"Postage" and "stamps" get used interchangeably and are not the same thing. Postage is the fee for carriage. A stamp is one way of showing it was paid — alongside meters, permit imprints and printed labels.
Only the USPS issues postage stamps. Private companies can produce approved custom postage that looks similar, under licence.
Definitives — the everyday stamps
The ongoing issues, sold indefinitely, printed in unlimited quantities to meet daily demand. Flag stamps are the obvious example, reissued year after year.
They come in a wide spread of denominations — from a few cents up to $5.00 — and cover subjects like presidents, birds, household objects and national landmarks. The low-value ones exist mainly so bulk mailers can make up exact postage.
This is the category you want for volume: always available, cheapest to buy below face, and never inappropriate.
Forever stamps — a property, not a category
Introduced in 2007. A Forever stamp costs the same as a regular first-class stamp and carries a one-ounce letter at whatever the rate becomes.
Worked example: bought at 58 cents, still valid after the rate moved to 60 cents, with no two-cent top-up required.
Note this is a property that can attach to definitives, commemoratives and holiday issues alike — it describes how the stamp is valued, not what is printed on it.
Commemoratives — printed once
Issued each year to mark people, anniversaries and events. Recent examples have included state centennials and figures such as the publisher John H. Johnson (1918–2005), and the Nancy Reagan issue of 6 July 2022, marking her centenary — the sixth First Lady to appear on a US stamp, and released a year later than planned because of the pandemic.
The defining feature is that they are produced in limited quantities and sold for roughly one year. After that they exist only on the secondary market, which is why collectors hold them and why a specific design becomes hard to find quickly.
Holiday issues
New Christmas and seasonal designs appear annually for the enormous volume of cards Americans send. Recent seasons have included Hanukkah and Kwanzaa issues alongside the Christmas designs.
One reassurance: older holiday stamps, including those predating current barcoding, remain valid. Nothing needs throwing away.
Semipostals — postage plus a donation
Congressionally authorised fundraising stamps, sold above the postage rate with the difference directed to a designated cause — breast cancer research, Alzheimer's, domestic violence prevention among them.
The mechanics: a semipostal costs at least 15% more than the postage rate, with no upper limit, adjusted in 5-cent increments. You pay the first-class rate in force plus a tax-deductible amount. The Postal Service passes the surplus, less its costs, to the federal agency responsible for administering the funds.
If you want postage to do something beyond carriage, this is the only category where that is built in rather than implied.
The denominations that matter
Beyond the standard letter rate, the ones worth knowing:
- Additional ounce — 24 cents. The most useful and least used.
- Two-ounce — 84 cents.
- Postcard — 44 cents. Large or square postcards cost more.
- Non-machinable — 99 cents. Squares, rigid pieces, anything lumpy.
The mistake worth avoiding: putting two Forever stamps on a two-ounce letter. Two stamps at the 60-cent letter rate cost noticeably more than the single 84-cent two-ounce stamp that covers the same piece. Adding a second Forever stamp is the intuitive fix and the expensive one.
For international mail, Global Forever stamps cover a one-ounce letter or a postcard to almost anywhere — and can also be used on domestic mail, though that overpays.
Best deals on Forever stamps
Definitives are where below-face buying works best, because they are printed continuously and liquidated in volume. Commemoratives and holiday issues turn up in surplus once they leave official sale, which is often the only way to get a past design.
Where to buy
The USPS official store for current issues and specific denominations — additional ounce, two-ounce, international — or a verified surplus channel such as Forever Stamp Center for volume and retired designs.
The short version
Definitives for volume, commemoratives for occasions and collecting, semipostals when you want the stamp to fund something. Keep additional-ounce and two-ounce stamps on hand — and never solve a heavy letter with a second Forever stamp.
More on buying Forever stamps
- 👉 What Envelope Size Needs Extra Postage?
- 👉 Two-Ounce Stamps for Heavy Letters and Invitations
- 👉 What Are Postage Stamps?
USPS professional based in New York with over 12 years of experience in postal operations. She writes about Forever Stamps, offering practical guidance on safe purchasing and mailing practices while closely following USPS policy updates.
