The USPS issued its first postal item produced with a hologram as a 25¢ stamped envelope showing a space shuttle docking at a space station. They first started thinking about making postage with holograms in 1987. Even though the technology was created in the 1960s, it was still new in 1987. They spent most of 1988 doing research and meeting with those who could make holograms.
In order to make a stamp, it would have to be very small and holograms need to be big in order to create the effect of a hologram. If the hologram covered the whole stamp surface, it would be extremely hard to cancel. The foil they had to use would not hold ink or repel it either.
Finally, after all this research, they decided the best thing to do would be to place the hologram on a stamped envelope. If they put the foil hologram on a sticky label or in a window, they wouldn’t have to deal with cancellation issues because once they printed the denomination on the envelope, the envelope could be canceled.
Holography was invented in 1960. It created two-dimensional images that looked like three-dimensional images. It is used as a security feature on many credit cards. First, they make a three-dimensional model and then the imaging system splits a laser beam in two. One beam bounces off the object onto a film, with a small delay. The other beam hits the same section of the film directly, and the pattern between the two beams causes a holographic image.
The envelope was created and issued on December 3, 1989, on Stamp Designers Day at the World Stamp Expo. The US was the third country to use holograms in its postage. The other countries were Austria and Brazil.
Class Activities:
- Find other holographic items to show.
- Where else is holography used? Make a list.
- Design your own stamp that you would like to see made into a hologram.
- Design your own postal envelope.
- Make a picture showing how holography works.
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