Here’s a history of postage stamp prices in United States
If you’ve been hanging onto a stack of Forever stamps, they’re about to become a little more valuable.
Starting Sunday, the U.S. Postal Service will raise the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp from 78 cents to 82 cents, the latest in a string of postage hikes as the agency works to shore up its finances.
It’s a far cry from the days when mailing a 1-ounce letter cost just 2 cents.
Stamp prices have been steadily increasing since the 1800s, according to U.S. Postal Service data.
Postage in cents per 1 ounce began to be measured in 1885, when it was just 2 cents.
The latest 4-cent increase is due to the Postal Service’s “severe financial crisis” and “continued operational costs.”
The federal entity said it “generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses” — and it instead relies on the sale of postage, products and services as funding.
“We are running out of cash, and we have to make tradeoffs,” Postmaster General David Steiner told lawmakers earlier this year, NewsNation reported.
The Forever stamp was introduced in 2007. They remain valid, despite future rises in the cost of stamps, for the first ounce of First-Class postage.
For anyone keeping score at home, stamp prices have climbed steadily over the past five years:
- Aug. 29, 2021 = 58 cents
- July 10, 2022 = 60 cents
- Jan. 22, 2023 = 63 cents
- July 9, 2023 = 66 cents
- Jan. 21, 2024 = 68 cents
- July 14, 2024 = 73 cents
- July 13, 2025 = 78 cents
- July 12, 2026 = 82 cents (this weekend)
And over the last few decades, stamp prices have increased to the following:
- 1971 = 8 cents
- 1981 = 18-20 cents
- 1991 = 29 cents
- 2001 = 34 cents
- 2012 = 45 cents
The full list can be found here.