Semi-Postal Postage Stamps

Topical Reference Page

The United States Postal Service has issued semi-postal postage stamps which bear a higher-than-normal postage rate. The excess revenue is given to charity or some other cause.

34-cent+11-cent Firemen Atop World Trade Center Rubble stamp

Long May It Wave - September 11th, 2001

Exhibition

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Art of the Stamp - The Breast Cancer Research Semipostal

Exhibition

A 1997 law directed the U.S. Postal Service to issue its first semipostal, a stamp sold with a surcharge to raise funds for a specific cause. Other countries have had mixed success with fundraising stamps, but the subject for the first U.S. semipostal was one that Americans truly took to heart: breast cancer research.

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Display cases with information about the Saving Vanishing Species semipostal stamp

Why is this Elephant in this Room?

October 7, 2015 - January 31, 2017

Exhibition

In 2013, President Obama signed an executive order combating wildlife trafficking in the US. To highlight this effort, a pan institutional team at the Smithsonian Institution created a traveling exhibition that would highlight the effects of wildlife trafficking and the ivory trade on elephant populations. As part of this team, the National Postal Museum hosted the exhibition along with a feature on the Saving Vanishing Species semipostal stamp, which raises funds for wildlife conservation, as well as several stamps showing the issues of elephant ivory poaching and wildlife trafficking.

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Stamps

Breast Cancer Research Issue

The Postal Service issued a 40-cent Breast Cancer Research semi-postal stamp on July 29, 1998, in Washington, DC. This was the nation's first semi-postal stamp issued to raise public awareness and give energy to the pressing fight to find a cure for breast cancer.

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postage stamp picturing three firemen raising a US flag

Heroes of 2001 Issue

The Postal Service issued a nondenominated (forty-five cent value) Heroes of 2001 semi-postal stamp on June 7, 2002, in New York, New York. Derry Noyes, Washington, DC, designed the stamp, and Thomas E. Franklin, Bergen County, New Jersey, photographed it.

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child-like chalkboard drawing of a person who is crying

Stop Family Violence Issue

The Postal Service issued the 45-cent semi-postal stamp Stop Family Violence on October 11, 2003, in Denver, Colorado. Carl T. Herrman of Carlsbad, California designed the stamp. Each semi-postal stamp was valid for postage at the first-class rate and included a surcharge. The net proceeds from the surcharge were transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services in accordance with the provisions of the Stamp Out Domestic Violence Act of 2001, which the 107th Congress passed and was signed into law on November 12, 2001.

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Save Vanishing Species postage stamp with an illustration of a lion face

Save Vanishing Species Issue

The Postal Service issued the 55-cent semi-postal stamp Save Vanishing Species on September 20, 2011, in Washington, DC. Derry Noyes of Washington, DC designed the stamp. Each semi-postal stamp was valid for postage at the first-class rate and included a surcharge. The net proceeds from the surcharge were transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to support the Multinational Species Conservation Funds, in accordance with the Multinational Species Conservation Funds Semipostal Stamp Act of 2010.

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Alzheimer’s Research Issue

The Alzheimer’s semipostal was issued November 30, 2017, in Baltimore, MD. This stamp was withdrawn from sale on January 30, 2019, in accordance with rules set forth in the Federal Register. Under a revision to the original program structure conducted through the Federal Register process, the Alzheimer’s semipostal resumed sale on October 5, 2020. As of the end of September 2022, more than 10.2 million Alzheimer’s stamps had been sold, bringing the total revenue raised to more than $1.3 million. By law, 100 percent of the net amount raised is transferred to the National Institutes of Health to support research and medical discoveries in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. Stamp artist Matt Mahurin of Topanga Canyon, CA, worked under the direction of art director Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, MD, to create this stamp design.
Source: USPS.com > Semipostal Stamps
©United States Postal Service. All Rights Reserved.

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Healing PTSD semi-postal stamp featuring a sprouting plant

Healing PTSD Issue

The Healing PTSD semipostal was issued December 2, 2019, in Charlotte, NC. As of the end of September 2022, more than 15.5 million Healing PTSD stamps had been sold, bringing the total revenue raised to more than $1.7 million. By law, 100 percent of the net amount raised is transferred to the Department of Veterans Affairs to support those suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. Stamp artist Mark Laita of Pacific Palisades, CA, worked under the direction of art director Greg Breeding of Charlottesville, VA, to create this stamp design.
Source: USPS.com > Semipostal Stamps
©United States Postal Service. All Rights Reserved.

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