Four stamp designs feature historic items and images from the National Postal Museum, the newest of the Smithsonian Institution's museums.

The new museum is located near the U.S. Capitol and next to Union Station. It is the nation's first major museum devoted to postal history and philately. Each of the four stamp designs showcases several subjects on display in the new National Postal Museum.

One features Benjamin Franklin, Liberty Hall in Philadelphia, a printing press and a colonial post rider. A second highlights a Pony Express Rider, Civil War Soldier writing a letter, and a Concord stagecoach from 1851. A third design shows a JN4H biplane "Jenny," a 1920 air mail pilot, a train car from the Railway Mail Service, and a 1931 Model A Ford mail truck. The fourth design features a California gold rush miner's letter to a cousin, several historic stamps, and a barcode and cancellation mark.

The U.S. Postal Service formed an agreement with the Smithsonian Institution in 1990 to provide funds for renovation and construction of the museum at the site of the former Washington, DC, Post Office Building. The Postal Service also contributes to the annual operating cost of the museum, which is open and free to the public.