A Forever stamp is worth 82 cents as of late 2026, because it always pays for a one-ounce First-Class letter at whatever the current rate is, and the USPS raised that rate from 78 to 82 cents on July 12, 2026. It does not matter whether the stamp was bought in 2007 for 41 cents or last month: every unused Forever stamp mails the same letter. A book of 20 is worth $16.40 in postage, a coil of 100 is worth $82, and a Global Forever stamp covers a one-ounce international letter, now $1.75. If you sell unused Forever stamps rather than use them, buyers typically pay about 50-70 percent of face value.
That is the honest summary for almost every Forever stamp you will find: full postage value to you, roughly half to two thirds of that in cash. Modern stamps are printed by the hundreds of millions, and collectors rarely pay over face for them. The exceptions are genuine printing errors, which are uncommon and need a specialist to confirm.
Quick answer
- One unused Forever stamp mails a one-ounce letter, worth 82 cents since July 12, 2026, no matter when it was bought.
- Book of 20: $16.40 in postage. Coil of 100: $82. Global Forever: $1.75 for international letters.
- Selling unused Forever stamps brings about 50-70 percent of face, so roughly $8-11 for a book of 20.
- Older stamps with a printed price (34 cents, 44 cents) are still valid, but only for the amount printed.
- Offers of Forever stamps at 30-60 percent off face are a common sign of counterfeits.
How to value your stamps, step by step
- Look for the word FOREVER. A Forever stamp has no number price; it says FOREVER, usually with USA. Since 2011, every new First-Class letter stamp has been a Forever stamp, so almost any recent stamp with no price printed on it is one.
- Check what kind of Forever stamp it is. Most are First-Class letter stamps. Others say POSTCARD, ADDITIONAL OUNCE, TWO OUNCE, THREE OUNCE or GLOBAL, and each is worth the current rate for that service, not the letter rate.
- Separate the stamps with a printed price. A stamp marked 34, 44 or 55 cents is still valid postage forever, but only for that amount. Add stamps together to reach the rate.
- Watch for the old letter-rate stamps. Stamps from 1978 to 1998 marked with a letter instead of a price, A through H, are worth only the rate when they were issued, from 15 cents for the A stamp to 33 cents for the H stamp. They are not Forever stamps.
- Check that the stamps are unused. A stamp with a postmark, a pen mark or one torn from an envelope has no postage value. Peeled stamps that have lost their adhesive are hard to use and buyers discount them heavily.
- Count and total the face value. Count Forever letter stamps at 82 cents, Global at $1.75, Postcard at 65 cents and Additional Ounce at 29 cents, and add the printed amounts of the rest.
- Decide between using and selling. If you mail letters, using the stamps returns 100 percent of their value. Selling returns about half to two thirds.
- Only then look for errors. If a stamp is missing a color, has no perforations or die cuts where it should, or is printed visibly off, compare it with our guide to telling if a stamp is valuable before you use it.
What your stamps are worth
Postage values as of late 2026, after the USPS price change of July 12, 2026. Buyer prices are the typical range paid by stamp buyers and postage resellers for clean, unused stamps on their backing.
| Stamp | Postage value today | Typical cash from a buyer |
|---|---|---|
| Forever, First-Class letter, any year since 2007 | 82 cents | About 41-57 cents |
| Book of 20 Forever stamps | $16.40 | About $8-11.50 |
| Coil of 100 Forever stamps | $82 | About $41-57 |
| Global Forever (international letter) | $1.75 | About 50-60 percent of face |
| Postcard Forever | 65 cents | About 50 percent of face |
| Additional Ounce | 29 cents | About 30-50 percent of face |
| Two Ounce and Three Ounce Forever | Current 2 oz and 3 oz letter rates, $1.11 and $1.40 | About 50 percent of face |
| Stamps with a printed price, mint, any year | The printed amount | About 30-60 percent of face |
| Letter-rate stamps A to H, 1978 to 1998 | 15 to 33 cents each | Little; useful only to make up postage |
| Used or postmarked modern stamps | None | Very little; sold in bulk by weight as kiloware |
How the price got here
The Forever stamp was introduced on April 12, 2007, at 41 cents. The rate rose to 49 cents by 2014, 55 cents in 2019, 60 cents in 2022, 73 cents in 2024, 78 cents on July 13, 2025, and 82 cents on July 12, 2026. A stamp bought at any of those prices mails the same letter today. That is why buying a stock of Forever stamps ahead of an increase works as a small hedge, and why an old book in a drawer is worth more now than it cost.
What changes the cash value
| Factor | Effect |
|---|---|
| Full books and coils, unopened | Top of the buyer range |
| Partial books, loose panes, folded books | Lower end, about 50 percent of face |
| Stamps off their backing, or with dried adhesive | Heavy discount or not bought |
| Large quantity, over a few hundred dollars face | Some buyers pay a higher percentage |
| Selling to a stamp buyer by mail | About 50-70 percent of face; shipping and wait time |
| Selling on a marketplace | Sometimes a little more than a stamp buyer pays, minus fees and shipping |
| Using the stamps yourself | 100 percent of face |
| Genuine printing error | Can be worth far more than face; needs a specialist |
Say you find three books of 20 Forever stamps from 2016, a half-used coil with 40 stamps left, and two sheets of 37 cent flag stamps in a desk drawer. The 100 Forever stamps are worth 82 cents each, $82 in postage, no matter that they cost 47 or 49 cents each in 2016. The 37 cent stamps are worth exactly 37 cents each; three of them, at $1.11, cover a two-ounce letter. Sold to a stamp buyer, the Forever stamps would bring roughly $41-57, and the 37 cent sheets about 30-60 percent of their face. If you mail anything, using them is worth roughly twice as much as selling them.
Counterfeit Forever stamps
Counterfeit Forever stamps are a real and growing problem. They are sold through social media ads, marketplace listings and websites at 30-60 percent off face value, often in large quantities. The USPS Postal Inspection Service has warned about them, and mail franked with counterfeit postage can be held or returned.
A genuine stamp from an authorized source, which includes the Post Office, usps.com and approved retailers such as grocery stores and banks, is sold at face value. Any new Forever stamps offered well below face are a warning sign. Physical tells include colors that look slightly off, fuzzy fine detail and lettering, a backing paper that differs from the booklets sold at the counter, and die cuts that tear unevenly. If you bought stamps cheaply online and they look different from those at your post office, compare them side by side before you use them.
Common mistakes
- Assuming an old Forever stamp is worth what it cost. It is worth the current rate, 82 cents, not the 41 or 49 cents paid.
- Treating every stamp without a price as a Forever stamp. The A to H letter-rate stamps of 1978 to 1998 are worth only their original rate.
- Using a Global Forever stamp on a domestic letter. It works, but you pay $1.75 for an 82 cent service.
- Expecting the Post Office to buy them back. The USPS does not refund unused stamps for cash; they are for postage.
- Thinking modern stamps are collectible. New issues are printed in vast quantities and almost always sell at or below face to collectors. Our guide to inherited stamp collections explains why mint modern postage is valued as postage.
- Buying discount Forever stamps from an ad. A large discount on new Forever stamps usually means counterfeits.
- Throwing away old denominated stamps. A sheet of 22 or 29 cent stamps is still valid postage at face.
How WorthPic reads stamp photos
WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. From a clear photo of a pane, a book or a sheet it reads the stamp design, the FOREVER or GLOBAL wording, any printed price or rate letter, the year printed in the margin or design, and whether the stamps are unused and on their backing. That is enough to tell you what each stamp is worth in postage today and what a buyer is likely to pay, and to flag obvious oddities such as a missing color or missing die cuts for a closer look. What it cannot know from a photo is whether the stamps are genuine or counterfeit, whether the adhesive is still good, or whether a suspected error is real rather than damage. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, expertize or appraise stamps.
What to photograph
- Each book or pane flat and straight on, in daylight, showing the whole design and the FOREVER wording.
- The back of a book or the backing paper, which shows the printing and any barcode.
- The year, usually printed small in the design or margin.
- Any stamp that looks different from the rest, close up: missing colors, shifted printing, missing die cuts.
- The receipt or source, if the stamps were bought online, to judge counterfeit risk.
When to get it looked at in person
For an ordinary pile of unused Forever and denominated stamps, nobody needs to look at them. Total the face value, use them for mail or sell them to a stamp buyer, and compare two or three offers. For a stamp that looks like a printing error, take it to a stamp dealer or a local stamp club before you stick it on an envelope; a genuine error on a modern stamp can be worth far more than face, and an expert committee such as the Philatelic Foundation or the APS can issue an opinion on a good one. For older collectible issues, the stamps in our guide to the most valuable US stamps are the ones that justify that kind of attention.