© 2013 USPS
On April 22, 2014, in Washington, DC, the U.S. Postal Service® will issue the Global: Sea Surface Temperatures Forever® International rate stamp, in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 10 stamps (Item 116900).
The stamp will go on sale nationwide April 22, 2014.
The U.S. Postal Service® introduces Global: Sea Surface Temperatures, a new Forever international rate stamp. Issued at the $1.15 price that went into effect January 26, 2014, this Global Forever stamp can be used to mail a 1-ounce letter to any country to which First-Class Mail International® service is available. As with all Global Forever stamps, this stamp will have a postage value equivalent to the price of a single-piece First-Class Mail International 1-ounce machinable letter in effect at the time of use.
This round stamp features a visual representation of our planet’s sea surface temperatures. It shows the Earth with North America at the center and parts of South America, Asia, and Europe just visible on the edges, surrounded by vivid bands of color throughout the oceans. The image is one frame in a 1,460-frame animation created from the output of a computer model of Earth’s climate by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory. Art director William J. Gicker designed the stamp.
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 normal automatic distribution quantity of Global Forever stamps. Distributions are rounded up to the nearest master carton size of 20,000 stamps.
SDOs/SDCs will NOT make an automatic distribution to Post Offices™. Post Offices requiring these items must requisition them from the eBuy2 SEAM Catalog or via Touch-tone ordering. Post Offices may preorder these stamps prior to the first-day-of-issue. Post Offices should not sell the stamp prior to first-day-of-issue.
Only the following pictorial postmark is permitted for the Global: Sea Surface Temperatures stamp. The word “Station” or the abbreviation “STA” is required somewhere in the design, because it will be a temporary station.
To finalize Global: Sea Surface Temperatures stamp pictorial postmark art, insert the date, city, state, and ZIP Code™ of the physical location of your event adjacent to the stamp image. Overall dimensions of the pictorial postmark must not exceed 4 inches horizontally by 2 inches vertically. Collectors prefer the dimensions 3-1/2 inches by 1.
The Postal Service™ must make all special postmarks known to collectors through advance publicity in the Postal Bulletin. Therefore, all special dedication cancellations must be reported to Stamp Services four weeks before the events using PS Form 413, Pictorial Postmark Announcement/Report. To get a copy of the form, go to http://blue.usps.gov/formmgmt/forms/ps413.pdf.
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 http://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:
Global: Sea Surface Temperatures Stamp
Special Events
PO Box 92282
Washington, DC 20090-2282
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 21, 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 eight philatelic products for this stamp issue:
n 116906*, Press Sheet with Die cut, $57.50 (print quantity of 2,500).
n 116908*, Press sheet without Die cut, $57.50 (print quantity of 2,500).
n 116910*, Keepsake (booklet and random Digital Color Postmark), $13.95.
n 116916*, First-Day Cover, $1.59.
n 116921*, Digital Color Postmarks, $2.30.
n 116924*, Framed Art, $39.95.
n 116930*, Ceremony Program, $6.95.
n 116931*, 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.
— Stamp Services,
Marketing and Sales, 4-3-14
