This was the first of only three decreases in the last 150-plus years.ДЇirst-class postage stayed at 2 cents until 1917. In 1883, the cost of a first-class stamp changed to only, a 50 percent decrease in cost. This shows how much more volatile the value of a dollar is in todayвЂ™s world compared to what it was in the mid- to late-1800s. Where it started at an equivalent of 49 cents in 1866, that cost increased to an equivalent of 76 cents in 2018 dollar by 1882. The face value stayed the same at the time but when compared to 2018 dollars, the value did fluctuate. The cost of a stamp remained at 3 cents until 1882.

Those original stamps cost 3 cents, which would be 49 cents in 2018 dollars. Standardized first-class stamps were introduced in 1866. Before that, the rate, origin location of the letter, and dates were either handwritten or stamped with some type of hand-stamp device. The first postage stamps were issued in 1847. Originally, postage was set by the вЂњdistance zoneвЂќ or how far the letter had to be carried to get to its destination.ДЄs a size of a letter increase, it was subject to double or triple rates and вЂњship feesвЂќ were added for letters being delivered to Hawaii and other ports of entry. US postage rates were originally set by Congress as a result of the Postal Service Act that was signed into law by President George Washington in 1792. LetвЂ™s look at how postage rates have changed over the last century-and-a-half. The cost stayed consistent for a lot longer in the early years than it has over the last two or three decades though. Over the last 150 years, the cost of a first-class postage stamp has only gone down 3 times. Discover the history of the cost of first-class postage stamps over the years. Postal Service has one of the lowest letter rates in the industrialized world. History of the Cost for 1st Class Postage Stamps Over The Years

Cost of stamps