I Was Fooled...Only Briefly!

I received an email recently. The email said that the stamp that is shown in this post is a new stamp from the United States Postal Service.

The email said “Here is the new postage stamp that will be issued in September. Isn’t it awesome?” The email states that the stamp is being sold to commemorate the tragedies of September 11th. I did notice that there was not a denomination value on the stamp so I decided to investigate. Yes, it is very beautiful. Yes, it touched my heart. Yes, I am sure people would buy it. But….NO, it is not real. It is not really a hoax, but sort of is.

Apparently the original drawing was made by Danny Hahlbolm of Moon & Back Graphics. Someone in cyberspace added the edges to make it look like a stamp. Someone claimed that it was a new stamp from the USPS. This stamp is not a new or proposed stamp from the USPS. It is simply a beautiful artistic expression entitled “Forever…In God’s Hands”.

The process for proposing and designing new stamp designs is very structured. The image on this non-stamp is very complex. Most stamp designs are not.

So the lesson is….. be cautious of what you read online or in your email inbox. Certainly, not everything is true. But, this sure would make a pretty stamp!