2025 Forever Postcard Rate - Vibrant Leaves: Yellow Aspen Leaf (from sheet)

2025 56¢ Vibrant Leaves
(from sheet)

• Features a burgundy sweetgum leaf
• Also issued in coil format

Stamp Category: Definitive
Value: 56¢ Postcard rate
First Day of Issue: March 14, 2025
First Day City: Strongsville, OH
Quantity Issued: 4,750,000 panes
Printed by: Ashton Potter
Printing Method: Offset
Format: Panes of 20 in sheets of 400

Why the stamps were issued: Part of a set of five Vibrant Leaves stamps issued to bring beauty and color to postcards.

About the stamp designs: USPS art director Antonio Alcalá designed the set of stamps using existing photographs. The stamps picture leaves from five different types of trees in colors ranging from yellow to red. The leaves shown are from aspen, sassafras, oak, maple, and sweetgum trees. Of the stamps, Alcalá said, “I am enchanted by the colors one finds in leaves, especially during the autumn season. I wanted to present a gradation of colors but with a variety of leaf shapes and trees.”

First Day City: The First Day ceremony for these stamps was held at the March Party Stamp Show in Strongsville, Ohio, hosted by the Garfield-Perry Stamp Club.

About the Set: These stamps were also sold in coils of 100.

History the stamps represent: The US Postal Service’s Vibrant Leaves stamps captured the breathtaking beauty of autumn with five colorful leaves—Aspen, Sassafras, Oak, Maple, and Sweetgum. These stamps, issued for the 2025 postcard rate, showcase nature’s seasonal transformation in vivid hues, from golden yellows to fiery reds.

Beyond their visual splendor, fallen leaves play a vital role in the cycle of life. As autumn’s crisp air arrives, leaves carpet the forest floor, creating a rich, protective layer known as leaf litter. This organic blanket shelters insects, nourishes the soil, and provides vital insulation for small creatures through winter’s chill. Even in spring, remnants of these leaves continue to enrich the earth, fertilizing the ground for the growth of plants and trees.

Aspens shimmer in the wind, sassafras trees display their distinctive mitten-shaped foliage, and maples dazzle with their brilliant reds and oranges. Oak and sweetgum leaves add texture and variety, each species contributing to nature’s grand design.

The Vibrant Leaves stamps celebrate not only the beauty of autumn but also the quiet work these fallen leaves perform long after they drift from their branches. As we admire their colors, we’re reminded of their lasting contribution to the cycle of life.