U.S. Postal Service Announces Special Stamp for Total Solar Eclipse

The U.S. Postal Service is commemorating the upcoming total solar eclipse by issuing a special stamp that actually changes when you touch it.

It’s called the “Total Eclipse of the Sun Forever Stamp” and it transforms from the solar eclipse into the Moon from the heat of a finger.

The eclipse is happening Monday, August 21 and will be seen from Washington State to South Carolina.

The stamp was unveiled Tuesday at a special ceremony at at the Art Museum of the University of Wyoming in Laramie.

Jim Cochrane is the Chief Customer and Marketing Officer for the U. S. Postal Service.

Cochrane said the stamp signifies the Postal Service’s efforts to keep the mail current and in tune with today’s digital generation.

“The postal service is enabling a new generation to bridge the gap and tighten the connection between physical mail and the digital world that we more and more live,” said Cochrane.

Jay Bigalke is the Editor of the American Philatelist.

He said the new stamp is very exciting for stamp collectors because of the new technology attached to it.

“This is a pioneering moment for the U.S.to be able to use thermochromatic ink on a U.S. stamp,” said Bigalke. “It’ll be in post offices everywhere nationwide, so people can go in, buy a forever stamp that will have this really cool feature of it that gives you the experience of the eclipse without being in the pathway itself.”

Astrophysicist Fred Espenak, also known as “Mr. Eclipse,” said the new stamp will alert the public to the upcoming solar eclipse.

“People that don’t know anything about the eclipse will see these eclipse stamps and they’ll read about it and it will peak their interest about it,” said Espenak. “It’s the first time we’ve had a total eclipse with the internet age in the U.S. The information about the eclipse is going to spread across the country along with the moon shadow as it passes.”

The pane of 16 Forever stamps are available now at the Toccoa, Eastanolle, and Lavonia Post Offices and at post offices nationwide.