Add cheerful color and uplifting vintage charm to your letters with these vintage unused "Best Wishes" postage stamps from the USPS "Special Occasions" series! Featuring a colorful rainbow stretching across a bright blue sky, this optimistic design is perfect for adding celebratory imagery, retro color, positive symbolism, and joyful personality to wedding invitations, save-the-dates, graduation cards, engagement announcements, new-home mailings, birthday cards, thank you notes, and other snail mail. In pristine mint condition and valid for current postage use, each stamp holds a face value of 25-cents. These authentic USPS postage stamps are suitable for current mailing when used with the total required postage based on the weight of your mailing.

Purchase includes a total of TEN (10) mint condition "Best Wishes" 25-cent postage stamps shown in the product listing photos. These are NOT forever stamps — you must combine additional postage with this stamp to mail your correspondence according to current USPS postage rate requirements.

MORE VINTAGE RAINBOW THEMED POSTAGE STAMPS:
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Love Crayon Postage Stamps | Love Series | Rainbow Brush Strokes | Vintage Unused USPS Postage 22c

MORE VINTAGE ‘SPECIAL OCCASIONS’ POSTAGE STAMPS:
Love You Postage Stamps | Bird in Mailbox | Special Occasions Series | Vintage Unused USPS Postage 25c

Thinking of You Postage Stamps | Folk Art Flowers | Special Occasions Series | Vintage Unused USPS Postage 25c

Happy Birthday Postage Stamps | Birthday Cake Candles | Special Occasions Series | Vintage Unused USPS Postage 25c

VINTAGE LOVE SERIES STAMPS:
All Vintage Unused Love Series USPS Postage Stamps from Heritage Post House

STAMP INFORMATION:

• Stamp Name: Best Wishes
• Stamp Series: Special Occasions
• Year Issued: 1988
• Face Value: 25-cents (USD) per stamp
• Topic(s): Best Wishes, Rainbow, Blue Sky, Celebration, Good Luck, Congratulations, Greeting Cards, Special Occasions, Positive Message, Colorful Design, USPS Special Occasions
• Color(s): Blue, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Purple, White, Multicolored
• Mailing Occasions: Wedding Invitations, Save-the-Dates, Engagement Announcements, Graduation Cards, Congratulations Cards, New Home Cards, Birthday Cards, Retirement Cards, Thank You Notes, Celebration Mailings, Everyday Correspondence
• Printing Method: Photogravure
• Scott Number: 2396
• Adhesion Type: Gummed (see adhesion instructions below)
• Stamp Size: 27.5 x 45 mm / 1.08 × 1.77 in
• Condition: Genuine Unused USPS Postage Stamps, Ready to Use for USPS Mailings, Mint Condition

GENUINE USPS POSTAGE: These unused vintage postage stamps are perfectly valid for use as current postage for mailing with USPS as long as you use an adequate amount of additional postage to achieve standard postage rates according to the weight of your mailing. Check current postage rates on the USPS website.

STAMP DESCRIPTION & HISTORY: The 1988 "Best Wishes" stamp was issued as part of the USPS "Special Occasions" series and features a colorful rainbow set against a bright blue sky. Designer Harry Zelenko created the Special Occasions stamps in a simple, greeting-card-inspired style, pairing direct sentiments with easily recognized imagery suitable for personal correspondence. Issued on October 22, 1988, in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, the 25-cent stamp paid the contemporary First-Class Mail letter rate. It was printed by the American Bank Note Company using photogravure and issued in booklet panes of six. Its colorful rainbow and broadly positive message make it especially versatile for weddings, graduations, congratulations, new beginnings, birthdays, and other celebratory mail.

STAMP MEANING & SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE: The "Best Wishes" design carries themes of optimism, hope, encouragement, celebration, good fortune, renewal, and positive beginnings. A rainbow can be interpreted as a symbol of hope after difficulty, possibility, and brighter days ahead, while the words “Best Wishes” make the sentiment direct and universally applicable. For wedding invitations, save-the-dates, graduations, engagements, new-home announcements, and thank you notes, the stamp offers a cheerful visual expression of encouragement and goodwill.

STAMP SERIES HISTORY: The USPS "Special Occasions" series was created to provide stamps specifically suited to personal celebrations and everyday greeting-card correspondence. The 1988 booklet focused on four especially popular sentiments: “Happy Birthday,” “Best Wishes,” “Thinking of You,” and “Love You.” The stamps were arranged across two se-tenant booklet panes of six in a redesigned format that made individual stamps easier to remove. The Best Wishes design paired a colorful rainbow with a bright blue sky, giving the series a broadly celebratory option suitable for weddings, graduations, birthdays, congratulations, and other milestone correspondence.

GUMMED STAMPS: These postage stamps have a traditional moisture-activated gum on the back. These stamps require licking or wetting to adhere to envelopes or other surfaces. To ensure good adhesion, apply vintage gummed stamps to your mailings with a glue stick (we recommend using Elmer's "Re-Stick" glue sticks).

PROCESSING & SHIPPING: Orders are typically processed and shipped within 1-3 business days of placing your order. All orders are shipped from California — please allow additional time for transit.

QUESTIONS? We love hearing from our customers and replies to inquires are usually answered the same day. Need more of this stamp? Looking for a particular stamp not found on our website? Want a curated postage set for your special event? Contact us with questions about vintage postage stamps and our services…

VISIT MY MINTED STORE: Browse hundreds of vintage unused postage stamps and curated sets... https://www.minted.com/store/heritageposthouse

TELL YOUR STORY IN STAMPS: We’ve worked with hundreds of couples and their stationers to custom design highly stylized personalized postage sets based on our customer’s life stories. We can help you curate personalized vintage postage sets to commemorate your save-the-date, wedding, shower, announcement, and other special occasions in a truly unique fashion. Drawing on our encyclopedic knowledge of every stamp ever issued by the USPS, and sourcing from our extensive inventory of collectable unused vintage stamps, we’ll help you tell your unique story in stamps!

ABOUT HERITAGE POST HOUSE: Jennifer Kramer is the founder of Heritage Post House, a boutique vintage postage house located in Northern California. Jennifer sources the most beautiful unused vintage postage stamps ever issued by USPS and artfully arranges them into curated postage sets that are sure to add a special touch to your invitations, announcements, and special mailings. In addition to creating pre-arranged postage sets, Jennifer also works with couples (and their stationers) to create one-of-a-kind custom postage arrangements for wedding invitations, save the dates, and other special occasions.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE: This product description text and product photos are copyrighted by Heritage Post House – All Rights Reserved


Product Specifications

Length: 1.08 in.
Height: 0.01 in.
Width: 1.77 in.
Weight: 0.01 lbs.