WASHINGTON — Several of this summer’s new stamps provide customers a variety of options — from celebrating good news, to mailing unusual-sized greeting cards and letters to Mexico and other international locations.

June 10: Party on with the 44-cent Celebrate! stamp
This is the perfect stamp for highlighting birthdays, engagements, anniversaries and more. When good times call for good wishes, this stamp adds a touch of cheer to special greeting cards and gift packages. All 100 million, 44-cent First-Class stamps on sheets of 20, are available nationwide June 10.

Stamp Artist Nicholas Wilton of San Geronimo, CA, worked under the direction of Art Director Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, MD, to create the image.

June 12: 64-cent Dolphin stamp
There’s nothing fishy about this stamp that promises to be a big splash for customers mailing greeting cards and letters that cannot be sorted by high-tech mail sorters. All 40 million, 64-cent First-Class definitive Dolphin stamps, available in sheets of 20, will be on sale nationwide June 12.

Artist Nancy Stahl of New York City used several photographs of bottlenose dolphins as a reference for the art. She worked under the direction of Art Director Carl T. Herrman of North Las Vegas, NV.

Using the Dolphin stamp
Today’s high-tech letter sorting technology enables machinable First-Class Mail letters to be processed at a cost of 44 cents for the first ounce and 17 cents for each additional ounce up to 3½ ounces. Nonmachinable letters such as square envelopes, envelopes with the address parallel to the shorter dimension, and envelopes containing odd-shaped items cannot be processed on today’s high-speed mail sorters and a 20-cent nonmachinable surcharge is applied for the additional handling costs.

The 64-cent Dolphin stamp incorporates the nonmachinable surcharge and can be used for square greeting cards and other nonmachinable envelopes weighing up to one ounce. For more information, visit this link: http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/101.htm.

June 28: 98-cent Grand Teton National Park, WY, stamp
This international rate stamp in the Scenic American Landscapes series is good for mailing First-Class postcards and letters weighing up to 1 ounce (always numbers with measurements) to countries other than Canada and Mexico. The photograph of Grand Teton National Park was taken from the Snake River Overlook at dawn by Dennis Flaherty of Bishop, CA. Text on the stamp reads, “Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.” Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, MD, was the art director. All 100 million stamps, available in sheets of 20, will be issued nationwide June 28. The one-ounce price for mailing to Canada is 75 cents. Customers wishing to mail 1-ounce items to Canada may use the Great Smoky Mountains, NC/TN stamp that was issued Feb. 24, 2006.

June 28: 79-cent Zion National Park, UT stamp
This international-rate stamp in the Scenic American Landscapes series features a photograph of Zion National Park by Richard Cummins of Temecula, CA. The photograph reveals layers of sedimentary rock that reflect the park’s geologic origins in the slickrock area on the east side of the park. The text on the stamp reads, “Zion National Park, Utah.” The stamp was designed by Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, MD. All 40 million stamps will be available in sheets of 20 go on sale June 28. The stamp is good for mailing postcards and letters weighing up to one ounce to Mexico.

Ordering First-Day-of-Issue Postmarks
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. 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. Customers 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 the following addresses. Orders must be postmarked by the date in parentheses.

Celebrate! Stamp (Aug. 12, 2009)
Special Cancellations
PO Box 92282
Washington, DC 20090-2282

Grand Teton National Park, WY, Stamp (Aug. 31, 2009)
Special Cancellations
PO Box 92282
Washington, DC 20090-2282

Dolphin Stamp (Aug. 14, 2009)
Special Cancellations
PO Box 92282
Washington, DC 20090-2282

Zion National Park, UT, Stamp (Sept. 1, 2009)
Special Cancellations
PO Box 92282
Washington, DC 20090-2282

Ordering First-Day Covers
Stamp Fulfillment Services 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. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-STAMP-24 or writing to:

Information Fulfillment
Dept. 6270
U.S. Postal Service
PO Box 219014
Kansas City, MO 64121-9014

Philatelic Products
Item 574561, Celebrate! stamp First-Day Cover, 82 cents
Item 574593, Celebrate! stamp Cancellation Keepsake (First-Day Cover w/Pane), $9.62
Item 574661, Grand Teton National Park, WY stamp First-Day Cover, $1.36.
Item 113361, Dolphin stamp First-Day Cover, $1.02
Item 574761, Zion National Park, UT stamp First-Day Cover, $1.17

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Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/welcome.htm.

An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 149 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes, six days a week. It has 34,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services, not tax dollars, to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.