The National Postal Museum is dedicated to the preservation, study and presentation of postal history and philately. The Museum owns a comprehensive US classics philatelic collection of stamps, essays, and proofs produced between 1847 and 1893.

In January 2021 over 1,000 high resolution images of the Museum’s US Classics collection were released as Open Access (https://www.si.edu/openaccess). To mark the occasion, we asked the Museum’s Council of Philatelists and NPM staff members to choose their favorite item from this collection. For many, this task was not easy!

To learn more about philately and stamp collecting, we encourage you to continue to explore the Learning Lab and visit the Museum’s website at National Postal Museum | (si.edu).