Great Spangled Fritillary USPS Stamp Guide

The Great Spangled Fritillary stamp belongs to the U.S. Postal Service tradition of butterfly designs associated with nonmachinable First-Class Mail. This guide separates the stamp’s postal purpose from its artwork and from the living species it depicts.

What the stamp is

USPS issued the 70-cent Great Spangled Fritillary definitive stamp on February 10, 2014, in Kansas City, Missouri. Item 116600 was sold in panes of 20 for the contemporary two-ounce letter price and the combined one-ounce nonmachinable price. Because 70 cents is printed on the stamp, it contributes exactly 70 cents today.

“4859” is a Scott catalog number; USPS used Item 116600. A catalog number is not a USPS retail item number; the numbering system should always be named when a number is quoted.

How to use it correctly

A butterfly stamp does not make every envelope mailable at a single flat price. The required postage depends on the mailing date, weight, dimensions, thickness, rigidity, and other characteristics. Older stamps with a printed denomination contribute only that face value, so additional postage may be required. A customer may voluntarily overpay, but overpayment is not a postal requirement.

Square, unusually rigid, or uneven envelopes may be subject to the nonmachinable surcharge, but they must still satisfy all other First-Class Mail standards. When in doubt, have the finished piece checked at a Post Office.

For a dated calculation, a qualifying 1.3-ounce square domestic letter costs $1.60 at prices effective July 12, 2026: 82 cents for the first ounce, 29 cents for the additional ounce, and a 49-cent nonmachinable surcharge. One 70-cent Great Spangled Fritillary contributes exactly $0.70, leaving $0.90 to be paid with other postage. Recalculate on the actual mailing date; the stamp itself never changes from 70 cents.

About the Great Spangled Fritillary

The Great Spangled Fritillary is named for silvery spots on the underside of its hind wings. The stamp mainly presents the orange-and-black upper-wing pattern, so readers should not expect the name-giving silver marks to dominate this view. Tom Engeman created the enlarged horizontal composition, Derry Noyes designed the stamp, and the combined wing pattern and printed “USA 70” provide the clearest issue-level visual identification.

Collecting and authenticity

Color, perforations, tagging, or microprinting may provide useful examination clues, but no single visible feature proves authenticity. Compare an item with a documented genuine example and seek a qualified philatelic expert for valuable material. Collector value depends on condition, format, demand, supply, and actual transactions.

Sources

Key facts were checked against USPS Stamp Announcement 14-8; USPS domestic mailing standards; Smithsonian National Postal Museum.