U.S. Flag 2023
First Day of Issue Date: April 10, 2023
First Day of Issue Location: Freedom, ME
Image Assets
Stamp Brief
With the 2023 U.S. Flag stamp, the U.S. Postal Service honors an important symbol of our nation.
The stamp, which is being issued in booklets of 20, panes of 20, and coils of 100, 3,000, and 10,000, bears a straightforward graphic design of the red, white, and blue. Providing a solid foundation for the flag are the word FREEDOM in a gray slab sans serif font and, below it, FOREVER / USA in a smaller sans serif font. The manner in which the text is positioned suggests the endurance of freedom as a core value.
The flag serves as a visual reminder of the array of freedoms that Americans enjoy. Its design dates to 1777 when the Continental Congress specified 13 horizontal stripes and 13 stars to honor the 13 original colonies. Various versions of the early flag continued to be used until, in 1818, the U.S. Congress standardized the design, mandating 13 stripes forever but a star for every state. Another act of Congress, in 1947, set the date for each new star's official addition to the flag as the July 4 following the state's admission to the Union. The last time the flag changed was July 4, 1960, after Hawaii achieved statehood the previous August.
Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamp with existing art by Hong Li.
The 2023 U.S. Flag stamp is being issued as a Forever® stamp. This Forever stamp will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce rate.
First Day of Issue Ceremony
First Day of Issue Date: April 10, 2023
First Day of Issue Location: Freedom, ME
Stamp Art Director
Antonio Alcalá
Antonio Alcalá served on the Postmaster General’s Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee from 2010 until 2011, when he left to become an art director for the U.S. Postal Service's stamp development program.
After working as a book designer and freelance graphic designer, Alcalá opened Studio A in 1988. Since then his studio has won awards of excellence in design from local, national, and international design institutions including AIGA, Print, Communication Arts, and Graphis. His clients include: the National Gallery of Art, Library of Congress, National Portrait Gallery, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Gallery, National Museum of Women in the Arts, The Phillips Collection, and Smithsonian Institution.
Alcalá is an adjunct faculty member of the Maryland Institute College of Art, MFA program in graphic design, and founder of the design education program DesignWorkshops. He served on the board of the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Association and is a past president of the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington. The AIGA DC Chapter selected Alcalá as its 2008 AIGA Fellow. His work is represented in the AIGA Design Archives and the Library of Congress Permanent Collection of Graphic Design.
Alcalá graduated from Yale University with a BA in history and from the Yale School of Art with an MFA in graphic design. He lives with his wife in Alexandria, Virginia.
Products
Sheet of 20 Stamps
With the 2023 U.S. Flag stamp, the U.S. Postal Service honors an important symbol of our nation. The stamp, which is being issued in booklets of 20, panes of 20, and coils of 100, 3,000, and 10,000.
Digital Color Postmark (Book of 20)
Honor an important symbol of our nation with this new U.S. Flag Digital Color Postmark First Day Cover. The #6 ¾ envelope bears an affixed Forever® stamp cancelled with an official First Day of Issue Postmark.
The stamp bears a straightforward graphic design of red, white, and blue with the word FREEDOM below it in gray. The flag serves as a visual reminder of the array of freedoms that Americans enjoy.
The digital color features a graphic depiction of red and blue fireworks and includes the stamp title and the date and location of stamp issuance: April 10, 2023, Freedom, ME, 04941.
Digital Color Postmark (Sheet of 20)
Honor an important symbol of our nation with this new U.S. Flag Digital Color Postmark First Day Cover. The #6 ¾ envelope bears an affixed Forever® stamp cancelled with an official First Day of Issue Postmark.
The stamp bears a straightforward graphic design of red, white, and blue with the word FREEDOM below it in gray. The flag serves as a visual reminder of the array of freedoms that Americans enjoy.
The digital color features a graphic depiction of red and blue fireworks and includes the stamp title and the date and location of stamp issuance: April 10, 2023, Freedom, ME, 04941.
First Day Cover (Coil of 3,000)
Honor an important symbol of our nation with this new U.S. Flag First Day Cover. The #6 ¾ envelope bears an affixed Forever® stamp cancelled with an official First Day of Issue Postmark.
The stamp bears a straightforward graphic design of red, white, and blue with the word FREEDOM below it in gray. The flag serves as a visual reminder of the array of freedoms that Americans enjoy.
The standard four-bar cancellation marks the date and location of stamp issuance: April 10, 2023, Freedom, ME, 04941.
First Day Cover (Book of 20)
Honor an important symbol of our nation with this new U.S. Flag First Day Cover. The #6 ¾ envelope bears an affixed Forever® stamp cancelled with an official First Day of Issue Postmark.
The stamp bears a straightforward graphic design of red, white, and blue with the word FREEDOM below it in gray. The flag serves as a visual reminder of the array of freedoms that Americans enjoy.
The standard four-bar cancellation marks the date and location of stamp issuance: April 10, 2023, Freedom, ME, 04941.
First Day Cover (Sheet of 20)
Honor an important symbol of our nation with this new U.S. Flag First Day Cover. The #6 ¾ envelope bears an affixed Forever® stamp cancelled with an official First Day of Issue Postmark.
The stamp bears a straightforward graphic design of red, white, and blue with the word FREEDOM below it in gray. The flag serves as a visual reminder of the array of freedoms that Americans enjoy.
The standard four-bar cancellation marks the date and location of stamp issuance: April 10, 2023, Freedom, ME, 04941.
Stamp Pin and Cancellation Card
Honor an important symbol of our nation with this new
7.5(w) x 4.5(h)-inch U.S. Flag Stamp Pin with Cancellation Card.
A perfect addition to your jacket or bag, the patriotic pin showcases a replica of the U.S. Flag issuance and comes mounted on a collectible card featuring art from the stamp. On the back of the card is a mounted U.S. Flag Forever® stamp cancelled by an official First Day of Issue Postmark.
The stamp bears a straightforward graphic design of red, white, and blue with the word FREEDOM below it in gray. The flag serves as a visual reminder of the array of freedoms that Americans enjoy.