Fort Myers, Cape Coral FL -   The U.S. Postal Service has issued a 42-cent, Celebrating Lunar New Year commemorative stamp in one design in a pressure-sensitive adhesive commemorative sheet of 12 stamps. Designed by Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, MD, the stamp is on sale nationwide. The $5.04 sheet may not be split and the stamps may not be sold individually. 60 million stamps have been printed.

The U.S. Postal Service introduced its Celebrating Lunar New Year series in 2008. This is the second stamp in that series, which will continue through 2019 with stamps for the Year of the Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar. In 2008, a stamp depicting festive red lanterns was issued to mark the Year of the Rat.

Art Director Kessler and artist Kam Mak, who grew up in New York City’s Chinatown and now lives in Brooklyn, decided to focus on some of the common ways the Lunar New Year Holiday is celebrated. To commemorate the Year of the Ox, which begins January 26, 2009, they chose a lion head of a type often worn at parades and other festivities. Kessler’s design also incorporates elements from the previous series of Lunar New Year stamps, using Clarence lee’s intricate paper-cut design of an ox and the Chinese character drawn in grass-style calligraphy by Lau Bun for “Ox.”

Customers have 60 days from the official first day of issuance date to obtain a local first day of sale postmark on new stamps and stationery items. Collectors may request a first day of sale postmark by mail only. There is no charge for servicing of first day of sale postmarks up to 50 covers. Mail-in customers must supply a self-addressed envelope with sufficient return postage applied to return the serviced covers.

To obtain the first day of sale postmark, mail stationery items bearing the Celebrating Lunar New Year stamps to: Customer Relations USPS, 79 Mid Cape Terr Ste 8, Cape Coral, FL 33991. Please specify which city you are requesting a postmark for—Fort Myers or Cape Coral; if not specified, the postmark applied will be for the return address city. All orders must be postmarked by March 9, 2009.

For more information about purchasing stamps, stamps by mail, postal regulations, a free subscription to USA Philatelic magazine, Post Office events, the location of the nearest postal store or contract unit, or for answers to your specific Postal Service questions, contact USPS at 1-800-275-8777, or visit www.usps.com.

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