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High-resolution images of the stamps are available for media use only by emailing: roy.a.betts@usps.gov.
WASHINGTON — From the heights of sunny summer to the snowy depths of winter, the American Flag never looked more beautiful than on the U.S. Postal Service’s A Flag for All Seasons Forever stamps.
Dedicated today at the Spellman Museum of Stamp and Postal History in Weston, MA, Old Glory is illustrated in four different stamp designs. The stamps go on sale nationwide in coils of 100 stamps at local Post Offices, online at usps.com/stamps or by calling 800-STAMP24 (800-782-6724).
Each stamp shows the American flag, viewed from below, flying from a pole at full staff against a background of trees painted to evoke all four seasons of the year.
The stamp art, consisting of opaque watercolors on illustration board, is the work of Laura Stutzman, who used personal photographs of the flag for reference. The seasons are reflected in the colors of the leaves on the trees or, in the case of the flag in winter, the lack of leaves on the background trees.
These stamps are being issued as Forever stamps. Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce price.
Booklets of 20 A Flag for All Seasons Forever stamps will go on sale nationwide May 17, followed by booklets of 10 stamps August 16.
Customers can view the new stamps, as well as many of this year’s other stamps, on Facebook at facebook.com/USPSStamps, on Twitter@USPSstamps or on the website Beyond the Perf at beyondtheperf.com/2013-preview. Beyond the Perf is the Postal Service’s online site for information on upcoming stamp subjects, first-day-of-issue events and other philatelic news.
Ordering First-Day-of-Issue Postmarks for the Coil of 100 Stamps
Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase the new stamps at local Post Offices, at usps.com/stampsor by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should apply the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes to themselves or others and place them in larger envelopes addressed to:
A Flag for All Seasons Stamp
Retail Specialist
25 Dorchester Avenue, Rm. 3011
Boston, MA 02205-9600
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 for fewer than 50 requests. All orders must be postmarked by July 3.
Ordering First-Day Covers
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 usps.com/stamps 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
Philatelic Products
Two philatelic products are available:
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation: 152 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With more than 31,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world's mail. If it were a private-sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 42nd in the 2012 Fortune 500. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for seven years and the fourth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.
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