NEW YORK — The U.S. Postal Service today announced the first in a new series of postage stamps that will make it easier for card customers to know how much postage to put on their envelopes. The new 64-cent Butterfly stamp is designed to be used on cards that have an irregular shape that require additional postage.

Participating manufacturers will print a silhouette image of a butterfly on their envelopes, which will start to appear in retail stores in mid-summer, making it easy for customers to understand the new butterfly stamp or equivalent postage is all that is needed to mail the card.

The first stamp design in the new series features one of the most recognizable butterflies in North America, the monarch. It was dedicated today, in conjunction with the Greeting Card Association (GCA), at the National Stationery Show held at the Jacob Javits Center. The stamp is published as a pane of 20.

“This stamp was designed in conjunction with the Greeting Card Association for the convenience of our customers,” said Stephen M. Kearney, senior vice president, Customer Relations, U.S. Postal Service. “These stamps take the guesswork out of how much postage to put on the square greeting card envelopes that are so popular with consumers.”

“The Greeting Card Association is extremely pleased to see the Butterfly stamp become a reality,” said Valerie Cooper, GCA’s executive vice president. “Our members have worked long and hard to help develop this special stamp to meet the needs of card senders.”

Monarch butterflies can be found in most of the continental U.S. While they are concentrated in North, Central and South America, they can also be found in the Pacific islands and other locations.

Nationally acclaimed artist Tom Engeman used images of mounted butterflies to inspire the stamp art he created by computer. The result is a highly stylized, simplified image of a monarch rather than an exact replica.

Engeman, of Bethany Beach, DE, has designed a long list of stamps for the Postal Service, including the Liberty Bell Forever stamp, various stamped cards in the Historical Preservation series and 60 stamps for the Flags of Our Nation series that began in 2008.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark

Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at local Post Offices, at The Postal Store website at www.usps.com/shop

or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes to themselves or others, and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

Monarch (Butterfly) Stamp
Postmaster
Special Events
421 8th Avenue, Rm. 2029B
New York, NY 10199-9998

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark. All orders must be postmarked by July 19, 2010.

How to Order First-Day Covers

Stamp Fulfillment Services also offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly USA Philatelic Catalog. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-STAMP-24 or writing to:

Information Fulfillment
Dept. 6270
U.S. Postal Service
PO Box 219014
Kansas City, MO 64121-9014

Philatelic Products

There are two philatelic products available for this stamp issue:

• 114661, First-Day Cover, $1.02
• 114691, Ceremony Program, $6.95

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no direct support from taxpayers. With 36,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, the Postal Service relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $68 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 28th in the 2009 Fortune 500.