Announced October 23, 2023:
From the time slavery was introduced to the Colonies until it was abolished in 1865, enslaved people tried to escape. This stamp issuance commemorates the Underground Railroad, as their resistance efforts became known. The pane of 20 stamps features 10 sepia-toned portraits of men and women who escaped slavery and/or helped others escape: Catharine Coffin, Frederick Douglass, Thomas Garrett, Laura Haviland, Lewis Hayden, Harriet Jacobs, William Lambert, Jermain Loguen, William Still and Harriet Tubman. Below each portrait are eight lines of text: BLACK/WHITE; COOPERATION; TRUST/DANGER; FLIGHT/FAITH; COURAGE/RISK; DEFIANCE/HOPE; UNDERGROUND; RAILROAD/USA. On the pane’s verso is a map showing the general routes freedom seekers followed and a list of individuals pictured on the stamps with a few words of biographical information about each. Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps using existing images.
Further information will be posted below the line, with the newest information at the top.
Updated May 7th:
The Scott catalogue numbers for this issue are
5834 Harriet Tubman
5835 Thomas Garrett
5836 William Still
5837 Harriet Jacobs
5838 Jermain Loguen
5839 Catherine Coffin
5840 Lewis Hayden
5841 Frederick Douglass
5842 William Lambert
5843 Laura Haviland
b. Block of 10, #5834-5843
(add “a” for imperforate versions)
Updated April 16th:
The USPS has added a philatelic product: 484633 Commemorative Panel, $12.95
Updated March 7th:
[ceremony information] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
U.S. Postal Service Remembers Shining Beacons of the Underground Railroad on New Forever Stamps
What: The U.S. Postal Service is honoring 10 courageous men and women who helped 
guide enslaved people to freedom via the Underground Railroad, network of secret routes and safehouses in use before the Civil War.
The first-day-of-issue event for the Underground Railroad stamps is free and open to the public. News of the Forever stamps is being shared with the hashtag #UndergroundRailroadStamps.
Who: The Honorable Ronald A. Stroman, member of the USPS Board of Governors and dedicating official
When: Saturday, March 9, 2024, at 11 a.m. EST
Where: Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center
4068 Golden Hill Road
Church Creek, MD 21622
RSVP: Attendees are encouraged to register at usps.com/undergroundrailroad.
Background: From the time slavery was introduced to the Colonies until it was abolished in 1865, enslaved people made ceaseless efforts to escape its reach. The flight to freedom, whether by foot, horseback, carriage, wagon or boat, was difficult and exceedingly dangerous.
In name only, The Underground Railroad started as a loosely organized secret network of courageous and imaginative freedom seekers, and the brave operatives who assisted them. Over time the network coalesced into a well-organized system as it responded to the increasing numbers of freedom seekers and a corresponding rise in attempts to thwart escapes.
Most remained anonymous, but some left their mark on history, including the 10 men and women honored on these Forever stamps: Catharine Coffin, Frederick Douglass, Thomas Garrett, Laura Haviland, Lewis Hayden, Harriet Jacobs, William Lambert, the Rev. Jermain Loguen, William Still, and Harriet Tubman.
Updated February 22nd:
The USPS made corrections to the technical details (press type and number of stamps per pane). They have been changed below.
Updated February 9th:
Here is what the reverse of the pane looks like:
And this is what a full pane looks like:
