 Prior to the middle of the 19th century,
U.S. Post Office mailing rates were based on the number of sheets in a letter and the distance it was traveling.
In 1845, rates were based on the weight of a letter and the distance it was going.
Beginning in 1863, domestic letter rates became "uniform," that is, they were based
solely on weight, regardless of distance.
Benjamin
Franklin was appointed as America's first Postmaster General in 1775. The
first postage stamps were issued in 1847
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS)
Inflation Calculator, the
inflation-adjusted price of the 1919 2¢ stamp is 35¢ in 2023 (a 17.5x,
or 1650%
increase). It is actually 66¢ as of July 9th. That's a 33x (3200%) increase,
nearly twice the rate of inflation.
Postage rates listed below are in cents.
| March 3, 1863 |
3 |
|
|
| March 3, 1883 |
2 |
-33 |
|
| July 1, 1885 |
2 |
0 |
|
| November 3, 1917 |
3 |
50 |
|
| July 1, 1919 |
2 |
-33 |
|
| July 6, 1932 |
3 |
50 |
|
| August 1, 1958 |
4 |
33 |
|
| January 7, 1963 |
5 |
25 |
|
| January 7, 1968 |
6 |
20 |
|
| May 16, 1971 |
8 |
33 |
|
| March 2, 1974 |
10 |
25 |
|
| September 14, 1975 |
10 |
0 |
9 |
| December 31, 1975 |
13 |
30 |
11 |
| May 29, 1978 |
15 |
15 |
13 |
| March 22, 1981 |
18 |
20 |
17 |
| November 1, 1981 |
20 |
11 |
17 |
| February 17, 1985 |
22 |
10 |
17 |
| April 3, 1988 |
25 |
14 |
20 |
| February 3, 1991 |
29 |
16 |
23 |
| January 1, 1995 |
32 |
10 |
23 |
| January 10,1999 |
33 |
3 |
22 |
| January 5, 2001 |
34 |
3 |
23 |
| June 30, 2002 |
37 |
9 |
23 |
| January 8, 2006 |
39 |
5 |
24 |
| May 14, 2007 |
41 |
5 |
17 |
| May 12, 2008 |
42 |
2 |
17 |
| May 11, 2009 |
44 |
5 |
17 |
| April 17, 2011 |
44 |
0 |
20 |
| January 22, 2012 |
45 |
2 |
20 |
| January 27, 2013 |
46 |
2 |
20 |
| January 26, 2014 |
49 |
7 |
22 |
| April 10, 2016 |
47 |
-4 |
21 |
| January 22, 2017 |
49 |
4 |
21 |
| January 21, 2018 |
50 |
2 |
21 |
| January 27, 2019 |
55 |
10 |
15 |
| August 29, 2021 |
58 |
5 |
20 |
| July 10, 2022 |
60 |
3 |
24 |
| January 22, 2023 |
63 |
5 |
24 |
| July 9, 2023 |
66 |
5 |
24 |
Table from the U.S. Postal Service
|
