Former President Jimmy Carter, who died last December at age 100, will soon be honored with a Forever stamp by the United States Postal Service. The memorial stamp, announced on Saturday, will be released on Carter’s birthday, Oct. 1.
“The stamp program celebrates the best in American culture, places and people, and it is difficult to consider a more fitting honoree than former President Jimmy Carter,” said Peter Pastre, the USPS vice president for government and public policy, in a statement.
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Normally, the service waits three years before putting a deceased person on a stamp. However, memorial stamps are usually issued relatively soon after a former president dies. The most recent memorial stamp was released in 2019, after former President George H. W. Bush died in November 2018.
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The general public may submit ideas for stamps to the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee by mail, and all ideas that follow criteria will be considered.
How does someone get a stamp?
To decide on subjects for future stamps, the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee has a four-step list of criteria. First, the stamp must adhere to the stamp subject criteria list, which includes requirements such as featuring American-related subjects or events of historical significance. The document also reminds potential applicants that stamps are planned two to three years in advance.
Proposals must then be submitted by U.S. mail, along with any necessary historical information and important dates, and sent to Stamp Development, Attn: Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, 475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room 3300, Washington, D.C., 20260-3501.
The suggestions are then brought forward during quarterly meetings held by the advisory committee. Stamp proposals may be declined by the committee, but can be submitted again three years later.
As for Carter, his stamp will feature a 1982 art piece by Herbert E. Adams, who also painted the president’s official portrait that same year. The design of the stamp is by Ethel Kessler, one of the art directors at USPS. Forever stamps are always valid for first-class postage, regardless of the price of a new stamp.
