Elvis Still Crowned King Of Stamps
This year's Wonders of America set climbed to second place in the most popular stamps, but Elvis is still the King, the Postal Service said Tuesday.
Some 124.1 million of the 1993 Elvis Presley stamps were saved by Americans, according to the postal service, which does an annual survey of 10,000 households to determine which stamps are most popular.
Rising into second spot was the Wonders of America set with 87.5 million stamps saved, the agency said.
"The achievement by the Elvis Presley stamp is particularly impressive because it's a single stamp," says CBSNews.com's Lloyd de Vries, a former Secretary of the American Philatelic Society. "The number-two issue, this past year's Wonders of America, is a set of 40 stamps. Number Three, Wildflowers in 1992, was 50, so a collector wanting one of each stamp would buy 50 times as many Wildflowers as Elvis Presley.
"In fact, the next single-stamp issues on the list are Marilyn Monroe (#15) and Bugs Bunny (#17), and they only sold about one-third as many copies," de Vries added.
"Stamp collecting continues as one of the worlds most popular educational hobbies that the entire family can enjoy," Postmaster General John E. Potter said in a statement.
The USPS receives stamp ideas from an estimated 50,000 people annually, with 20 to 25 suggestions making it onto postage. The avalanche of ideas is reviewed by an independent advisory committee which sends its recommendations to the postmaster general for a final decision.
"The fact that 10 of the top 25 were issued in the last three years serves as a testament to the committee's expertise in selecting dynamic subjects and America's continued interest in the hobby," Potter added.
People who want to make suggestions can send their ideas to:
- Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee
Stamp Development
U.S. Postal Service
1735 North Lynn St Rm 5013
Arlington VA 22209-6432.
"Many people throw sheets of stamps into a drawer for a few decades, thinking they'll be worth lots more some day. Most of the time, they're not ... and get dumped on the market and used for postage," said de Vries, who produces a weekly stamp collecting feature for CBS Radio News. "We've already seen a little of that with the Elvis Presley stamp."
Here's the complete list, with the stamp subject, year of issuance, and the number saved, according to the USPS.:
- Elvis 1993 124.1 million
- Wonders of America 2006 87.5 million
- Wildflowers 1992 76.1 million
- Rock & Roll/Rhythm & Blues 1993 75.9 million
- DC Comics Super Heroes 2006 73.0 million
- Greetings From America 2002 71.4 million
- Insects and Spiders 1999 61.0 million
- Art of Disney: Romance 2006 57.2 million
- Legends of Baseball 2000 53.9 million
- Art of Disney: Celebration 2005 52.8 milion
- Baseball Playing Fields 2001 49.0 million
- Art of Disney: Friendship 2004 47.7 million
- Civil War 1995 46.6 million
- Legends of the West 1994 46.4 million
- Marilyn Monroe 1995 46.4 million
- Advances in Aviation 2005 45.8 million
- Bugs Bunny 1997 44.1 million
- Lunar New Year SS 2005 42.7 million
- Comic Strip Classics 1995 40.8 million
- Jim Henson: Muppets 2005 40.6 million
- Cloudscapes 2004 40.1 million
- Stars and Stripes 2000 40.0 million
- Baseball Sluggers 2006 39.5 million
- Summer Olympics 1992 39.5 million
- Lucille Ball 2001 38.7 million