1973 Rural America 8¢ Stamps

Each of the three 1973-1974 Rural America stamps celebrated a different theme associated with life in rural America. The different rates, eight cents or ten cents, deserve mention. The first stamp issued, the 8-cent Angus and Longhorn Cattle Rural America, was issued in October 1973, when the first-class domestic letter rate was eight cents. However, the Postal Service released the other two stamps ten months later, in August 1974. On March 2, 1974, the first-class domestic letter rate had increased to ten cents, resulting in two different valuations for the Rural America stamps.