USPS to unveil Colorado statehood Forever stamp

DENVER — The U.S. Postal Service will commemorate Colorado’s 150th anniversary of statehood with the release of a Forever stamp featuring a photograph of Jagged Mountain by nature photographer John Fielder.

The first-day-of-issue ceremony is scheduled for 9 a.m. MST on Saturday, Jan. 24, at the History Colorado Center in Denver. The event is free and open to the public, and attendees are encouraged to register in advance through the Postal Service website.

The dedication will be led by Amber F. McReynolds, chairwoman of the USPS Board of Governors. News of the stamp’s release will be shared on social media using the hashtag #ColoradoStamp.

The stamp unveiling coincides with the opening of “Mountain’s Majesty: On the Summit with John Fielder,” a new exhibition celebrating Colorado’s landscapes through the photographer’s work.

Colorado will mark its sesquicentennial in 2026. The state became the 38th to join the Union on Aug. 1, 1876, earning the nickname the Centennial State because its admission came 100 years after the United States declared independence.

Known for its dramatic scenery, Colorado is home to the Rocky Mountains and has the highest average elevation of any state at about 6,800 feet. The state’s name comes from a Spanish term meaning “colored red” or “ruddy,” a reference to the silt carried by the Colorado River.

Colorado features world-renowned ski areas, more than 39,000 miles of hiking trails, numerous state parks and four national parks: Rocky Mountain, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Great Sand Dunes and Mesa Verde. The state also has national monuments, wildlife areas and hundreds of historic ghost towns.

Cultural institutions across Colorado include the History Colorado Center, Denver Art Museum, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum and others. The state is also known for a strong local food movement and a large number of craft breweries.

Colorado’s heritage reflects thousands of years of human history. Archaeological sites across the state include cliff dwellings built by Ancestral Puebloans in the southwest. Native American tribes, including the Ute, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Apache, Comanche, Kiowa, Pawnee, Shoshone, and Lakota, have long ties to the region and continue to call Colorado home.

More information about the stamp and the dedication ceremony is available through the United States Postal Service.