Colorado Hairstreak USPS Stamp Guide

The Colorado Hairstreak 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 Colorado Hairstreak stamp on March 9, 2021, in Estes Park, Colorado, as Item 121200 in panes of 20. It is nondenominated and follows the Non-machineable Surcharge rate category; its initial price was 75 cents, but 75 cents is not a permanently fixed face value.

Scott 5568 identifies the stamp in that catalog; USPS Item 121200 identifies the retail pane. The two numbers belong to different systems.

How to use it correctly

On an eligible letter, the stamp carries the current value of its printed Non-machineable Surcharge category. Extra weight, another mail class, or dimensions outside letter standards can still require more postage.

Rigidity is only one part of the test. A finished announcement also needs acceptable length, height, thickness, aspect, weight, and uniformity. Checking those characteristics together avoids treating the butterfly image itself as proof that the envelope can be processed as a letter.

For example, at prices effective July 12, 2026, a rigid one-ounce domestic piece that still qualifies as a letter requires 82 cents plus the 49-cent nonmachinable surcharge, or $1.31. One unused Colorado Hairstreak stamp covers that named rate category. If the piece weighs more than one ounce or falls outside letter standards, the sender must calculate and pay the additional amount separately.

About the Colorado Hairstreak

The Colorado hairstreak (Hypaurotis crysalus) is Colorado’s state insect. It lives closely with Gambel oak and is recognized by purple wings edged in darker brown and orange.

Tom Engeman built the artwork digitally from preserved-butterfly images, and Derry Noyes designed the stamp. A simplified purple-and-black butterfly dominates the square composition above the printed usage label; purple upper wings, orange spots near the lower margins, and narrow tail-like projections provide the most useful visual cues. The living species is closely associated with Gambel oak, but the issued design is a stylized enlargement rather than a field-guide plate.

Collecting and authenticity

For this issue, compare the pane format, the rate-category inscription, and the purple-and-black artwork with the USPS release. Check production traits only when the specific issue record documents them; do not assume an unlisted microprinted mark or ultraviolet response is a Colorado Hairstreak authentication feature. Condition, format, provenance, and completed sales matter separately when a collector evaluates an example.

Sources

Key facts were checked against USPS Colorado Hairstreak release; Colorado Legislative Council’s state-symbol record; Colorado State University’s species account; and USPS domestic mailing standards. The state source establishes the official-symbol status, while the university account supports the species’ relationship with Gambel oak.