Postal Service Stamps Celebrate American Muscle Cars

By Matt Schmitz

March 5, 2013

America's romance with classic muscle cars is rooted in a desire to push the envelope. With the U.S. Postal Service's new "Muscle Cars (Forever)" stamp series — on sale now — people can celebrate that nostalgic notion on an envelope. The series features five iconic cars: the 1966 Pontiac GTO, 1967 Ford Shelby GT-500, 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona, 1970 Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda and 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS.

The Muscle Cars stamps are sold in self-adhesive sheets of 20, including four of each design. They're Forever stamps and always equal in value to the current first-class mail 1-ounce rate. Artist Tom Fritz said he based his oil-paint depictions of the cars on his own memories of them while growing up in Southern California. The muscle-car stamps are the third issuance in the "America on the Move" series, which also includes " '50s Sporty Cars" from 2005 and " '50s Fins and Chrome" from 2008.

USA Today reported that NASCAR racing legend Richard Petty made an appearance at the Daytona International Speedway a few days before the Daytona 500, which was held on Feb. 24. He promoted the stamp series on behalf of the Postal Service, posing for photos with his son, NASCAR driver Kyle Petty, in front of a 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona.

"I've been around racing and muscle cars all my life," USA Today quoted Richard Petty as saying. "These stamps bring back the memories."

See more Muscle Cars series stamps below.