© 2014 USPS
On April 5, 2014, in Dallas Texas, the U.S. Postal Service® will issue Songbirds First-Class Mail® stamps (Forever® priced at 49 cents), in ten designs, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) booklet of 20 stamps (Item 689300).
The stamps will go on sale nationwide April 5, 2014.
The U.S. Postal Service® celebrates ten melodic voices with the Songbirds stamp issuance, which features the western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta), the mountain bluebird (Sialia currucoides), the western tanager (Piranga ludoviciana), the painted bunting (Passerina ciris), the Baltimore oriole (Icterus galbula), the evening grosbeak (Coccothraustes vespertinus), the scarlet tanager (Piranga olivacea), the rose-breasted grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus), the American goldfinch (Spinus tristis), and the white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis). Illustrator Robert Giusti painted the portraits based on photographs. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamps.
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 double-sided booklet of 20 stamps. Distributions for panes are rounded up to the nearest master carton size of 4,000 booklets.
SDOs and SDCs will make a subsequent automatic push distribution to Post Offices™ of a quantity to cover approximately 30 days of sales. Distribution quantities for the automatic push distribution will be posted, by finance number and unit ID, on the Asset Management SDC webpage at http://blue.usps.gov/purchase/assetmgnt/am_sdchome.htm. Post Offices may preorder these stamps prior to first-day-of-issue through the eBuy2 SEAM Catalog. However, offices should first check the website noted above to determine the amount they will receive on their automatic push distribution.
Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase 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:
Songbirds Stamp
Postmaster
401 Tom Landry Frwy, Room 645
Dallas, TX 75260-9998
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 up to a quantity of 50. For more than 50, customers have to pay five cents each. All orders must be postmarked by June 4, 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 six philatelic products for this stamped issue:
n 689306*, Press Sheet with Die Cut, $78.40 (print quantity of 2,500).
n 689308*, Press sheet w/o Die Cut, $78.40 (print quantity of 2,500).
n 689310*, Keepsake (booklet & random DCP), $11.95.
n 689316*, First-Day Cover (set of 10), $9.30.
n 689321*, Digital Color Postmarks (set of 10), $16.40.
n 689331*, Stamped Deck Card, $0.95.
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.
Issue:
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Songbirds Stamp
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Item Number:
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689300
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Denomination & Type of Issue:
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First-Class Mail Forever
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Format:
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Double-sided Booklet of 20
(10 designs)
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Series:
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N/A
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Issue Date & City:
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April 5, 2014, Dallas, TX 75260
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Art Director:
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Derry Noyes
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Designer:
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Derry Noyes
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Typographer:
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Derry Noyes
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Artist:
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Robert Giusti
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Modeler:
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Joseph Sheeran
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Manufacturing Process:
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Offset
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Engraver:
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N/A
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Printer:
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Ashton Potter
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Printed at:
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Williamsville, NY
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Press Type:
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Muller Martini A76
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Stamps per Booklet:
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20
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Print Quantity:
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400 million
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Paper Type:
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Nonphospheored Type III, Overall Tagged
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Adhesive Type:
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Pressure-sensitive
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Processed at:
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Ashton Potter Williamsville, NY
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Stamp Orientation:
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Vertical
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Image Area (w x h):
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0.84 x 1.42 in./21.34 x 36.07 mm
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Stamp Size (w x h):
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0.98 x 1.56 in./24.90 x 39.62 mm
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Full Booklet Size (w x h):
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6.18 x 3.12 in./156.97 x 79.25 mm
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Press Sheet Size (w x h)
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25.10 x 6.24 in./ 637.41 x 158.50 mm
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Colors:
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Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow
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Plate Size:
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640 stamps per revolution
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Plate Numbers:
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“P” followed by four (4) single digits
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Marginal Markings:
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© 2014 • Songbirds, Twenty First-Class Forever Stamps • Barcode
• Plate numbers in peel strip area
• USPS in peel strip area
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— Stamp Services,
Marketing and Sales, 3-20-14
