Flag Over Porch Stamps - A Fascinating Study in Recent US Stamp Varieties


If you like definitive stamps and you're into finding multiple varieties of the same basic stamp design, try having a look at the 32 cent Flag Over Porch stamps issued by the United States in the mid- to later-1990s. You'll find more than enough varieties to satisfy you. The stamps are common and fairly recent so they're not hard to find, but they have more than a dozen main varieties (and many more minor varieties) to look for.

The USPS used three different printers for these stamps. Some are self-adhesive serpentine die cuts while others are lick-and-stick stamps. There are three different year date imprints - some blue, some red, for 1995, 1996 and 1997. They were printed in different formats - sheet stamps, coil stamps and booklet
stamps. They were printed using different die cut gauges and perforation gauges. And compounding it all is the sheer number of different plate numbers that were produced on the coil stamps. Distinguishing between all these types can be a philatelic challenge. For a while, new varieties of the Flag Over Porch stamps were being discovered regularly, and they still pop up from time to time. In our opinion the Scott U.S. Specialized Catalogue has yet to list all the varieties that have been discovered.

Entire stamp albums can and have been printed to display these fascinating stamps in all their philatelic glory.

The three printers used were Avery Dennison (AD), Stamp Venturers (SVS) and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP). Avery Dennison booklet FOP stamps were the first, distinguished by a thicker "USA 32," a pale blue background and a die cut of 8.7 on 2, 3 or 4 sides. The first printing had a small blue 1995 year date imprint. It is Scott No. 2920b. Later printings bear a larger year date imprint and are Scott No. 2920. At the same time AD also printed coil stamps, die cut 8.7 vertically, with a large blue 1995 year date. Primarily sold through the US Philatelic Bureau, these stamps - Scott No. 2915 - are somewhat scarce, particularly used.

A thin "USA 32" and a blue 1995 year date characterize the initial Stamp Venturers printings. The corner of the building is not visible below the flag, and there is no partial star at the left. The first SVS printings (Scott No. 2897) were a gummed sheet stamp with a dark blue flag, perforated 10.4 (Scott No. 2897); and a gummed coil stamp with a paler flag perforated 9.8 vertically (Scott No. 2914). SVS also produced a coil stamp with die cut 11.5 vertical and a blue 1996 year date imprint. The blue of the flag on this Flag Over Porch stamp (Scott No. 2915B) is dark. And SVS also produced an experimental linerless coil stamp in 1997 (Scott No. 3133), although they are dated with a blue 1996 imprint. Die cut
9.9 vertically, the sky at right is pale, but the flag features a deep shade of blue.

The FOP stamps printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing feature a thin "USA 32." The Sky is a darker blue than used by the other printers and the curtains of the house are darker. But the main distinguishing feature of the BEP Flag Over Porch stamps is that all of them bear a red year date imprint. The first BEP FOP stamps were issued in 1995 and have a red 1995 date. They are lick and stick stamps perforated 10.8 x 9.8 on two or three sides, in booklet panes of 10 (Scott No. 2916). They exist as an imperforate error (Scott No. 2916b). Another BEP booklet stamp was printed in 1996, a self-adhesive die cut 9.8 with a red 1996 date (Scott No. 2921). And yet another BEP FOP stamp (Scott No. 2921C) bears a red 1997 year date. It was issued in booklets of 15, with one pane of 10 plus one of five with label. BEP also printed coil stamps. The first bears a red 1995 year date. Perforated 9.8 vertical, it has pronounced light blue shading in the flag (Scott No. 2913). It was reissued with shiny gum in 1997, but that stamp still has the 1995 year date. Coil stamps with die cut 9.8 were issued in 1996 and bear a 1996 year date imprint. This stamp (Scott No. 2915A) features several varieties, with straight cuts at the bottom or the top. There are also four different types of die cutting, distinguishable under magnification. Scott No. 2915C is yet a different coil variety with a 1996 year date, die cut 11 vertical, and the die cut 9.8 coil stamp was re-issued with a 1997 year date (Scott No. 2915D). It features rounded die cut corners at top and bottom, and was issued on peelable backing paper that was larger than the stamps.

Plate numbers on coils just add additional spice to the challenge that's already presented by the Flag Over Porch issue. Some, like Scott 2914, 2915, 2915B, 2915D and 3133 bear only one number. But 2913 and 2915A offer more than 10 different plate numbers. Add to that the die cut styles and the fact that some copies of 2915A have 10 or 11 teeth per side and there are some interesting and sometimes scarce combinations.

Are you confused yet? If you are, you're not the only stamp collector who is. But despite your confusion, keep in mind that the FOP stamps present a remarkable challenge to collectors, and you'll be richly rewarded if you can master their intricacies.


Author's Note. The Scott Catalogue numbers for this article are taken from the 2000 edition of Scott's United States Specialized Catalogue, printed not long after the end of printing of the Flag Over Porch stamps. Several varieties were discovered after the catalogue's printing, and several numbering changes were made in later editions, including re-categorizing some of the minor varieties of FOP stamps as major varieties.