©2015 USPS
On January 5, 2017, in Seattle, WA, the U.S. Postal Service® will issue the Year of the Rooster First-Class Mail® stamp (Forever® priced at 47 cents), in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 12 stamps (Item 552000). The Year of the Rooster $5.64 pane of 12 stamps may not be split, and the stamps may not be sold individually.
The stamp will go on sale nationwide January 5, 2017.
The Year of the Rooster stamp is the tenth of 12 stamps in the Celebrating Lunar New Year series. The Year of the Rooster begins on January 28, 2017, and ends on February 15, 2018. The stamp art depicts a rooster emblazoned on a red envelope (hongbao). Parents present red envelopes containing money to children and loved ones during Lunar New Year celebrations. The color red symbolizes luck in Chinese culture, while rooster imagery is often used to ward off evil spirits. The characters at the top of the envelope form a common Chinese greeting of celebration and wish for prosperity and good fortune, used most frequently during Lunar New Year. 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 rooster and the Chinese character for “rooster,” 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 on 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 Rooster 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 Rooster 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.
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 800-782-6724. 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 Rooster
Stamp Fulfillment Services
Cancellation Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Pillar 210
Kansas City, MO 64144-9998
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 March 5, 2017.
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 eight philatelic products for this stamp issue:
n 552006, Press Sheet with Die-cut, $33.84.
n 552010*, Digital Color Postmark Keepsake (2 panes), $12.95.
n 552016*, First-Day Cover, $0.91.
n 552018*, First-Day Cover Full Pane, $8.14.
n 552019*, Cancelled Full Pane, $8.14.
n 552021*, Digital Color Postmark, $1.62.
n 552024*, Framed Art, $39.95.
n 552030*, 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 Rooster Stamp
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Item Number:
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552000
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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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January 5, 2017, Seattle, WA 98134
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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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Sandra Lane/Michelle Finn
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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
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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
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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, PMS 872/Gold
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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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Plate Numbers:
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N/A
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Marginal Markings:
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Back:
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© 2016 USPS • USPS logo • Barcode (552000) • Promotional text • Verso: Celebrating Lunar New Year text
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— Stamp Services, Marketing, 12-8-16
