Elvis Reigns as King in Most Popular Stamp Ranking
While the 1993 Elvis stamp continues to hold court as the most popular stamp of all time with more than 124 million collected, three sets of stamps issued during 2006 rank among the top 10, according to the list of 25 most popular stamps of all time announced by U.S. Postmaster General John E. Potter.
Three stamp subjects issued this year were extremely popular: Wonders of America, Land of Superlatives, ranks number two for all time with more than 87 million collected; DC Comics Super Heroes hit number five with 73 million; and Art of Disney: Romance was number eight with more than 57 million.
Since 1988, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has annually surveyed more than 10,000 households to determine the number and types of stamps purchased versus stamps saved.
The USPS receives stamp ideas from about 50,000 people every year, yet only 20 to 25 subjects make the cut. To narrow the selection, the Postmaster General’s Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee–a cross section of designers, historians, and academics–reviews the suggestions and makes recommendations to the Postmaster General for final approval.
This year proved to be the best ever for stamp shows. The Washington 2006 World Philatelic Exhibition–the world’s largest stamp show held only once every decade in the U.S.–attracted nearly 140 postal administrations and more than 200 stamp dealers to showcase the world’s rarest stamp collections worth hundreds of millions of dollars to nearly a quarter of a million visitors.
The USPS encourages individuals with stamp ideas to submit their suggestions in writing to: Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, Stamp Development, U.S. Postal Service, 1735 North Lynn St., Rm. 5013, Arlington, VA 22209-6432.
The top 25 most popular commemorative stamps, with the year issued and number of stamps saved, are:
1. Elvis–1993; 124.1 million
2. Wonders of America–2006; 87.5 million
3. Wildflowers–1992; 76.1 million
4. Rock & Roll/Rhythm & Blues–1993; 75.9 million
5. DC Comics Super Heroes–2006; 73.0 million
6. Greetings From America–2002; 71.4 million
7. Insects and Spiders–1999; 61.0 million
8. Art of Disney: Romance–2006; 57.2 million
9. Legends of Baseball–2000; 53.9 million
10. Art of Disney: Celebration–2005; 52.8 million
11. Baseball Playing Fields–2001; 49.0 million
12. Art of Disney: Friendship–2004; 47.7 million
13. Civil War–1995; 46.6 million
14. Legends of the West–1994; 46.4 million
15. Marilyn Monroe–1995; 46.4 million
16. Advances in Aviation–2005; 45.8 million
17. Bugs Bunny–1997; 44.1 million
18. Lunar New Year–2005; 42.7 million
19. Comic Strip Classics–1995; 40.8 million
20. Jim Henson: Muppets–2005; 40.6 million
21. Cloudscapes–2004; 40.1 million
22. Stars and Stripes–2000; 40.0 million
23. Baseball Sluggers–2006; 39.5 million
24. Summer Olympics–1992; 39.5 million
25. Lucille Ball–2001; 38.7 million