2017-02-01 Wed

USPS celebrates one of the popular patriotic characters of the country with a new special stamp.

The character of Uncle Sam has served as a patriotic symbol for the United States for many years. One story about the origin of Uncle Sam traces back to Samuel Wilson, a meatpacker in Troy, N.Y., who supplied troops with provisions in barrels, marked “U.S.” during the War of 1812.

With the initials stood for “United States”, Uncle Sam became an American icon with a white goatee and the phrase “I want YOU for the U.S. Army”. However, he is more remembered for his top hat with the national flag of US on it.

This top hat has returned on this additional ounce postage stamp which will be issued on 18th Feb. The stamp features eight graphic top hats in Uncle Sam’s signature style, with red and white vertical stripes above a blue band with a white star and a gray brim. Beneath each hat, there is an oval shape representing a face, each in a different shade, meant to suggest the ethnic and racial diversity of the United States.

This non-denominated stamp fulfills the postage rate for an additional ounce of postage beyond the 49¢ rate for the first ounce of domestic letter mail.