Life Magnified Forever Stamps

Value: 78¢, First-Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue: August 10, 2023
First Day City: Cleveland, Ohio
Printed by: Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method: Offset, Flexographic
Format: Panes of 20

In 2023, the U.S. Postal Service issued the Life Magnified Forever Stamps, a series of 20 designs that reveal aspects of life invisible to the human eye. Each stamp features a vivid, highly detailed image of a specimen captured using advanced microscopic techniques, with the name of each subject included for educational clarity.

The First Day of Issue ceremony was held in Cleveland, Ohio, during The Great American Stamp Show, providing a fitting public debut for this visually striking and scientifically inspired collection.

These stamps celebrate the remarkable progress of microscopy — a field with origins dating back over 4,000 years. The very word “microscope” comes from the Greek words meaning “small” and “to look at.” From early compound microscopes to today’s sophisticated scanning electron microscopes, the technology has revolutionized how we understand the world around us.

Microscopy has become an indispensable tool in medicine, biology, engineering, robotics, and numerous other fields. It has unlocked insights into viruses, bacteria, fungi, and microscopic structures within larger organisms — once hidden, now visible in extraordinary detail. Modern scanning electron microscopes, which use electron beams to generate ultra-high-resolution images, represent a technological leap beyond the capabilities of earlier instruments.

The Life Magnified Forever Stamps combine scientific education with artistic beauty, offering a colorful glimpse into the hidden wonders of the microscopic world. They stand as a reminder that science is not only enlightening but can also be profoundly inspiring to the eye.