Apples Postage Stamps | Fruits Series | Albemarle Pippin Apples | Vintage Unused USPS Postage 1c

Add crisp botanical charm and a touch of American agricultural history to your correspondence with these unused vintage Apples postage stamps from the USPS Fruits series! Featuring two beautifully illustrated Albemarle Pippin apples growing on a leafy branch, this detailed design combines heirloom fruit, traditional botanical artwork, and centuries of American orchard history in a compact 1-cent definitive. Perfect for weddings, save-the-dates, autumn celebrations, orchard-themed events, farm weddings, thank you notes, culinary correspondence, and other nature-inspired mailings, these stamps make a charming addition to layered vintage-postage arrangements.

In pristine mint condition and valid for current postage use, each stamp holds a face value of 1-cent. These authentic USPS postage stamps are suitable for current mailing when used with the total required postage based on the weight of your mailing. These are NOT forever stamps — you must combine additional postage with this stamp to mail your correspondence according to current USPS postage rate requirements.

STAMP INFORMATION:

• Stamp Name: Apples
• Stamp Series: Fruits
• Year Issued: 2016
• Face Value: 1-cent (USD) per stamp
• Topic(s): Apples, Albemarle Pippin, Newtown Pippin, Fruits Series, Heirloom Apples, Fruit, Orchard, Agriculture, Botanical Illustration, American Agriculture, Colonial America, John Burgoyne, Derry Noyes, Definitive Stamps, Food, Culinary History
• Color(s): Red, Yellow, Gold, Green, Brown, White, Multicolored
• Mailing Occasions: Weddings, Save-the-Dates, Wedding Invitations, Autumn Weddings, Farm Weddings, Orchard Weddings, Bridal Showers, Harvest Celebrations, Thank You Notes, Culinary Correspondence
• Printing Method: Offset, Microprint
• Scott Number: 5037
• Adhesion Type: Self-Adhesive
• Stamp Size: 25 × 22 mm / 0.98 × 0.87 in
• Condition: Genuine Unused USPS Postage Stamps, Ready to Use for USPS Mailings, Mint Condition

STAMP DESCRIPTION & HISTORY: The 2016 Apples stamp was issued as part of the USPS Fruits series and features two Albemarle Pippin apples growing on a branch surrounded by leaves. Illustrator John Burgoyne created the original artwork using pen and ink and watercolor, while USPS art director Derry Noyes designed the stamp around Burgoyne’s existing botanical illustration. USPS issued the 1-cent definitive on August 12, 2016, in Kansas City, Missouri, in pressure-sensitive coils of 3,000 and 10,000. Ashton Potter printed the stamp using offset lithography with microprinting. The low denomination was intended primarily as make-up postage, allowing mailers to add small increments of postage when needed.

ABOUT THE PIPPIN APPLE: The Albemarle Pippin is also known as the Newtown Pippin and has deep roots in early American agricultural history. The variety first appeared in the late 17th century in Newtown, an area now incorporated into Queens, New York. The word “pippin” traditionally refers to an apple variety that originated from a seedling rather than through grafting. These medium-sized reddish-yellow and green apples became popular throughout colonial America for their crisp flesh and balanced flavor. In 1755, physician and explorer Dr. Thomas Walker brought cuttings to Virginia after returning from the French and Indian War. Grown on his plantation in Albemarle County, the New York apple eventually became widely known as the Albemarle Pippin. Although typically harvested in October, the variety is notable for its excellent storage qualities. Its initial tartness mellows over time, allowing the fruit to retain characteristic flavor well into late winter. Albemarle Pippins have historically been prized for fresh eating as well as pie fillings, applesauce, and especially cider.

STAMP MEANING & SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE: The Apples design can symbolize abundance, nourishment, harvest, knowledge, fertility, hospitality, tradition, and the rewards of patient cultivation. Apples have long been associated with orchards, family gatherings, seasonal harvests, and shared food traditions. Their deep roots in American agricultural history can also evoke ideas of heritage, continuity, home, and connection to the land, making this stamp especially attractive for weddings, autumn celebrations, farm events, and correspondence with a natural or agricultural theme.

STAMP SERIES HISTORY: The USPS Fruits series began in 2016 as a new group of low-denomination definitive stamps featuring detailed botanical illustrations of familiar fruits. The first designs included 10-cent Red Pears, 5-cent Pinot Noir Grapes, and 1-cent Albemarle Pippin Apples. The series replaced low-denomination stamps from the earlier American Design definitive series and continued the practical tradition of issuing small-value stamps for make-up postage. John Burgoyne’s pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations gave the series a cohesive botanical character, combining everyday postal utility with carefully rendered images celebrating fruit, agriculture, and natural history.