Most US stamp designs are printed once and retired. The Purple Heart is the exception: essentially the same image has been reissued again and again as the letter rate moved, which means a stack of Purple Heart stamps that all look identical may contain half a dozen different printings.
Here is how to tell them apart, and why there are so many.
What the medal is
A heart in a gold border, 1⅜ inches across, carrying a profile of George Washington. Above the heart sits his coat of arms — a white shield with two red bars and three red stars in chief — between sprays of green leaves. On the reverse, a raised bronze heart and the words FOR MILITARY MERIT.
Washington created it on 7 August 1782 as the Badge of Military Merit, awarded for commendable conduct. It went to very few soldiers and then lapsed entirely, until it was revived on 22 February 1932, the two-hundredth anniversary of Washington's birth.
It is the oldest US military decoration still awarded, and it was among the first open to enlisted soldiers rather than officers only. Washington's own phrasing was that the road to glory in a patriotic army is open to all — which is the whole point of it.
The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor estimates 1.8 million have been awarded since 1932. Purple Heart Day was first observed in 2014 and falls on 7 August each year.
Why so many printings
Because it was issued before Forever stamps existed. A denominated stamp becomes obsolete the moment the rate moves, so a design USPS wants continuously available has to be reprinted at each new rate. That is the entire explanation for the list below.
The printings, in order
2003 — 37¢
The first, issued at Washington's Mount Vernon estate in Virginia at the then first-class rate. A 37¢ die-cut variety followed on 1 August 2003. Two printings in the first year, and already a distinction that matters to collectors.
2006 — 39¢
Same design, new rate.
2007 — 41¢
2008 — 42¢, twice
Two versions this year, and they are genuinely different objects: one with water-activated gum, one self-adhesive. Same denomination, same design, different backs.
2009 — 44¢
2011 — the first Forever version
Issued 5 May 2011 in San Diego as the Purple Heart Ribbon stamp, at what was then a 44 cent rate — but as a Forever stamp, which ends the reprint-per-rate cycle.
Designed by Jennifer Arnold of Washington DC, from a photograph by Ira Wexler of Braddock Heights, Maryland, of the Purple Heart awarded to First Lieutenant Arthur J. Rubin (1917–1978), who served in the Second World War. A specific medal belonging to a specific person, rather than a generic rendering.
2012 — 45¢, ribbon at the top
Reissued with the ribbon shown above the medal, at the 45¢ one-ounce rate.
2014 — year-dated
A new variety issued 11 October 2014 in Dover, Delaware. Nondenominated at the 49¢ rate, and carrying a 2014 year inscription — which is the identifying mark.
2015 — microprinting appears
The 49¢ issue was the first Purple Heart stamp with microprinting — the letters USPS along the upper left of the ribbon. You need magnification to see it, and it is the cleanest way to date a stamp from this stretch.
2016 — reprint carrying the 2014 date
The trap for collectors. A 2016 reprint that still carries the 2014 inscription, so the printed date does not tell you when it was printed. Identification here depends on the pane, not the stamp.
2019 — the redesign
A genuine redesign rather than a reprint: a purple border picking up the colour of the medal and its ribbon, with the medal suspended from the purple-and-white ribbon. Photographed again by Ira Wexler, designed by Bryan Dufrene, with William J. Gicker as art director.
Issued as a Forever stamp, so it is worth the current one-ounce rate whenever you use it. As of late 2022 there had been no redesign since.
Are the old ones still usable
Yes, all of them, with one condition on the older ones.
US stamps do not expire. A Purple Heart Forever stamp from 2011 onward pays a one-ounce letter at today's rate, whatever you paid for it. A denominated one — the 37¢ through 45¢ issues — is still valid at its printed face value, so you can use it by adding make-up postage to reach the current rate.
The practical condition is physical. Sorting equipment rejects stamps that are torn, damaged, illegible or already stuck down. A stamp that has lost its gum is not worthless, but it needs to go on with something else, and a rejected piece is a delayed one.
Best deals on Forever stamps
The 2011 issue and everything after it is ordinary postage that happens to be retired from official sale — which is exactly the stock that turns up below face value. The pre-2011 denominated printings are collectors' material: usable, but only with arithmetic.
Where to buy
Current issues from USPS. Retired Purple Heart printings from a verified surplus channel such as Forever Stamp Center — see the Forever range.
The short version
One design, reissued at 37¢, 39¢, 41¢, 42¢ (twice), 44¢, 45¢ and 49¢ before the Forever version in 2011 stopped the cycle. Microprinting starts in 2015; the 2016 reprint still says 2014. Everything on the list is still valid postage.
More on buying Forever stamps
- 👉 Why USPS Wanted the Forever Stamp Too
- 👉 You Have to Be Dead to Get on a US Stamp
- 👉 Two Popular Ways to Spot a Fake Stamp That Don't Work
USPS specialist based in Los Angeles with extensive experience in postal operations and customer service. Certified in mail management and trained at the USPS Business Mail Academy, she offers reliable guidance on Forever Stamps and practical mailing solutions.
