Even philatelists love a good dungeon crawl now and again. And starting next year, they’ll be able to combine their hobbies.
The U.S. Postal Service has announced another round of new stamps that will make their debut in 2024—and leading the list is a collection of Dungeons & Dragons–themed stamps.
The 10 designs, which range from (natch) a dragon to wizards and warriors and, you guessed it, a dungeon, are a celebration of the game’s 50th anniversary. They’ll be sold in packs of 20, though the USPS did not give an on-sale date for the stamps.
The world of fantasy isn’t the only one being spotlighted by postal authorities. Sixteen new stamps featuring the work of acclaimed nature photographer Ansel Adams will come out next year as well.
“A masterful photographer and dedicated environmentalist, Adams sought to imbue each of his black-and-white prints with the power and wonder he felt in the presence of nature,” the USPS said in a statement. “These 16 stamps feature some of Adams’s most famous images in his signature “straight photography” style, an approach defined by its precision and directness.”
Additionally, 10 stamps celebrating carnivals (at night) are in the hopper, as well as one celebrating legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, who has been called the greatest coach in the history of American sports.
New stamp designs are eagerly anticipated by stamp collectors—and can make it a little more fun to send bills or letters. The 2024 designs come less than five months after the USPS raised the price of its forever stamp from 63 to 66 cents. That marked the fifth jump in forever stamp prices since the start of 2019, when the postage cost 50 cents (the modern equivalent of about 60 cents).
2023 has been a bit of a rough year for the postal service. Robberies of postal carriers have increased 78% from 2022, and there has been a surge in robberies of postal collection boxes, forcing the agency to replace tens of thousands of locks.