'Jenny' Stamp Sells for $825K

Postal Service cites need for quick action from Congress

(NEWSER) - 50-cent stamps, anyone? That's one of the changes the postmaster-general wants Congress to act on quickly if the service is to survive, reports the Wall Street Journal . That increase of a nickel for a first-class stamp is actually one of the minor proposals from Patrick Donahoe. He also laid out plans to cut 150,000 jobs (mostly through retirements), to extend delivery times for long-distance mail, and to have the postal service cut ties with the federal health benefits program. More»

It will cost 45 cents to mail a first-class letter in January

(NEWSER) - Given the dire financial straits of the Postal Service, this shouldn't be a huge surprise: The price of a stamp is going up a penny to 45 cents in January, reports the Washington Post . The first hike in more than two years is expected to pull in an extra $888 million in revenue, says the USPS. Postcards are going up 3 cents to 32 cents, though Express Mail and Priority Mail won't change. International letters will go up 7 cents to $1.05, except for Canada and Mexico letters, which will cost 85 cents. More»

Katharine Hepburn, Mother Teresa, Negro Leagues baseball make the cut

(NEWSER) - Nobel Prize winner Mother Teresa, Oscar-winning actress Katharine Hepburn, singing cowboy Gene Autry, artist Winslow Homer, and Pulitzer Prize winner Bill Mauldin will be honored on US postage stamps next year. Other new stamps will honor baseball's Negro Leagues, the Sunday funnies and the Hawaiian rain forest, the AP reports. Here are some of the new designs. More»

(AP) - The price of a first-class stamp will rise 2 cents to 44 cents on May 11, the Postal Service said today. That leaves plenty of time to stock up on Forever Stamps, which will continue to sell at the current 42-cent rate until the increase occurs. They will remain valid in the future regardless of rate hikes. More»

USPS is rolling out homage to the icon in early 2009

(NEWSER) - Bob Hope, one of America’s most beloved entertainers, will grace a US postage stamp next year, the AP reports. The British-born Hope, who died in 2003, found success as a singer, actor, comedian, and entertainer of American troops. He benefits from postal rule change that allows non-presidents to be on stamps 5 years after their death, instead of 10. More»