On October 2, 2008, in Empire, Michigan, at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, the Postal Service™ will issue 42-cent Nature of America: Great Lakes Dunes commemorative stamps in 10 designs. Designed by Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, Maryland, the stamps go on sale nationwide October 2, 2008.
Nature of America: Great Lakes Dunes stamps will be available in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) souvenier sheet of 10 (Item 462700) and a $13.95 premium stamped postal card booklet of 10 (Item 896700).
The Great Lakes Dunes is the tenth stamp pane in the Nature of America’s educational series that features the beauty and complexity of major plant and animal communities in the United States.
Previous issuances in the Nature of America series were Sonoran Desert (1999), Pacific Coast Rain Forest (2000), Great Plains Prairie (2001), Longleaf Pine Forest (2002), Arctic Tundra (2003), Pacific Coral Reef (2004), Northeast Deciduous Forest (2005), Southern Florida Wetlands (2006), and Alpine Tundra (2007)
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:
Nature of America: The Great Lakes Dunes Stamp
Great Lakes Dunes
First Day of Issue
10234 West Front St.
Empire, MI 49630-9998
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 December 3, 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
U.S. Postal Service
PO Box 219014
Kansas City, MO 64121-9014
There are six philatelic products available for this stamp issue:
- 462762*, First Day Cover w/Full Pane, $6.70.
- 462764*, Cancelled Full Pane, $6.70.
- 462766/896700/896701, Premium Stamped Cards, $8.95.
- 462784*, Uncut Press Sheet, $33.60.
- 462791*, Ceremony Program w/10 stamps, $6.95.
- 462793*, First Day Cover Keepsake, $10.90.
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 28 to 30 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/20,000 stamps).
SDOs will make a subsequent automatic distribution to Post Offices of 25 percent their standard automatic distribution quantities using PS Form 17, Stamp Requisition/Stamp Return. SDOs must not distribute this commemorative sheet to Post Offices before September 26, 2008.
Post Offices requiring additional commemorative sheets must requisition Item 462700 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 Chicago APD will receive 264,000 additional commemorative sheets and the New York, Memphis, and San Francisco APDs will each receive 124,000 additional commemorative sheets.
Issue:
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Nature of America: Great Lakes Dunes
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Item Number:
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462700
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Denomination & Type of Issue:
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42-cent Commemorative
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Format:
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Souvenir Sheet of 10 (10 designs)
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Series:
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Nature of America
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Issue Date & City:
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October 2, 2008, Empire, MI 49630
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Designer:
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Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
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Art Director:
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Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
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Typographer:
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Greg Berger, Bethesda, MD
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Artist:
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John Dawson, Hilo, HI
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Engraver:
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Keating Gravure
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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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10
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Print Quantity:
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35 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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Cyan, Yellow, Magenta, Black, PMS 299 (Blue), PMS 5635 (Green/Gray)
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Stamp Orientation:
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Horizontal and Vertical
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Image Area (w x h):
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1.42 x 1.085 in./36.07 x 27.56 mm
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Overall Size (w x h):
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1.56 x 1.225 in./39.62 x 31.12 mm
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Full Pane Size (w x h):
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9.125 x 6.75 in./231.78 x 171.45 mm
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Plate Size:
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80 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, “GREAT LAKES DUNES Tenth in a Series, Nature of America”
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Back:
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© 2007 USPS • Barcode “462700” • Paragraph about Great Lakes Dunes and descriptions of plants and animals • “Great Lake Dunes: Nature of America” • “This series of stamps features the beauty and complexity of plant and animal communities in the United States”
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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 $4.20 Great Lakes Dunes Commemorative Sheet may not be split and the stamps may not be sold individually.
Issue:
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Nature of America: Great Lakes Dunes
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Item Number:
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896700
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Denomination & Type of Issue:
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27-cent Premium Stamped Postal Card
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Format:
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$13.95 Stamped Postal Card Booklet of 10 (10 designs)
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Series:
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N/A
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Issue Date & City:
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October 2, 2008, Empire, MI 49630
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Designer:
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Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
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Art Director:
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Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
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Typographer:
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Greg Berger, Bethesda, MD
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Artist:
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John Dawson, Hilo, HI
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Modeler:
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Joseph Sheeran
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Engraver:
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N/A
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Manufacturing Process:
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Offset
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Printer:
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Sterling Sommer, Inc.
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Printed at:
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Tonawanda, NY
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Finishers:
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Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)
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Finished at
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Williamsville, NY
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Press Type:
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Heidelberg, Speedmaster
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Print Quantity:
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150,600 cards
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Paper Type:
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Nonphosphored,Type III, Block
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Adhesive Type:
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N/A
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Colors:
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Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, PMS 299 (Blue)
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Card Orientation:
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Horizontal
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Image Area (w x h):
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7.00 x 5.00 in./177.80 x 127.00 mm
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Overall Size (w x h):
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7.00 x 10.00 in./177.80 x 254.00 mm
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Plate Size:
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18 cards per revolution
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Plate Numbers:
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N/A
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Marginal Markings:
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N/A
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(Other) Front:
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Header, “GREAT LAKES DUNES”
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Back:
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© 2008 USPS • Stamp image • Header, “NATURE OF AMERICA” • Informational text of each stamp image
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— Stamp Services,
Government Relations, 8-14-08