Since 1983, the U.S. Postal service has had a special cancellation stamp for Valentine, Texas for all mail sent for Valentine’s Day.
The El Paso office designed the stamp until 1993. Ever since, that task has gone to Valentine students. After reviewing entries, the city council selects a design, and it goes to the USPS for approval. The USPS then creates the stamp for official use.
In 1983, 876 pieces of mail were mailed with the new cancellation. The cancellation became so popular that in 1994, more than 39,000 pieces were mailed from Valentine. Since then, the numbers have fluctuated. In 2013, more than 18,000 pieces were mailed to 22 countries.
Some of the countries include: Mexico, Canada, Italy, Iceland, Netherlands, England, France, Hungary, Brazil, Belgium, New Zealand, Norway, Jamaica, Finland, Japan, Greece, Philippines, Sweden, Indonesia, Africa, Australia, Guyana, Israel, Denmark, Germany, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia and Cambodia.
