posted 09-26-2011 10:02 AM               

Americans will soon be seeing acclaimed musicians, sports stars, writers, artists and other nationally known figures on U.S. postage stamps — while they are still alive.

The Postal Service is dropping a rule that requires an individual to be deceased for at least five years before being honored on a stamp. Under the new guidelines, living or recently deceased individuals could be eligible for commemoration on a stamp as soon as next year, and we want your input.

We invite you to submit the top five living people you would like to see on a stamp. Send us your ideas via Facebook and Twitter.

Your suggestions will be reviewed by the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee, the group responsible for recommending stamp subjects to the Postmaster General. To read more about CSAC and the stamp selection process, and to view the current selection criteria, visit the USPS website.

We want our stamp program to be relevant and engaging — a program that reflects the best of our nation. To do that, we need your feedback and support. Help us decide which stamps will most interest you.

posted 09-26-2011 10:23 AM               

Using our niche as an example, assuming the USPS was inclined to honor more astronauts, who would they give preference to: the Apollo 1 crew or the Apollo 11 crew? The crew of STS-1 or the crew of STS-51L?

On the one hand, this rule change could pave the way for a stamp honoring John Glenn on the 50th anniversary of his orbital flight. On the other, it could make it easier for the USPS to not honor the STS-107 crew on the 10th anniversary of their loss (for example).

With regards to their current request for a "top 5" list of living people to be honored on stamps, my first take at an all-astronauts list:

• John Glenn
  
• Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin or Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan
  
• John Young and Bob Crippen or John Young and Chris Ferguson

posted 09-26-2011 12:08 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
On the other, it could make it easier for the USPS to not honor the STS-107 crew on the 10th anniversary of their loss (for example).

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A 10-ten anniversary stamp for STS-107 is unlikely, as it would not conform with a couple of still-standing stamp selection criteria:

• Events of historical significance shall be considered for commemoration on anniversaries in multiples of 50 years.
  
• The stamp program commemorates positive contributions to American life, history, and culture; therefore, disasters will not be commemorated on U.S. postage stamps or stationery.

posted 09-26-2011 10:49 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by manilajim:
Somehow they waived the ban on disaster stamps to approve the 911 stamp. Also, there was a "Remember The Maine" stamp. The USPS stamp selection committee seems to do what it wants with "touchy" subjects.

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You may be right, but the stamp issued following the 911 attacks was named the "Heroes of 2001" stamp. The idea of the stamp was not to commemorate the attacks, but to celebrate the heroes of that day (and year). I suppose the same justification could be possibly be used to issue stamps of fallen astronauts.

posted 09-27-2011 09:22 AM               

We invite you to submit the top five living people you would like to see on a stamp.

Who is in your top 5? Here's mine:

• Neil Armstrong
  
• John Glenn
  
• Jim Lovell
  
• John Young
  
• Sally Ride

posted 09-27-2011 10:47 AM               

Top choice: John Glenn

Other choices: Neil Armstrong, Jimmy Carter, Henry Aaron, and Dr. C. Everett Koop.

posted 09-27-2011 03:58 PM               

1. John Glenn - 50th Anniversary of Friendship 7 in 2012.
   
2. Neil Armstrong
   
3. The Beatles - Not American, but made a big impact on American culture in the 1960s. 50th Anniversary of their "invasion" of the USA in 2014.
   
4. Hank Aaron
   
5. Bob Dylan

posted 09-28-2011 07:52 AM               

Given the timing of his flight's 50th anniversary, and his service to the nation, it would seem more than appropriate to include John Glenn among the first five to be chosen for stamps.

Even better would be for the USPS to use this opportunity to honor all seven original Mercury astronauts, either with one stamp or a set of seven. It would be a fitting way to follow-up on this year's Alan Shepard stamp.

posted 01-08-2012 02:55 PM               

Now, 50 years later, will history repeat itself?

First, some background from a Wikipedia article about the 1962 stamp:

The Post Office Department honored this first orbital flight of a United States astronaut on February 20, 1962, when it released the Project Mercury commemorative stamp, placed on sale throughout the country at the exact hour Colonel John Glenn's historic flight officially had returned to Earth safely.

This issue has somewhat of an unusual history. It was one of the first issues printed on the new Giori Press (named after its inventor, Gualtiero Giori). It employed a series of specially cut rubber rollers that applied two or three different colored inks on the same printing plate. As the new press was being used to print the Project Mercury stamp before the mission took place and in case the mission failed or was canceled, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing kept word about the new press and the stamp issue's production a secret. To further assure that the project be kept secret the designer of this issue, Charles R. Chickering, worked from his home and simply claimed that he was away on vacation. The stamps, waiting at post offices around the U.S., were sealed and marked "Top Secret". Only after Glenn's trip were the postmasters allowed to open the package and see what was inside.

The Project Mercury mission was indeed a success and on February 20, 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. Right after Glenn's safe return, the Post Office released the Project Mercury stamp. It became the first U.S. commemorative stamp issued nearly at the same time as the event occurred, released the exact hour the flight was officially completed.

The stamp features an image of the Mercury Friendship 7 capsule circling the earth, against a field of stars. The spacecraft is now housed at the National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC. Because the event was deemed so popular the number of quantities issued totaled more than 289 million, more than twice the average amount of quantities issued for commemorative postage issues of that time.

I speculate that the first living person to be honored will the be the 90 year-old John Glenn on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of Friendship 7 on February 20.

Now one might object that the USPS stamp calendar does not include such a stamp. Normally I would agree with this objection -- but what was the only other U.S. stamp prepared in secret?

It may be wishful thinking, but I hope such a stamp will be issued next month. Col. Glenn is a hero in my eyes and deserves recognition for his decades of service to the U.S. as a Marine aviator, astronaut, and U.S. Senator.

posted 05-13-2013 09:06 AM               

The board directed [Postmaster General Patrick] Donahoe not to issue any stamps for living people, saying that was too controversial a step.