Four Win Gold in Olympics Contest!

Congratulations to the four winners of last week’s 2004 Olympics contest! They are:

• Irene Chang
• David Edward Durovy
• Eva Varga
• Blake Kaplan

All four have been notified by email. Here is the question they all answered correctly:

The ancient Olympic Games began with a single footrace. What was the name of that footrace?

The name of the footrace was the stade, an Anglicized version of the Greek word stadion. We accepted both words as correct.

If you did not win this time around, don’t worry. We have not one, but two contests planned for this week, so stay tuned for your chance to win!

36 U.S.C. Sec. 220506. Official Licensed Product of the United States Olympic Committee.

Wyoming State Flag to Fly Across U.S. on Aug. 16

Don’t forget! The last set of Flags of Our Nation stamps will be issued August 16 at the APS StampShow in Sacramento, California. For the rest of this month, we’ll be taking a closer look at each of the stamps in the set. Last week we started with Texas; let’s continue today with Wyoming, the Equality State.

Home to Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming joined the Union on July 10, 1890. Red and white borders frame the blue field of the state’s flag; the state seal, in blue and white, is positioned on the white silhouette of a bison. The stamp’s “snapshot art” features a male bighorn sheep in the foreground, with a female bighorn in the background.

Favorite Links of the Week

Today we’re adding a new regular feature to the blog: a weekly collection of our favorite stamp-related links. We’d love for this to be an interactive feature. The Internet is a big place; we’re bound to miss something. If you see an interesting story about stamps, feel free to Tweet it to @USPSstamps or post it on our Facebook page.

Now, on to our favorite links of the week!

On National Dance Day, the U.S. Postal Service dedicated the Innovative Choreographers stamps in Los Angeles County’s Grand Park.

Hometown hero José Limón—who is featured on the Innovative Choreographers stamps—was celebrated on NJ.com.

The Washington Post’s Reliable Source blog discussed the newly announced Lady Bird Johnson stamp and the soon-to-be re-issued 1960s wildflower beautification stamps.

Letters of Note featured an inspirational response to a middle school teacher written by Pixar animator Pete Docter, who directed Up and Monsters, Inc.—the latter film appears on the 2012 Mail a Smile stamps.

Vibe posted a great gallery of photos from the Miles Davis stamp dedication concert.

Have a favorite stamp link this week? Tell us about it in the comments.

2012 APS StampShow Right Around the Corner

This year the American Philatelic Society will hold its annual StampShow on August 16–19 at the Convention Center in Sacramento, California. We will be there, of course, browsing the collections on display, talking with collectors, and issuing new stamps! The final set of Flags of Our Nation stamps will be issued at the show at noon on Thursday, August 16. There will also be special ceremonies for the Edgar Rice Burroughs stamp at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, August 17, and the War of 1812: USS Constitution stamp at noon on Saturday, August 18.

If you’re in the neighborhood, come on down and join us. Collectors can browse for elusive treasures and pick up a limited edition cachet (perhaps signed by stamp artist Chris Calle!). Those new to the hobby will enjoy “Stamp Collecting 101.” And don’t forget the “Stamps by the Bucket” booth, where you can get hundreds of stamps for just pocket change.

Will we see you there?

Flag Over the Lone Star State

On August 16, the U.S. Postal Service will complete the Flags of Our Nation series with the issuance of the sixth and final set of ten stamp designs. All month long we’ll be taking a look at each of the stamps in the last set. First up: Texas!

The Lone Star State—the second largest state in the Union—is a land so vast and wide it stretches more than 700 miles from east to west and nearly a thousand miles from north to south. Its flag dates from 1839, when it was approved as the national flag of the Republic of Texas.

Separated by war from Mexico on March 2, 1836, the independent republic struggled with wars, raids, and financial problems. In September of that year, Texans opted for annexation by the United States, but Texas didn’t become the nation’s 28th state until December 29, 1845.

Texas withdrew from the Union on February 1, 1861, and joined the Confederacy. The state saw little fighting during the Civil War, although notable battles include the capture and recapture of the port city of Galveston. The final battle on Texas soil occurred at Palmito Ranch near Brownsville after General Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. Texas was readmitted to the Union on March 30, 1870.

The stamp’s “snapshot art” depicts a field of cotton, a major cash crop grown on millions of acres in the state.