given an engraved souvenir sheet showing the White House. The souvenir sheets, which were not valid for postage, were printed aboard the rolling museum.