Add rugged flair to your letters with these beautiful vintage unused North American Wildlife Series "Gray Wolf" postage stamps! This classic wildlife design is perfect for adding a touch of nature's splendor to your cards and letters or save-the-dates and wedding invitations. In pristine mint condition and valid for current postage use, each stamp holds a face value of 22-cents. These USPS postage stamps are suitable for current mailing when used with the total required postage based on the weight of your correspondence. Embrace the call of the wild with this captivating postage stamp!

Purchase includes a total of TEN (10) mint condition postage stamps shown in the product listing photos.

STAMP INFORMATION:

• Name: Gray Wolf
• Series: North American Wildlife
• Year Issued: 1987
• Face Value: 22-cents (USD) per stamp
• Topic(s): Wildlife, Nature, Wolves, K9, Dog, Jumping Wolf, Predator, Winter Wildlife, Cold, Snow, Pack, Howl, Conservation, University of Nevada Reno Mascot — Wolf Pack, Loyola University New Orleans — Havoc the Wolf
• Color(s): Natural, Neutral, Beige, White, Multicolored
• Mailing Occasions: Wedding Invitations, Save the Date Announcements, Shower Invitations, Thank You Cards, Bachelor Party Invitations, Snail Mail, and more
• Printing Method: Photogravure
• Scott Number: 2322
• Adhesion Type: Gummed (see below for adhesion instructions)
• Condition: Genuine Unused USPS Postage Stamps, Ready to Use for USPS Mailings, Mint Condition

STAMP HISTORY: Part of the North American Wildlife series, this vintage postage stamp depicts a Gray Wolf in a natural wilderness setting, a mountainous snowy forest landscape. The stamp’s artwork features a Gray Wolf illustrated in a realistic style, showcasing its thick fur, sharp eyes, and powerful stance. The wolf’s expression conveys intelligence, strength, and alertness, emphasizing its role as a top predator in North America. This unused 22-cent gummed stamp celebrates the North American continent's rich biodiversity, showcasing this iconic wild animal in its typical environment, emphasizing the importance of habitat in wildlife conservation.

The Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) is the largest wild member of the canine family and is known for its intelligence, teamwork, and adaptability. Found in forests, tundras, mountains, and grasslands across North America, the Gray Wolf lives in packs, led by an alpha pair, demonstrating strong social bonds and teamwork. Wolves communicate through howls, body language, and scent marking. The Gray Wolf plays a crucial ecological role in controlling prey populations and maintaining healthy ecosystems.

The Gray Wolf is a popular mascot in sports, schools, businesses, and organizations due to its symbolism of strength, loyalty, intelligence, and teamwork. The athletic teams of the University of Nevada, Reno are known as the “Wolf Pack” — their mascot, “Alphie the Wolf”, represents strength, unity, and resilience. The athletic teams of Loyola University New Orleans are known as the “Wolf Pack” and their mascot is called “Havoc the Wolf.” Newberry College is South Carolina are known as the “Wolves” and heir mascot is a Gray Wolf, symbolizing power and determination. Western Oregon University are known as the Wolves. Chicago has a professional American Hockey League (AHL) team with a fierce wolf mascot. The Warrington Wolves are a British rugby league team with a wolf-themed logo and mascot. The German National Football Team’s unofficial Mascot is "Wolfie”.

STAMP MEANING & SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE: The Gray Wolf has deep spiritual meaning across various cultures, symbolizing loyalty, leadership, instinct, and freedom. Wolves are known for their strong pack structure, representing loyalty, unity, and protection. In Native American and other Indigenous traditions, the wolf is a guide and guardian, emphasizing the importance of family and community. The alpha wolf leads with strength, intelligence, and strategy, symbolizing leadership and courage. People who connect with the wolf spirit are often natural leaders and independent thinkers. Wolves roam vast landscapes, embodying freedom, independence, and resilience. They encourage people to trust their instincts and embrace their true nature. Wolves are seen as spirit guides, helping individuals connect with their inner strength and purpose. In some beliefs, hearing a wolf howl signifies awakening, transformation, or a message from the spirit world. As apex predators, wolves thrive in challenging environments, symbolizing perseverance and adaptability. The wolf teaches the importance of balance between independence and cooperation. If the Gray Wolf is your spirit animal, it teaches you to value your connections and supporting loved ones, to rely on your intuition and intelligence, to face challenges with bravery and perseverance, and to find balance between independence and teamwork.

STAMP SERIES HISTORY: On June 13, 1987, the United States Postal Service (USPS) issued the North American Wildlife postage stamp series, a commemorative sheet featuring 50 different gummed 22-cent stamps. This release celebrated the rich diversity of North American fauna, showcasing species from various regions, including Alaska and Hawaii. Renowned wildlife artist Chuck Ripper illustrated the series, capturing the essence of each species with remarkable accuracy and detail. The stamps not only highlight the animals but also incorporate elements of their natural habitats, emphasizing the importance of environmental conservation. USPS and The Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC) originally hoped to represent the State Animal of all 50 states. However, many states do not have a State Animal or share a State Animal with another state. Instead, USPS and CSAC opted to include avifauna, mammals, amphibians, and invertebrates from across the continent. Notably, the First Day of Issue ceremony took place at the Canadian Philatelic Exhibition (CAPEX) in Toronto, Canada, marking the third time a U.S. stamp issue had its inaugural event outside the United States. The North American Wildlife stamp series remains a favorite among collectors and nature enthusiasts, serving as a vivid reminder of the continent's rich and varied wildlife heritage.

GUMMED STAMPS: These postage stamps have a traditional moisture-activated gum on the back. These stamps require licking or wetting to adhere to envelopes or other surfaces. To ensure good adhesion, apply vintage gummed stamps to your mailings with a glue stick (we recommend using Elmer's "Re-Stick" glue sticks).

GENUINE USPS POSTAGE: These unused vintage postage stamps are perfectly valid for use as current postage for mailing with USPS as long as you use the adequate amount of additional postage to achieve standard postage rates according to the weight of your mailing. Check current postage rates at USPS.com.

TELL YOUR STORY IN STAMPS: We’ve worked with hundreds of couples and their stationers to custom design highly stylized personalized postage sets based on our customer’s life stories. We can help you curate personalized vintage postage sets to commemorate your save-the-date, wedding, shower, announcement, and other special occasions in a truly unique fashion. Drawing on our encyclopedic knowledge of every stamp ever issued by the USPS, and sourcing from our extensive inventory of collectable unused vintage stamps, we’ll help you tell your unique story in stamps!

ABOUT HERITAGE POST HOUSE: Jennifer Kramer is the founder of Heritage Post House, a boutique vintage postage house located in Northern California. Jennifer sources the most beautiful unused vintage postage stamps ever issued by USPS and artfully arranges them into curated postage sets that are sure to add a special touch to your invitations, announcements, and special mailings. In addition to creating pre-arranged postage sets, Jennifer also works with couples (and their stationers) to create one-of-a-kind custom postage arrangements for wedding invitations, save the dates, and other special occasions.


Product Specifications

Length: 1.57 in.
Height: 0.01 in.
Width: 0.98 in.
Weight: 0.01 lbs.