SCOTT #3137 BUGS BUNNY 32 CENT

On May 22, 1997, the USPS issued the first stamp in the Looney Tunes Series, honoring Bugs Bunny.

The Bugs Bunny stamp was issued in conjunction with a campaign to launch the USPS’s “Stampers” program.  As the official mascot of Stampers, it was hoped Bugs would help revive youth interest in the hobby of stamp collecting.

When the Bugs Bunny stamp was announced, many were unhappy about picturing an animated character on a stamp.  They felt Bugs was too commercial and honoring him would cheapen America’s stamp program.  One

US #3137 1997 Bugs Bunny Pane – Perforated

newspaper editor wrote that the stamp was “a new low in commercializing and trivializing [the Postal Service’s] once high-minded stamp program.”  But a USPS official replied that Bugs was a “unique part of American history.”