03/11/1980 USA, Bolger Suspends Sales of Summer Olympic Games Stamps

Did You Know the 1980 Summer Olympics Stamps Were Removed from Sale?
Own a Cover Commemorating This Unusual Stamp Story!

In late December 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and began nearly 10 years of fighting between the two countries.  The invasion was sparked by a Soviet desire to keep communist leaders in power in Afghanistan.  In response, US President Jimmy Carter denounced the Soviet Union’s actions and imposed economic sanctions, a trade embargo, and led a boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.  Eventually, 65 other countries joined in the boycott as well. 

The USPS had issued several stamps and postal items in the fall of 1979 in anticipation of the games.  After that invasion and President Jimmy Carter’s call to boycott the games, the stamps were removed from sale on March 11, 1980.  That quickly drove up demand for the stamps and dealers were paying up to seven times the face value of the stamps.  The day after the games ended, the USPS suddenly made all the stamps available through the philatelic Bureau.  They stated it was to honor “the fine men and women of the US Olympic team who [had] sacrificed months and years of training.” 

You can own a special commemorative cover marking this rare philatelic milestone.  Postal officials stated this was the first time stamps had been pulled off the market since the Civil War, so this a stamp story you’ll want commemorated in your collection.  Send for yours now.