Forever Stamps 2018 Frozen Treats – Summer Fun, First-Class Postage

Issue Date:  June 20, 2018

First Day City:  Austin, Texas

Printed by:  Ashton Potter

Printing Method:  Offset, Flexographic

Format:  Double-sided Booklet of 20

One of the most famous frozen treat brands in the United States is Popsicle.  Responsible for the very first frozen treats on a stick, Popsicle has an interesting backstory…

The Popsicle was invented in 1905, near San Francisco by 11-year-old Frank Epperson.  Young Epperson had mixed soda powder and water with a wooden stirring stick and forgotten it outside overnight.  It was an especially cold evening, and when Epperson went out the next morning, he found his drink had frozen solid around the stirring stick.  Rather than waste it, he decided to simply lick the frozen drink off the stick.  He called his accidental discovery an Epsicle ice pop and made more to sell around his neighborhood.

In 1923, Epperson was selling his Epsicles at a local amusement park and received a patent for his invention in 1924.  Not long after, Epperson’s children began calling his invention a “Popsicle,” creating the famous brand name still known today.

Epperson faced financial difficulties throughout the 1920s and decided to sell the rights to his invention and company.  The Popsicle brand has gone through several ownership changes, but their goal of sharing delicious frozen treats with America has remained the same.  Today, the Popsicle brand is a household name and continues to sell billions of frozen treats every year.

The 2018 Frozen Treats issues are a nod to these famous ice pops and were also the United States’ first scratch-and-sniff stamps – “evok[ing] a sweet summer scent.”