Originally published February 12, 2021. Updated July 22, 2022 with new postage prices.
Your invitations are tucked into beautifully calligraphy addressed envelopes that are all enclosed with a wax seal. They’re ready to be mailed to your loved ones across the country, where you expect to get texts and messages about how much people loved the envelopes and how can’t wait for your party.
But wait. There’s one more important detail before you drop those envelopes in the mail. STAMPS!
In today’s blog post, I share all about vintage stamps and how can they can elevate your envelopes. I also share my favorite tip on how to control costs.
Most importantly, AC Letters Calligraphy can find the perfect vintage stamps for your wedding or event and apply them to your envelopes, saving you countless hours searching the internet or sticky fingers from trying to activate the adhesive. And time is money!
Let’s dive in!
Nature themed vintage postage collage on a calligraphy addressed envelope
What are Vintage Stamps?
A little known fact is that USPS stamps don’t expire. Any unused stamp issued in or after 1860 can be used to mail letters. We in the business call these vintage stamps or vintage postage. You just need to use enough stamps to equal the current price of postage.
Vintage stamps can be a beautiful way to complete your calligraphy addressed wedding envelope. Like with the present day stamps, there are a ton of different stamp styles and designs. You can find large rectangular stamps, small square stamps, or even circular stamps. There are stamp designs for probably everything you can think of - animals, places in America, celebrities, people who made an impact to the world, sports, food, nature, and more. And of course, there are stamps in every color of the rainbow.
And because stamp prices have changed over time, you can use different priced stamps to create an artistic collage of different designs and styles on the front your envelope. This is where the fun comes in!
Wedding envelopes with vintage postage
Vintage Stamp Aesthetic
For example, at the time of this blog post, the price of first-class stamp to mail a letter is 60 cents. Imagine you are sending invitations for a California seaside wedding. You can use 4 stamps - 10 cent, 10 cent, 15 cent, and 20 cent - to get to the required 60 cents. Perhaps you pick one stamp of the California Poppy flower, one stamp of a beach scene, one stamp of a seashell, and finally one stamp that says “Love”. You have now set the stage for your wedding and told a story about your day before your guests even opened the envelope. How cool is that?
You can also use vintage postage stamps to tell the story of your relationship. Let’s say you are from California and your partner is from New York and you met at a basketball game. You could use three stamps - the Brooklyn Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, and a basketball player - to share the story of your history just through stamps!
Cost of Vintage Stamps
Now you might be gung-ho to use vintage stamps on your calligraphy wedding envelopes (or every day life!). But, there’s a very important consideration and that’s cost (ugh).
Vintage stamps, while perhaps only worth 3 cents to USPS, cost more to buy than their marked denomination. You can’t actually buy vintage stamps directly from USPS, you have to purchase these from stamp collectors and curators. And vintage stamps can be hard to find. I mean, maybe you’ve found some old stamps lying around your grandma’s house, but to create an elegantly themed artistic vintage stamp collage for 50 wedding invites, you need a lot of the exact same stamps. This is where stamp curators come in. They search far and wide for unused vintage stamps and sell them at a markup (to cover their business expenses, make a profit, etc.).
It's that markup that can make vintage stamps costs add up. Depending on how many stamps you use, it might cost $1 - $2 to actually mail a 60 cent letter. Perhaps that’s fine for your budget but maybe you want something more cost effective.
Calligraphy envelope addressing feauturing a mixture of vintage postage and a Forever stamp
Enter my favorite solution - using 1 high denomination stamp and then 1 or 2 lower denomination stamps. This works especially well when you’re mailing a letter that’s over 60 cents - say your invitation suite and envelope weighs 2 ounces, so now you need 80 cents worth of postage. You can use a current Forever USPS stamp equal to 60 cents, which you’d pay face value for, and then get a 5 cent and 15 cent stamp to get you all the way to 80 at a fraction of the cost of going full vintage. Charming and unique, yet more affordable! The perfect combo.
One final word on vintage stamps before we wrap up. Most of them are not self-stick like the stamps we use today. They have a glue adhesive on them that is activated with water. It can be tedious and a bit sticky to activate a bunch of stamps for a lot of envelopes. As mentioned at the top, this where I can save you time and prevent headaches! AC Letters Calligraphy can not only find you great vintage stamps, but I can also apply them to each envelope for you before I mail them back to you or off to your guests.
Vintage stamps can be the perfect way to tell a story and showcase more of your personality. I love scouring the internet to find my clients the perfect vintage stamps to compliment their calligraphy envelopes and would love to do so for your next event! Contact me below to learn more or visit my Envelope Addressing page. While I’m a San Diego calligrapher, I love working with couples and people all over the country!
