BOSTON — The U.S. Postal Service announced the winner of its Stamp Encore contest today at the Boston 2026 World Exposition: the Mister Rogers stamp originally issued in 2018.
The reissue, along with a new four-image Mister Rogers souvenir sheet, was unveiled in a ceremony during the exposition’s favorite stamp theme day. The stamps and souvenir sheet are available exclusively at the Boston 2026 Expo through May 30 and will go on sale nationwide at Post Office locations and online at The Postal Store starting June 1.
The Mister Rogers stamps are being issued as Forever stamps in a pane of 20. The souvenir sheet is issued as Forever stamps in a pane of 4. These stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce rate.
“When we issued the Mister Rogers stamp in 2018, we ordered a print run of some 12 million. That may sound like a lot, but Mister Rogers really took us by surprise,” said Isaac Cronkhite, the Postal Service’s chief processing and distribution officer and executive vice president. “Within just a few weeks, the stamps honoring this humble, softspoken man had sold out completely.”
Cronkhite linked the stamp’s popularity to Fred Rogers’ approach to childhood. “Fred Rogers often shared the idea that ‘You are not just the age you are. You are all the ages you ever have been.’ In this context, I believe the Mister Rogers stamp resonated with the child in each of us — and the children and former children who cast so many votes,” he said.
The Stamp Encore competition invited the public to vote on their favorite of 25 recent stamp panes to mark the Postal Service’s 250th anniversary and the lead-up to the nation’s 250th anniversary. More than 500,000 votes were cast over 10 weeks by mail, in person at first-day ceremonies and online. The Mister Rogers stamp won by more than 40,000 votes over the next highest contender.
After the contest was announced last July, Pittsburgh campaigned heavily for the stamp’s return. Social media posts highlighting the effort received more than 20,000 likes and shares.
Fred McFeely Rogers was born March 20, 1928, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He helped found Pittsburgh’s educational television station WQED in 1953 and co-produced “The Children’s Corner.” In 1963 he hosted a daily children’s show for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, then developed the half-hour version that became “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” which aired on public television stations nationwide starting in 1968.
Each episode opened with Rogers changing into his cardigan and sneakers before addressing topics that helped children navigate emotions and relationships. The show included visits via trolley to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, where puppet characters taught lessons about kindness, curiosity and self-worth.
“Fred Rogers considered the space between the television set and a viewer to be ‘holy ground,’” said Emma Lee, director of the Fred Rogers Institute. “The mail children sent to Mister Rogers, and his letters back, became an essential extension of that sacred connection. Reissuing this stamp beautifully honors the enduring ties he built with his television friends.”
“Celebrating Fred Rogers’ legacy as the Stamp Encore honoree during such a historic year for our nation is a profound privilege,” said Paul Siefken, president and CEO of Fred Rogers Productions. “When people use this stamp, we hope it serves as a small, daily reminder of Fred’s enduring belief in the inherent worth of every human being.”
The original stamp features a photograph by Walt Seng of Rogers in his red cardigan, with King Friday XIII from the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. Derry Noyes, USPS art director, designed the stamp. “It’s all about the man, and his universal appeal, which will carry on,” Noyes said. “The best I can do as a graphic designer is to portray him clearly, straightforward, without special gimmicks, just as he would have wanted.”
Noyes also designed the new souvenir sheet with four additional images by Seng featuring other Neighborhood characters.
The reissue continues Rogers’ connection to the Postal Service. He was a loyal postal customer and advocate for the power of mail. His influence lives on in the PBS KIDS series “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” produced by Fred Rogers Productions.
USPS has created several exclusive Boston 2026 Exposition products featuring Mister Rogers, including a writing kit, premium stamp pin and Field Notes memo pad. These items will be available online at The Postal Store starting June 1.
News of the stamps is being shared with the hashtag #StampEncore.
