The U.S. Postal Service on Wednesday marked its upcoming 250th anniversary with the release of new commemorative stamps, including an exclusive, modernized version of the nation’s first 5-cent stamp featuring Benjamin Franklin, the first postmaster general.
The event was held at the USPS headquarters in Washington and included an appearance by the 76th postmaster general. David Steiner, a former waste management company CEO and a former board member of the shipping giant FedEx, began in his new role last week.
“For the United States Postal Service, today is a milestone 250 years in the making,” Steiner said in a statement. “These stamps will serve as a window into our shared history.”
The U.S. mail service officially turns 250 years old Saturday. Established by the Second Continental Congress in 1775, the Postal Service was launched nearly a year before the colonies declared their break from British rule. It is seen by historians as crucial to the nation’s independence and to keeping the young country unified.
Franklin was chosen as the first postmaster general because he had previously served in the British postal service for North America, including as co-Postmaster General from 1757 until 1774.
A book of 20 Franklin stamps is exclusively being sold with a commemorative 32-page booklet titled “Putting a Stamp on the American Experience.” The new Forever stamp features a redesigned, modern interpretation of an 1875 reproduction of the original 5-cent stamp released in 1847.
President George Washington was featured on the first 10-cent stamp.
The USPS has also released a commemorative sheet of 20 interconnected stamps, dubbed “250 Years of Delivering,” that portray a mail carrier making her rounds throughout a year. The stamps were illustrated by renowned cartoonist Chris Ware.
Steiner has lauded the Postal Service for its history and recently voiced support for keeping the USPS as a self-financing, independent agency of the executive branch. Last week, in a video message to employees, Steiner said he opposed the idea of privatizing the Postal Service, contrasting with comments made by President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk.
“I do not believe the Postal Service should be privatized or that it should become an appropriated part of the federal government,” Steiner said.
He said his goal as postmaster was to meet the agency’s “financial and service performance expectations” under the current structure.