The Postal Service will release two stamps commemorating Boston’s pivotal role in the American Revolution on Thursday, Aug. 14.
The stamps are being issued in anticipation of the nation’s 250th anniversary and the Boston 2026 World Expo, a major international stamp show.
The United States hosted its first international stamp exhibition in New York City in 1913 and has hosted similar expos every decade since.
Next year’s expo will be the 12th such event and will take place May 23-30.
The first of the two stamps depicts the Old North Church, the city’s oldest standing church building and an icon of the American Revolution.
On the evening of April 18, 1775, two lanterns in the bell tower signaled riders to warn residents that British soldiers were crossing the Charles River and marching west toward Concord. The battles of Lexington and Concord took place the following day, marking the start of the Revolutionary War.
The second stamp shows a “midnight rider” on horseback, one of several who warned locals that the British soldiers were on the march.
The best known of the riders, Boston silversmith Paul Revere, has become legendary, but others are believed to include Concord resident Dr. Samuel Prescott and Boston tanner William Dawes.
Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps using digital illustrations by Dan Gretta.
The intaglio-printed designs resemble vintage engravings, paying homage to stamps issued in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
A release event will take place at the 2025 Great American Stamp Show in Schaumburg, IL.
The Forever stamps will be available in sheets of 20 at Post Offices and on usps.com.
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