©2015 USPS
On February 5, 2016, in Jamaica, NY, the U.S. Postal Service® will issue the Year of the Monkey First-Class Mail® stamp (Forever® priced at 49 cents), in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 12 stamps (Item 586500). The Year of the Monkey $5.88 pane of 12 stamps may not be split, and the stamps may not be sold individually.
The stamp will go on sale nationwide February 5, 2016.
The Year of the Monkey stamp is the ninth of twelve stamps in the Celebrating Lunar New Year series. The Year of the Monkey begins on February 8, 2016, and ends on January 27, 2017. The stamp art depicts two bright reddish orange peonies against a purple background. Peonies symbolize wealth and honor in Chinese culture and often decorate the sides of the traditional drums played during the holiday festivities. Artist Kam Mak created this original painting. Art director and stamp designer Ethel Kessler incorporated elements from the previous series of Lunar New Year stamps — Clarence Lee’s intricate cut-paper design of a monkey and the Chinese character for “monkey,” drawn in grass-style calligraphy by Lau Bun — to create continuity between the stamps in the series.
Stamp Fulfillment Services will make an automatic push distribution to Post Offices™ of a quantity to cover approximately 30 days of sales. Distribution quantities for the automatic push distribution are available by logging on to SFS Web at https://sfsweb.usps.gov. Post Offices may begin ordering stamps prior to the FDOI through SFS Web. However, offices should check the website noted above to determine the amount they will receive on their automatic push distribution.
Only the following pictorial postmark is permitted for the Year of the Monkey stamp. The word “Station” or the abbreviation “STA” is required somewhere in the design, because it will be a temporary station.
To finalize the Year of the Monkey 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 event 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.
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 their local Post Office, at The Postal Store® website at http://www.usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-782-6724. 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:
Year of the Monkey Stamp
Jamaica MPO
8840 164th Street
Jamaica, NY 11432-9998
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. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by April 5, 2016.
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 www.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 nine philatelic products for this stamp issue:
n 586506, Press Sheet with Die-cut, $35.28,
(print quantity 500).
n 586508, Press Sheet without Die-cut, $35.28
(print quantity 1,000).
n 586510*, Digital Color Postmark Keepsake
(2 panes), $13.95.
n 586516*, First-Day Cover, $0.93.
n 586518*, First-Day Cover Full Pane, $8.38.
n 586519*, First-Day Cover Cancelled Full Pane, $8.38.
n 586521*, Digital Color Postmark, $1.64.
n 586524*, Framed Art*, $39.95.
n 586530*, Ceremony Program, $6.95.
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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Year of the Monkey
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Item Number:
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586500
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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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Pane of 12 (1 design)
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Series:
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Celebrating Lunar New Year
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Issue Date & City:
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February 5, 2016, Jamaica, NY, 11439
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Designer:
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Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
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Art Director:
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Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
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Typographer:
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Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
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Artist:
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Kam Mak, Brooklyn, NY
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Modeler:
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Michelle Finn/Sandra Lane
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Manufacturing Process:
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Offset, Microprint
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Printer:
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Banknote Corporation of America/SSP
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Printed at:
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Browns Summit, NC
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Press Type:
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Alprinta 74
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Stamps per Pane:
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12
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Print Quantity:
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15 million stamps
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Paper Type:
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Phosphor Tagged Paper, Block Tag
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Adhesive Type:
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Pressure-sensitive
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Processed at:
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Banknote Corporation of America, Browns Summit SC
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Colors:
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Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
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Stamp Orientation:
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Horizontal
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Image Area (w x h):
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1.42 x 0.84 in./36.07 x 21.34 mm
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Overall Size (w x h):
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1.56 x 0.98 in./39.62 x 24.89 mm
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Full Pane Size (w x h):
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7.24 x 5.92 in./183.90 x 150.37 mm
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Press Sheets Size (w x h):
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21.97 x 11.97 in./ 558.04 x 303.91 mm
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Plate Size:
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144 stamps per revolution
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Marginal Markings:
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Back:
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© 2015 USPS • USPS logo • Product Barcode (586500) • Promotional text
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— Stamp Services,
Marketing and Sales, 1-21-16
