The wider world of philately
A brief digest of the people, gatherings, discoveries, exhibitions, and new issues making news across the world of stamps.
The U.S. Postal Service has announced the stamp issues scheduled to premiere at Boston 2026 World Exposition, described as the United States’ 12th international philatelic exhibition. The announcement links new issues with a major event for stamp collectors.
Canada’s first stamps are often represented by the Three-Penny Beaver and Twelve-Pence Black. This history restores the Six-Pence Consort to the group, explaining how the 1851 Prince Albert issue helped carry cross-border mail to the United States.
A block of 12 Penny Blacks, reportedly concealed in a cupboard since 1840 and rediscovered during renovations in Dublin, is heading to auction. The unusually large surviving multiple carries an estimate of £150,000 to £200,000.
The Airgraph Service offered a novel solution for sending letters to forces overseas during the Second World War. The Postal Museum traces how the system worked and the largely female workforce whose careful labor made it possible.
A 1,171-lot auction from the Robert Jenkins Collection will offer rare 19th-century unused stamps from British, French, and Italian areas. The sale is scheduled to take place at Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries in New York City, making it a substantial event for collectors of classic European material.
Four new United States stamps celebrate the work of pioneering quiltmaker Harriet Powers. Dedicated in Washington, the issue brings details from Powers’s narrative quilts to the small format of commemorative postage.
The beloved children’s book The Jolly Postman turns 40 in 2026. The Postal Museum looks at the inspirations behind its inventive collection of letters and at the creative process that made a postal journey part of the story.
The U.S. Postal Service will issue Lowriders, a set of new commemorative postage stamps. The announcement introduces a forthcoming issue celebrating lowrider culture and gives collectors an opportunity to follow a new USPS design theme as it enters the commemorative stamp program.
The Association of British Philatelic Societies will hold its National Exhibition in Nottingham during The Philatelic Congress of Great Britain in autumn 2026. The event will provide a national setting for philatelic displays and competition, making it relevant to collectors, exhibitors, and visitors planning the British exhibition calendar.
The United States Postal Service is welcoming the Year of the Horse with a new Lunar New Year stamp. The issue continues the agency’s annual series celebrating a holiday observed by communities across the country.
Postcrossing’s annual review gathers the numbers behind a year of international postcard exchanges. The figures offer a useful glimpse of how many people still put stamps to work creating personal connections through the mail.
The United States Postal Service has announced two stamps honoring Muhammad Ali. The issue remembers the Louisville-born champion’s global sporting career as well as the public voice and moral conviction that shaped his life beyond the boxing ring.
