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Add A Penny to First Class Postage (Update 4)

Liberty Bell Forever Stamps the Exception

By Michael P. Neufeld
Monday, May 12, 2008

Update 4 – Monday 3:55 a.m.

The cost of mailing a first class letter went up a penny yesterday to 42 cents. The exception being the previously purchased 41-cent Liberty Bell Forever stamp that can now be used without any additional postage.

Starting Monday 41-cent stamps require additional postage under the new rates. Postal officials report they printed an additional 1.5 billion 1-cent stamp[s in anticipation of the demand.

Beginning May 12, the Liberty Bell Forever Stamp will begin saving mountain and U.S. Postal Service customers money. On that date the price of a first class stamp goes up to 42 cents. The Forever stamp costs 41 cents and will always be valid. (Photo by U.S. Postal Service.)

The increase comes roughly a week after the US Postal Service reported a loss of $700 million in the second quarter of the fiscal year, blamed largely on rising fuel prices and declining mail volume.

Other rate increases effective May 12:

• Large envelope, 2 ounces - $1, up 3 cents

• Money orders up to $500 - $1.05 (unchanged)

• Certified mail - $2.70, up 5 cents

• First-class international letter to other countries, 94 cents, up 4 cents

• First-class international letter to Mexico or Canada – 72 cents, up 3 cents

• Priority Mail flat-rate envelope - $4.25, up 25 cents

• Express Mail flat-rate envelope - $16.50, up 25 cents

TODAY (May 13), in Las Vegas and New York, New York, the US Postal Service honors Frank Sinatra will the release of a 42-cent commemorative stamp designed by Richard Sheaff from Scottsdale, Arizona.

The backside of each stamp reads: Frank Sinatra (1915-1998) is admired as a supreme interpreter of American popular song. Several of his recordings—including "In the Wee Small Hours" and "Come Fly With Me"—are considered classics. Sinatra also demonstrated outstanding acting ability in such films as "From Here to Eternity" and "The Manchurian Candidate."

Update 3 — Sunday 3:50 a.m.

The price of a one-ounce First-Class stamp will increase TOMORROW (May 12) from 41 cents to 42 cents. Other rates are also impacted by the increases approved by the US Postal Service.

Sales of Liberty Bell Forever stamps were reported brisk at several mountain post offices last week.

Update 2 — Friday 8:20 a.m.

Post offices in the mountain communities report that sales of the Liberty Bell Forever Stamps have been brisk. Today is the last day at some Post Offices without Saturday hours to purchase the stamps before the first class rate increases a penny on Monday.

The Liberty Bell Forever stamps will be honored after the price increase and even after future increases in postal rates.

Update — Friday 4:12 a.m.

Gasoline and food prices aren't the only thing impacting the pocketbooks of mountain residents. The price of a one-ounce First-Class stamp will go up a penny on May 12.

Postal officials are urging everyone to purchase the Liberty Bell Forever stamps now at 41 cents because that price will always be honored saving residents money for some time to come.

By the May 12 deadline for the change in postal rates, the US Postal Service expects to sell 10 million of the Liberty Bell Forever stamps.

A recent check of several mountain post offices revealed they have a good supply of the forever stamps on hand for purchase.

"I just purchased 10 books of the Liberty Bell stamps," a Crestline woman told RIMOFTHEWORLD.net outside the Crestline Post Office, "and I won't start using them until after the rates go up. May buy a few more books next week."

Original Story

The price of a one-ounce First-Class stamp will increase May 12 from 41 cents to 42 cents. But as mountain residents have discovered, the Liberty Bell Forever Stamp will ease the transition during the price change. A two-ounce letter also goes up a penny to 59 cents.

The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act allows prices for mailing services provided by the Postal Service to be adjusted annually each May. The Postal Service plans to provide 90 days' notice before the price changes each year.

"The Postal Service encourages Americans to buy Forever Stamps now for 41 cents," according to a press release issued by Postmaster General John Potter, "because like the name suggests, they are good forever."

The Postal Service has sold five (5) billion Forever Stamps since the launch in April 2007 and ordered another five (5) billion to meet the expected demand before the May 12 price increase."

The Liberty Bell Forever Stamp is valid as First-Class postage on standard envelopes weighing one ounce or less, regardless of any subsequent increases in the First-Class rate.

The stamp depicts a computer-generated image of the Liberty Bell by nationally acclaimed artist Tom Engerman of Brunswick, Maryland. Replicas of the Liberty Bell exist in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

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