On January 9, 2008, in San Francisco, California, the Postal Service™ will issue a 41-cent, Celebrating Lunar New Year commemorative stamp in one design in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) commemorative sheet of 12 stamps (Item 571300). Designed by Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, Maryland, the stamp goes on sale nationwide January 9, 2008. The $4.92 Celebrating Lunar New Year commemorative sheet may not be split, and the stamps may not be sold individually.
In observance of the Lunar New Year holiday, the U.S. Postal Service® introduces a new series of Lunar New Year stamps beginning in 2008. The series will continue through 2019 with stamps issued consecutively to celebrate the Year of the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar.
Ethel Kessler worked on the new series with illustrator Kam Mak of Brooklyn, New York, and chose festive red lanterns that are common decoration at such celebrations where they are frequently hung in rows. Kessler also incorporated elements from the previous series of Lunar New Year stamps designed by Clarence Lee of Honolulu, Hawaii, who created paper-cut designs for all of the twelve animals associated with the Chinese lunar calendar as well as the caligraphic chinese characters drawn by Lau Bun, also of Honolulu.
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® Web site at www.usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-STAMP-24. 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:
CELEBRATING Lunar nEW yEAR STAMP
POSTMASTER
special cancellations
po box 880066
San francisco ca 94188-0066
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 March 8, 2008.
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
There are seven philatelic products available for this stamp issue:
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.
Stamp distribution offices (SDOs) will receive approximately 60 percent of their standard automatic distribution quantity for a PSA sheet stamp. Distributions are rounded up to the nearest master carton size (2,000 commemorative sheets/24,000 stamps).
SDOs will make a subsequent automatic distribution to Post Offices of one-half their standard automatic distribution quantity using PS Form 17, Stamp Requisition/Stamp Return. SDOs must not distribute this commemorative sheet to Post Offices before January 3, 2008.
Post Offices requiring additional quantities of Item 571300 must requisition them from their designated SDO using PS Form 17. SDOs requiring additional commemorative sheets must order them from the appropriate accountable paper depository (APD) using PS Form 17.
For fulfilling supplemental orders from SDOs, the San Francisco APD will receive 600,000 additional commemorative sheets; the New York APD will receive 480,000 additional commemorative sheets; the Memphis and Chicago APDs will each receive 360,000 additional
Issue:
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Celebrating Lunar New Year
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Item Number:
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571300
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Denomination &
Type of Issue:
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41-cent Commemorative
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Format:
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Commemorative Sheet of 12
(1 design)
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Series:
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Lunar New Year
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Issue Date & City:
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January 9, 2008,
San Francisco, CA 94188
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Designer:
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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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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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Engraver:
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WRE ColorTech
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Modeler:
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Avery Dennison, SPD
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Manufacturing Process:
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Gravure
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Printer:
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Avery Dennison (AVR)
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Printed at:
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AVR, Clinton, SC
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Press Type:
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Dia Nippon Kiko (DNK)
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Stamps per Pane:
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12
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Print Quantity:
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72 million stamps
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Paper Type:
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Nonphosphored, Type III
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Adhesive Type:
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Pressure-sensitive
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Processed at:
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AVR, Clinton, SC
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Colors:
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Yellow, Magenta, PMS 187 (Red),
PMS 872 (Gold), PMS 533 (Blue),
PMS 132 (Brown)
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Color (verso):
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Black
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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 0.85 in./36.068 x 21.59 mm
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Overall Size (w x h):
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1.56 x 0.98 in./39.624 x 24.892 mm
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Full Pane Size (w x h):
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7.25 x 5.85 in./184.15 x 148.59 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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Front:
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Header “CELEBRATING LUNAR
NEW YEAR” • Depiction of
12 different paper-cut animals of
the lunar new year on each side
of pane • Enlarged partial image
of the rat as background
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Back:
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“CELEBRATING LUNAR NEW
YEAR” • 3 descriptive
paragraphs of the Lunar New
Year • USPS logo • © 2007
USPS • Price “.41 x 12=$4.92”
• Barcode “571300”
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commemorative sheets; and the Denver APD will receive 120,000 additional commemorative sheets.
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. The $4.92 Celebrating Lunar New Year commemorative sheet may not be split and the stamps may not be sold individually.
— Stamp Services,
Government Relations, 12-6-07
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