Big Jobs for Little Stamps
By: Lori Calabrese
Stamps may look like tiny pieces of paper, but those small squares or rectangles have big jobs. Did you know a stamp is a receipt? It shows that someone has paid for a letter to be sent. When a letter's ready to be mailed, just stick the stamp on the envelope and slide it into a mailbox. People have been using stamps since May 6, 1840 when the first stamp was made in Britain, bearing a picture of Queen Victoria. The United States began using stamps in 1847. The first two featured George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. Since then, the stamp has gone through many changes.
Stamps may look very thin, but they are made up of four layers. The top layer is the picture. The second layer is a special coating. Under special lights, the coating glows. This helps machines find the stamp on an envelope to cancel it. This way, people can't use the same stamp over and over again. The next time you receive a letter in the mail, look at the stamp and you'll see black wavy lines across it. This shows that it has been cancelled. The third layer is paper. And the bottom layer is the glue that makes the stamp stick to your envelope. Some stamps you have to lick to get them to stick, while others are self-adhesive like stickers.
Each stamp is a mini work of art. This is why many people collect stamps. Did you know it's one of the world's most popular hobbies? A stamp tells a story about the country from which it comes. You can find stamps that show almost anything. Some stamps honor special events, places, or people. As people began to collect these pieces of paper, no one knew how valuable they could become. One stamp from 1893 that celebrates Christopher Columbus is worth thousands of dollars! Stamp collecting has become so popular that you can even join organizations and groups that meet to view one another's stamps.
Since a stamp is a receipt, you have to pay money for that stamp. Over the years, the cost of stamp has changed. The size of a package and how far it has to travel determine how much postage is needed. In 1845, stamps cost as little as two cents, but today, stamps cost 42 cents (and the price is going up to 44 cents on May 11).
So who decides what is pictured on a stamp? Many Americans come up with ideas for the pictures that go on stamps. They send their ideas to a group made up of artists, historians, business people, and stamp collectors. The group picks the best ideas and the Postmaster General, the head of the Postal Service, makes the final decision.
Today, stamps come in all different shapes, sizes, and colors. But they still get your mail where you want it to go, just like long ago. So the next time you mail a letter, remember all the important things that make up that tiny stamp.
Illustration Copyright © 2009 Karin Nichols
Copyright © 2009 by Lori Calabrese