Waves Of Color - A Two Or Three Time Loser

Linn's May issue announced the winners of their 2012 US Stamp Popularity Poll. It should come as no surprise that the Waves of Color issue vanquished its competitors winning in two categories - worst design and least necessary. It would have won in a third category - least available - if there was such a category.

Now there are three perfectly good reasons not to print a particular stamp - poorly designed, serves very little purpose, and lacks availability for sale to the general public. It's a "hat trick" of stupidity!

For purposes of full disclosure, I do have to admit that in canvassing all of the local post offices in my area I did find one that actually has the Waves in stock. The postmistress admitted that the previous postmaster had ordered them before they received their metering machine. I see no particular rush to hurry the twenty-two miles to her post office. I'm confident they'll be there waiting for me for a long long time.

Whether or not you love or hate the design, it is supposed to be something of an innovation incorporating both offset and intaglio combination printing, presumably in an effort to thwart counterfeiting.

What I don't understand is why the $5 Washington/Jackson stamp is still available when the $5 Waves stamp essentially replaced it. Bear in mind that the $5 Washington/Jackson stamp was issued way back in 1994 (that's 19 years ago!) and is still available at face value, at least from SFS if not from your local post office. That's got to be one of the longest available stamps in recent memory.

eh, I like it, does remind me of currency. I'd like to buy a bunch as I have a lot of stuff I want to ship or auction off as well and I hate being unprepared and going to machines or bar coders.

I think, since they are general denominations, they're meant to sit around for years, or possibly a decade.

With these new laser printed forever stamps(which doesn't last forever btw, they most likely fade as quickly as a general receipt I betcha), one could complain about all stamps in general now. But call me old fashioned, I really like needing something, and going into my closet and pulling out anything I could ever need, without running to the store at midnight and paying top dollar, as is our culture now.

I like the novelty of the size increasing with the denomination of the waves of color stamps. :)

Except for the $1 stamp, my local post office has the Waves of Color in stock and I use them on a regular basis. They are useful on the international parcel shipments especially since the rates more than doubled back in January.

They seem to have found a pretty strong secondary market on ebay with used ones almost always selling over face value. Can't say I understand that.

Case Study: Waves of Color

A recent article from AIGA, the American Institute of Graphic Arts, on the process of design for the stamps:

https://www.aiga.org/case-study-waves-of-color/


The stamps are each more complicated in their colours used and designs that the next lower denomination stamps.

The $10 stamp uses metallic ink even.

They are Engraved stamps with an underbase of moving colours, to my eyes.

They are all very distinctibe and stand out easily for customers and postal clerks to see and use, being used by businesses in the USA to ship locally and to world-wide destinations.


I kind of wish personally that the design would morph and change over time, year by year, the designs for each denomination or value changing in colour and complexity, to include a spectrum of colours even. What a show that would be for a stamp show display.

And of course, the cancels and postmarks to go along with them too; this from a cancel collector.

I'm just overall not impressed at all.
Tom

I just went and mail something at the post office and I told the gentleman at the counter that I wanted stamps on the envelope. The guy pulled out a sheet of $2.00 Waves of Color stamps and put $12.00 worth on the envelope. First time I had ever seen the stamps used on anything. Since I was mailing something to another collector, I'm hoping they appreciate the six hand cancelled Waves of Color stamps they're getting.

eh I buy them directly from the USPS site and use them fairly frequently. I've had a few returned to me after being cancelled ... so I've got used varieties as well.

For now for me it is the $2 Jenny stamp.
Tom

I did, indeed! ;)

Does anyone know a safe way to soak these stamps off paper?

you can use any of the various non water known solvents to remove these. the pure citrus air freshener works great.

Matt

I've been having a hard time finding these stamps. Only one local post office carries them. The others have said they're too ugly to bother with. Love 'em or hate 'em, I find them useful for registered mail and large boxes.