All new first-class stamps to be 'Forever Stamps'

usps_forever_stamps.top.jpgBeginning next month, all new stamps good for one ounce of first-class mail will be marked with the "Forever" designation instead of a postage rate and will therefore retain their value. By Hibah Yousuf, staff reporter


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Good news for snail-mailers: No need to keep digging for one- and two-cent stamps because all new first-class stamps will be "Forever Stamps" beginning next month.

The U.S. Postal Service has been raising postage rates more frequently in recent years as it tries to dig out a deep financial hole and is hoping to hike the current 44-cent rate in 2011. But under its new policy, which will be formally announced in mid-January, those mailing typical letters won't have to keep up with postage increases.

All new stamps good for one ounce of first-class mail will be marked with the "Forever" designation instead of a postage rate and will therefore retain their value, the Postal Service said as it unveiled its 2011 commemorative first-class stamp collection.

"Regardless of when the stamps are purchased or used in the new year, no matter how prices may change in the future, these stamps will always be equal to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce price," the service said in a statement.

The Postal Service will issue the first stamp, which celebrates the year of the rabbit in the Lunar new year, on Jan. 22 under the new policy.

The first Forever Stamp featured the Liberty Bell and was issued in April 2007. Since then, 28 billion Forever Stamps have been sold, generating more than $12 billion in revenue.  To top of page

Just the hot list include
Frontline troops push for solar energy
The U.S. Marines are testing renewable energy technologies like solar to reduce costs and casualties associated with fossil fuels. Play
25 Best Places to find rich singles
Looking for Mr. or Ms. Moneybags? Hunt down the perfect mate in these wealthy cities, which are brimming with unattached professionals. More
Fun festivals: Twins to mustard to pirates!
You'll see double in Twinsburg, Ohio, and Ketchup lovers should beware in Middleton, WI. Here's some of the best and strangest town festivals. Play
Index Last Change % Change
Dow 32,627.97 -234.33 -0.71%
Nasdaq 13,215.24 99.07 0.76%
S&P 500 3,913.10 -2.36 -0.06%
Treasuries 1.73 0.00 0.12%
Data as of 6:29am ET
Company Price Change % Change
Ford Motor Co 8.29 0.05 0.61%
Advanced Micro Devic... 54.59 0.70 1.30%
Cisco Systems Inc 47.49 -2.44 -4.89%
General Electric Co 13.00 -0.16 -1.22%
Kraft Heinz Co 27.84 -2.20 -7.32%
Data as of 2:44pm ET
Sponsors

Sections

Bankrupt toy retailer tells bankruptcy court it is looking at possibly reviving the Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us brands. More

Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford charts her career path, from her first job to becoming the first openly gay CEO at a Fortune 500 company in an interview with CNN's Boss Files. More

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.