NEW U.S. STAMPS ILLUSTRATE MEDAL OF HONOR

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V18 2015 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 18, Number 10, March 8, 2015, Article 13

Dick Johnson submitted these thoughts on the new U.S. postage stamps for the Medal of Honor. Thanks! -Editor

For collectors of medals on stamps May 25th will be a red-letter day. That's the first day of issue for a stamp that the Post Office has out done itself for -- the most creative "package" of stamp design marketed directly with the collector in mind.

They hit me right between the eyes. I have collected medals on stamps ever since George Fuld owned a stamp dealership in the 1980s and sent me approvals. I will be first in line at the Post Office on May 25th. Here's why I'm so excited:

The Post Office is calling this stamp issue a "four page prestige folio." It illustrates the U.S. Medal of Honor, our nation's highest military decoration. There are three versions, one for each branch of the military (the Marines share the same medal given to Navy honorees). The Army and the Air Force each have their own version of he medal.

But what is so unusual is that each of the four sheets in the folio illustrate 12 of the 48 living Medal of Honor recipients. Photographs of living persons surround the 12 stamps -- four each of the three versions of the Medal of Honor. The stamps are the Post Office's Forever Stamp.

Isn't that a creative idea? Recipients of the Medal of Honor receive a number of privileges along with the medal around their neck (generals have to salute them for one!). But to be pictured on millions of American stamp pages is an unprecedented Honor.

The Medal of Honor is not the first decoration to appear on an American stamp, the Purple Heart stamp of 2012 predates it. Perhaps the new stamp however will attract more collectors to the philatelic topic of medals on stamps.

The American Topical Association which chronicles all topical stamp collecting, has record at last count of 847 stamps illustrating medals and awards.. Not quite as popular as coins and currency on stamps with a record of 1,327.

But if I have convinced any reader to acquire this four-page folio, get behind me. I am first in line.

To read the complete article, see:
MEDAL OF HONOR: VIETNAM WAR (http://uspsstamps.com/stamps/medal-honor-vietnam-war)

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