Putting Good Ole Abe in the Top Right Hand Corner...

of your envelope that is! With all of the promotional material the Biggs puts out each month, the post office feels like my second home, so much that the PO Box stuffing crew knows me by name and PO box number. On the side of personal side of my mailings, am I the only one still trying to use up my 41 cent and 1 cent stamps? My 41 cent American Flag stamps are really starting to bore me, but a penny saved is a penny earned these days. To that end, I wanted to share some news released today about a new set of stamps coming out next year to celebrate a big birthday of a man who made big history in the United States, Abraham Lincoln.

Last Thursday in Springfield, IL, the United States Postal Service gave the public a sneak peak at the artwork design of the four stamps to be issued next February to celebrate Abraham's 200th birthday. And since Mr. Lincoln was a postmaster in Illinois, Springfield was selected as the First-Day- of-Issue city when the stamps are issued on Feb. 9, 2009.

The stamp art was designed by Mark Summers, who has created several portraits for previous U.S. postage stamps. Mark used a scratchboard technique, a style distinguished by a dense network of lines etched with exquisite precision. Each stamp commemorates four stages of Lincoln’s life and legend:rail-splitter, lawyer, politician and president.

The stamps will be available in post offices across the country on Monday, February 9, three days before Lincoln’s 200th birthday. Besides stamps, alot is being planned to celebrate Abe's Bicentennial. Visit http://www.abrahamlincoln200.com/ to see more ways Lincoln's legacy will be celebrated. Now, the problem at hand is, am I going to get through my 41cent stamps before February? Time to find a few pen pals I suppose.