Philately

STAMP ANNOUNCEMENT 06-17

The Art of Disney: Romance Stamps

The Postal ServiceTM will issue 39-cent commemorative stamps, The Art of Disney: Romance, in four designs, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 (Item 568000), on April 21, 2006, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The stamps, designed by David Pacheco, Burbank, California, go on sale nationwide April 22, 2006.

With this stamp pane, the U.S. Postal Service honors the art of romance as imagined by Walt Disney and his studio animators. With help from some of Walt Disney's famous animated characters, Postal Service art director Terrence McCaffrey joined with a Disney team including artist Peter Emmerich and creative director David Pacheco to create four stamps that feature the following characters:

• Cinderella and Prince Charming.

• Beauty and the Beast.

• Lady and Tramp.

• Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

This is the third stamp pane honoring the art of Disney to be issued by the Postal Service. The first, issued in 2004, was on the theme of friendship. The second, issued in 2005, focused on celebrations.

How to Order First Day of Issue Postmark

Customers have 30 days to obtain the first day of issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post OfficeTM, by telephone at 800-STAMP-24, and at The Postal Store Web site at www.usps.com/shop. 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:

[Information not available at time of printing.]

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. All orders must be postmarked by May 20, 2006.

Second Day Postmarks

Due to copyright agreements with the Walt Disney Company, only the following pictorial postmarks are permitted. Post Offices planning events are prohibited from designing their own special pictorial postmark. The word "Station" or the abbreviation "STA" is required somewhere in the design, because it will be a temporary station.

Guidelines for Finalizing The Art of Disney: Romance Stamp Pictorial Postmark Art

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To finalize The Art of Disney: Romance stamp pictorial postmark art, insert the date, city, state, and ZIP CodeTM 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 inch.

How to Order 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
US POSTAL SERVICE
PO BOX 219014
KANSAS CITY MO 64121-9014

Philatelic Products

There are 6 philatelic products available for this stamp issue:

• 568063 - First Day Covers (Set of 4) - $3.08.

• 568065 - Digital Color Postmark FDC Random Single - $1.50.

• 568066 - Postal Stamped Card - $9.95.

• 568068 - Digital Color Postmark FDC (Set of 4) - $6.00.

• 568088 - Prints (Set of 4) - $14.95.

• 568099 - Digital Color Postmark Keepsake (Pane w/4 DCP FDC) - $13.80.

These products will be available while supplies last at postal stores, online at www.usps.com, and by telephone at 800-STAMP-24.

Distribution: Item 568000, 39-cent The Art of Disney: Romance, PSA Pane of 20 Stamps

Stamp distribution offices (SDOs) will receive approximately one and one-half times their full standard automatic distribution quantity for a PSA sheet stamp. Distributions are rounded up to the nearest master carton size (40,000 stamps).

Initial Supply to Post Offices

SDOs will make a subsequent automatic distribution to Post Offices of their full standard automatic distribution quantity using PS Form 17, Stamp Requisition/Stamp Return. SDOs must not distribute stamps to Post Offices before April 14, 2006.

Philatelic Requirement

SDOs will not receive a separate quantity Item 568000 for their authorized philatelic centers. Philatelic centers must be supplied their quantities from the initial automatic distribution made to SDOs.

Additional Supply

Post Offices requiring additional stamps must requisition Item 568000 from their designated SDO using PS Form 17. SDOs requiring additional stamps must order them from the appropriate accountable paper depository (APD) using PS Form 17.

For fulfilling supplemental orders from SDOs, the San Francisco, Chicago, Memphis, and New York APDs will each receive 4,000,000 additional stamps; and the Denver APD will receive 1,440,000 additional stamps. The Kansas City Stamp Services Center will receive 8,000,000 additional stamps for fulfilling supplemental orders from the APDs.

Sales Policy

All Post Offices must acquire and maintain a supply of each new commemorative stamp as long as customer demand exists, until inventory is depleted, or until the stamp is officially withdrawn from sale. If supplies run low, Post Offices must reorder additional quantities using their normal ordering procedures.

— Stamp Services,
Government Relations, 3-16-06