United States Letter-denominated Stamps

Above is a maximum card ©1985 The Maximum Card Collection, a division of Unicover Corporation. The stamp on the card is the D sheet stamp issued on February 1, 1985. The following information is printed on the back of the card:

Like the pioneer and homesteader, the stagecoach played a vital role in the early development of the American West. Early on, letters and messages were carried by horse and rider, but their reliability was marginal at best. As the amount of mail being sent increased, its sheer bulk and weight made the horse and rider impractical. Thus, the stagecoach became the primary mode of transporting the mail. The earliest coaches covered a set distance each day in "stages" over a predetermined route and thus became known as stagecoaches. By the 1830s stagecoaches were carrying the mail over seventeen million miles of roads annually and were instrumental in helping settle new territories. This Maximum Card features a non-denominated D series sheet stamp issued in anticipation of the Postal Rate Change of 1985. At the time the D stamps were to be printed for the 1985 postal increase, the amount of the rate change was uncertain. Consequently, for only the fourth time in U.S. history, the Postal Service issued non-denominated stamps.

 Actually, the D stamp was the fourth letter-denominated stamp, but not the fourth non-denominated stamp. There also were some non-denominated Christmas stamps before D letter-denominated stamp. The letter-denominated stamps were issued in preparation for postage rate increases. After reaching the letter "H", this practice was replaced by simply indicating the class of postage (e.g., first class) for which the stamp was intended. The USPS has a Quick Service Guide online showing non-denominated stamps here.

Here is a table with the design, value and issue date of the letter-denominated stamps:

Letter	Design	Value	Issue Date
A	Orange Eagle	15 cents	May 22, 1978
B	Purple Eagle	18 cents	March 15, 1981
C	Brown Eagle	20 cents	October 11, 1981
D	Green Eagle	22 cents	February 1, 1985
E	Earth	25 cents	March 22, 1988
F	Flower	29 cents	January 22, 1991
F	Flag	29 cents	January 22, 1991
G	Old Glory (Flag)	32 cents	December 13, 1994
H	Hat	33 cents	November 19, 1998

This is a post for Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog