Direct answer: The first Forever stamp went on sale on April 12, 2007. It featured the Liberty Bell and sold for 41 cents, the First-Class Mail one-ounce letter rate at launch.
Why USPS Introduced the Forever Stamp
Before Forever stamps, customers holding a fixed-denomination stamp often needed a small make-up-rate stamp after a price increase. The new stamp was designed to remain valid for the current one-ounce First-Class Mail letter rate, reducing that inconvenience. Its mailing value could rise with the rate even though no denomination was printed on the stamp.
2007: The Liberty Bell Beginning
USPS launched the Liberty Bell Forever stamp in 2007 at 41 cents. The bell served as the identifying design for the new concept. Official sales instructions explained that the stamp could be used for a one-ounce First-Class Mail letter regardless of future price changes.
2011 and 2014: Forever Becomes the Standard Pattern
USPS history records a broader shift in 2011, when new commemorative stamps for the one-ounce First-Class Mail letter rate began being issued as Forever stamps. By 2014, the approach expanded across new one-ounce First-Class Mail stamps, with limited operational exceptions such as certain presorted coils. These milestones explain why many later commemorative and definitive designs use FOREVER instead of a printed price.
2013: Global Forever Expands the Idea
In 2013, USPS introduced the Global Forever stamp. It applies the rate-linked idea to an eligible one-ounce international letter rather than the domestic one-ounce letter rate. A Global Forever stamp and an ordinary domestic Forever stamp are therefore not interchangeable descriptions of the same value.
2015: Postcard and Additional-Postage Types
In 2015, USPS extended nondenominated rate-linked postage to additional categories, including Postcard stamps and stamps for additional-ounce and nonmachinable-surcharge amounts. Each type follows its own applicable rate. Read Are Postcard Stamps Forever? for the postcard distinction.
What This History Means Today
The word FOREVER describes a value mechanism, not unlimited mailing. An ordinary Forever stamp still applies to the current one-ounce First-Class Mail letter rate, and the finished mailpiece must meet the relevant standards. Weight, shape, dimensions, rigidity, destination, or extra services can require more postage. The complete explanation is in How Do Forever Stamps Work?
Issue year also does not create a separate modern postage value for every design. A valid unused ordinary Forever stamp from an older year carries the current ordinary Forever mailing value; collectible market value is a separate question.
To compare recently issued designs currently listed by this retailer, browse New Forever stamps.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Forever stamps first go on sale?
April 12, 2007.
How much did the first Forever stamp cost?
The first Forever stamp sold for 41 cents, the one-ounce First-Class Mail letter rate at its 2007 launch.
What was the first Forever stamp design?
The first issue featured the Liberty Bell.
When did Global Forever stamps begin?
USPS introduced the Global Forever stamp in 2013 for the applicable one-ounce international letter price.
When did USPS begin issuing Postcard Forever stamps?
USPS history identifies 2015 as the introduction of nondenominated Postcard stamps, along with other rate-linked postage categories.
Sources and update note: USPS first Forever stamp fact; 2007 USPS sales instructions; USPS stamps and postcards history. Postal prices and standards can change; verify the exact postage for a finished mailpiece before mailing.