Add distinctive desert beauty to your letters with these striking vintage unused Desert Plants series “Agave” postage stamps! This classic botanical design is perfect for adding Southwestern style and natural elegance to wedding invitations, save-the-dates, thank you cards, shower invites, travel-themed mailings, nature-inspired correspondence, and other snail mail correspondence. In pristine mint condition and valid for current postage use, each stamp holds a face value of 20-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 postage stamps shown in the product listing photos.

STAMP INFORMATION:

• Stamp Name: Agave Cactus
• Stamp Series: Desert Plants
• Year Issued: 1981
• Face Value: 20-cents (USD) per stamp
• Topic(s): Agave, Desert Plants, Succulents, Botanical, Southwestern, Nature
• Color(s): Green, Blue, Brown, Multicolored
• Mailing Occasions: Wedding Invitations, Save-the-Dates, Southwestern Weddings, Desert-Themed Events, Nature Mailings, Travel Correspondence, Thank You Notes, Garden Club Mailings, Everyday Correspondence
• Printing Method: Lithographed and engraved
• Scott Number: 1943
• Adhesion Type: Gummed (see adhesion instructions below)
• 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 the adequate amount of additional postage to achieve standard postage rates according to the weight of your mailing. Check current postage rates at USPS.com.

STAMP DESCRIPTION & HISTORY: The 1981 Agave stamp features a stylized desert plant with sculptural, pointed leaves arranged in a bold botanical form, reflecting the resilient beauty of plants adapted to arid landscapes. Issued as part of the Desert Plants set, this stamp honored species able to survive in harsh desert environments with extreme temperatures and limited rainfall. The Agave stamp paid the then-current 20-cent first-class postage rate and was first issued on December 11, 1981, in Tucson, Arizona. It was printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing using lithographed and engraved methods.

DESERT PLANT DESCRIPTION: Agaves are drought-tolerant succulent plants known for their dramatic rosettes of thick, pointed leaves. Many species are native to hot, dry regions of the Americas, especially Mexico and the southwestern United States, where they grow in deserts, rocky slopes, grasslands, and arid scrublands. Agaves store moisture in their leaves, making them well adapted to dry climates. Some species produce a tall flowering stalk after many years of growth, creating a striking vertical bloom before the main plant completes its life cycle. Their architectural form and resilience have made agaves popular in desert landscaping, botanical gardens, and Southwestern design.

STAMP MEANING & SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE: Agave often symbolizes endurance, protection, resilience, patience, and strength under difficult conditions. Its ability to thrive in dry desert environments makes this stamp especially meaningful for correspondence connected to perseverance, renewal, gratitude, travel, nature, and Southwestern beauty. The agave’s sculptural form also gives the stamp a grounded, earthy elegance that works beautifully for refined botanical mailings.

STAMP SERIES HISTORY: The Desert Plants set was issued on December 11, 1981, in Tucson, Arizona, and featured four 20-cent commemorative stamps honoring plants adapted to desert environments: Barrel Cactus, Agave, Beavertail Cactus, and Saguaro. The set highlighted the remarkable survival strategies of desert plants and their ability to flourish despite extreme heat, dry conditions, and limited rainfall. Printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the stamps were produced using lithographed and engraved methods.

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).

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.


Product Specifications

Length: 1.02 in.
Height: 0.01 in.
Width: 2.01 in.
Weight: 0.01 lbs.