The U.S. flag flies high with stars and stripes! Each stamp represents an important theme in America's development as a nation: Freedom, Liberty, Equality, and Justice.

The U.S. Postal Service continues its tradition of honoring the Stars and Stripes with the issuance of the Four Flags (Forever®) stamps.

The current U.S. flag consists of 13 stripes and 50 stars. Congress passed legislation in 1818 stating that the number of stars on the flag should match the number of states in the Union. It also specified that new stars would be added to the flag on the July 4 after a state’s admission. The current flag’s 50th star was added on July 4, 1960, after Hawai’i became a state on August 21, 1959.

The flag illustration by the late Arnold Holeywell is based on a photograph taken by art director Howard Paine. Paine also served as the typographer for the stamp.

The Four Flags stamps are being issued as Forever stamps in self-adhesive books of 20 and self-adhesive rolls of 100. Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce rate.

Made in the USA.

Requests for more than 5 per item may not be pre-packaged, and may be converted to full sheets or rolls. Full sheets and rolls will not be converted. Custom orders for more than 5 pre-packaged sub-units may be requested by calling 1 800 STAMP-24 (1 800 782-6724): Custom Order fees will apply.

Issue Date: February 22, 2012

SKUs featured on this page: 688304, 688104, 788704