Philately

Stamp Announcement 08-29: Celebrate!

42-cent Celebrate! stamp

On July 10, 2008, in Washington, DC, the Postal Service™ will issue a 42-cent, Celebrate! special stamp in one design in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 (Item 572000). Designed by Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, Maryland, the stamp goes on sale nationwide July 10, 2008.

The stamp was previously issued as a 41-cent PSA pane of 20 (Item 570500) on August 17, 2007.

How to Order the First Day of Issue Postmark

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:

CELEBRATE stamp
POSTMASTER
SPECIAL CANCELLATIONS
PO BOX 92282
WASHINGTON DC 20090-2282

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 September 11, 2007.

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 two 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.

Distribution: Item 572000, 42-cent Celebrate, PSA Pane of 20 Stamps

Stamp distribution offices (SDOs) will receive approxi­mately 55 to 60 percent of 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 one-half their full standard automatic distri­bution quantity using PS Form 17, Stamp Requisition/Stamp Return. SDOs must not distribute stamps to Post Offices before July 3, 2008.

Additional Supply

Post Offices requiring additional stamps must requisi­tion Item 572000 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 Chicago, New York, Memphis, and San Francisco APDs will each receive 4,000,000 additional stamps; and the Denver APD will receive 1,040,000 additional stamps.

The Kansas City Stamp Services Center will receive 4,800,000 additional stamps for fulfilling supplemental orders from 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.

 

Issue:

Celebrate!

Item Number:

572000

Denomination &
Type of Issue:


42-cent Special

Format:

Pane of 20 (1 design)

Series:

N/A

Issue Date & City:

July 10, 2008,
Washington, DC 20066
(No Ceremony)

Designer:

Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD

Art Director:

Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD

Artist:

Nicholas Wilton, San Geronimo, CA

Typographer:

Nicholas Wilton, San Geronimo, CA

Modeler:

Donald Woo

Manufacturing Process:

Offset/Microprinting “USPS”

Engraver:

N/A

Printer:

Banknote Corporation of America,
Inc./Sennett Security Products
(SSP/BCA)

Printed at:

Browns Summit, NC

Press Type:

Alprinta, 74

Stamps per Pane:

20

Print Quantity:

75 million stamps

Paper Type:

Phosphor Tagged, Overall

Adhesive Type:

Pressure-sensitive

Processed at:

Unique Binders, Fredericksburg, VA

Colors:

Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black

Stamp Orientation:

Vertical

Image Area (w x h):

0.75 x 1.03 in./19.05 x 26.16 mm

Overall Size (w x h):

0.91 x 1.19 in./23.11 x 30.23 mm

Full Pane Size (w x h):

5.55 x 5.76 in./140.97 x 146.30 mm

Plate Size:

320 stamps per revolution

Plate Numbers:

“S” followed by four (4) single digits

Marginal Markings:

 

Front:

©2007 USPS • Plate position
diagram • Price • Plate numbers
in four corners of pane

Back:

4 barcodes (572000) • USPS logo