Stamp Announcement 11-16: George Washington

© 2011 USPS

On April 11, 2011, in Washington, DC, the Postal Ser­vice™ will issue a 20-cent George Washington defini­tive stamp in one design in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 101600) and a PSA coil of 100 stamps (Item 771800). The stamp, designed by Derry Noyes, Washington, DC, will go on sale nationwide April 11, 2011.

This stamp features a portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart (1755–1828), one of the most celebrated American painters of his era. The painting shown on the stamp is an oil-on-canvas copy Stuart made of a portrait he did from life in 1796.

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™ facility, at The Postal Store^® website 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:

George Washington Stamp
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 June 11, 2011.

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
U.S. Postal Service
PO Box 219014
Kansas City, MO 64121-9014

Philatelic Products

There are two philatelic products available for this stamp issue:

• 101662*, First Day Cover. $1.08.
• 771862*, First Day Cover, $1.08.

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 101600, 20-cent George Washington PSA Pane of 20 Stamps

Stamp distribution offices (SDOs) and stamp distribu­tion centers (SDCs) will receive approximately 150 percent of their standard automatic distribution quantity for a PSA sheet stamp. Distributions are rounded up to the nearest master carton size of 40,000 stamps.

Initial Supply for Post Offices

SDOs/SDCs will not make a subsequent automatic dis­tribution to Post Offices. Post Offices requiring quantities of Item 101600 must requisition them from their designated SDO/SDC using PS Form 17, Stamp Requisition/Stamp Return. SDOs/SDCs must not distribute this definitive sheet to Post Offices before March 28, 2011.

Additional Supply

For fulfilling supplemental orders from Post Offices, all SDOs and SDCs will receive additional definitive sheets.

Distribution: Item 771800, 20-cent George Washington PSA Coil of 100 Stamps

All SDOs and SDCs will receive automatic distributions of the George Washington denominated stamp, PSA coil of 100. Item 771800 will be distributed at the $20.00 rate. Dis­tributions are rounded up to nearest master carton size (800 coils). Distributions will be in multiple waves.

Initial Supply for Post Offices

SDOs/SDCs will not make a subsequent automatic dis­tribution of Item 771800 to Post Offices. All Post Offices requiring quantities of Item 771800 must order them from their designated SDO/SDC using PS Form 17. SDOs must not distribute coils to Post Offices before March 28, 2011.

— Stamp Services,
Government Relations and Public Policy, 3-10-11