Women Cryptologists of World War II Stamps – Forever First Class Postage Stamps

Women Cryptologists of World War II Stamps
Forever 82￠ | Sheet Stamp Format

During World War II, some 11,000 women labored day and night, helping to process and decipher an endless stream of enemy military messages. Their work was by turns frustrating and exhilarating — and one of the conflict’s best-kept secrets. With this stamp, the U.S. Postal Service honors all of the women cryptologists of World War II, whose service played an inestimable role in the Allied victory.

The stamp art features an image from a World War II–era WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Service) recruitment poster with an overlay of characters from the “Purple” code. The poster was designed by John Falter (1910–1982), who designed more than 300 recruiting posters during his military service. The Purple code was used by the Japanese government to encrypt diplomatic messages. Genevieve Grotjan, a cryptologist with the U.S. Army’s Signal Intelligence Service, discovered the key to cracking the code in September 1940. Her breakthrough allowed the United States to read and exploit the information conveyed in Japanese diplomatic messages for the duration of the war.

The?Women Cryptologists of World War II?stamp is being issued as a Forever??stamp. This Forever stamp will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail??one-ounce price.

Stamp Issuance:
October 18, 2022
Annapolis Junction, MD 20701

Made in the USA

Every stamp sold here is a genuine United States Postal Service issue, unused, with full original gum and clean perforations. We do not sell reproductions, reprints or novelty facsimiles.

Stampora is an independent retailer and is not affiliated with, authorised by or acting as an agent of the USPS. Our prices sit above face value to cover sourcing, verification, packaging and delivery.

Orders are packed flat and protected so gum and perforations arrive undamaged, then shipped tracked. Delivery estimates are shown at checkout.

If an order arrives damaged or is not the issue you ordered, tell us and we will replace or refund it. See the returns and refunds page for full terms.