© 2013 USPS
On February 7, 2014, in Kansas City, Missouri, the U.S. Postal Service® will issue a 34-cent Hummingbird stamp, (the new postcard rate stamp), in one design in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 117200) and the other in a coil of 100 (Item 774600) produced by Ashton Potter.
The stamp goes on sale nationwide February 7, 2014.
The stamp will feature a blue-tinted, highly stylized, digital image of a hummingbird, a type of bird that uses its extra long bill and tongue to sip nectar from tubular flowers. Nancy Stahl illustrated the stamp, under the direction of Carl T. Herrman.
To learn more about the stories behind the stamps, visit http://uspsstamps.com.
Stamp Distribution Offices (SDOs) and Stamp Distribution Centers (SDCs) will receive their standard automatic distribution quantity for a PSA pane of 20 stamps. Distributions for panes are rounded up to the nearest master carton size of 40,000 stamps.
SDOs and SDCs will receive their standard automatic distribution quantity for coils of 100 stamps. Distributions for coils are rounded up to the nearest master carton size of 800 coils.
There will be no automatic distribution of these items to Post Offices™. Offices will be notified when these stamps are available to order through eBuy2.
Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase the new stamps at their local Post Office, 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:
Hummingbird Stamp
Cancellation Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Pillar 210
Kansas City, MO 64144-0001
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 up to a quantity of 50. For more than 50 postmarks, customers must pay five cents each. All orders must be postmarked by April 11, 2014.
The Postal Service 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, online at http://usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-782-6724. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-782-6724 or writing to:
U.S. Postal Service
Catalog Request
PO Box 219014
Kansas City, MO 64121-9014
There are five philatelic products available for the Hummingbird Pane of 20 stamps:
n 117210*, Keepsake (Pane and DCP Set), $8.95.
n 117216*, First-Day Cover (2 stamps), $1.12.
n 117221*, Digital Color Postmark (2 stamps), $1.83.
n 117231*, Stamp Deck Card, $0.95.
n 117232*, Stamp Deck Card w/DCP, $2.18.
There are two philatelic products available for the Hummingbird Coil of 100 stamps:
n 774616*, First-Day Cover (2 stamps), $1.12.
n 774621*, Digital Color Postmark (2 stamps), $1.83.
Items with an asterisk (*) will use the 128 barcode from Stamp Fulfillment Services. All other philatelic products will continue to use barcode series A, with the exception of the Yearbook and the Guide Book.
(Note: Technical details will appear in the next Postal Bulletin.)
— Stamp Services,
Marketing and Sales, 1-23-14
