© 2010 USPS
On May 5, 2011, in San Diego, California, the Postal Service™ will issue a Purple Heart with Ribbon definitive stamp (Forever® priced at 44 cents), in one design in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 114900). With the issuance of the Purple Heart with Ribbon stamp, the U.S. Postal Service® again honors the sacrifices of the men and women who serve in the U.S. military. The Purple Heart is awarded in the name of the president of the United States to members of the U.S. military who have been wounded or killed in action.
The new stamp, designed by Jennifer Arnold, Washington, DC, features a photograph taken by Ira Wexler, Braddock Heights, Maryland, of the Purple Heart medal awarded during World War II to 1st Lieutenant Arthur J. Rubin (1917–1978). In 2003, the Postal Service issued its first Purple Heart stamp. It featured a photograph, also taken by Wexler, of a Purple Heart awarded to Lt. Colonel James Loftus Fowler (USMC) in 1968 following an action on the border between North and South Vietnam.
The stamp, art directed by William Gicker, Washington, DC, will go on sale nationwide May 5, 2011.
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:
Issue:
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Purple Heart with Ribbon
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Item Number:
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114900
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Denomination & Type of Issue:
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First-Class Mail Forever
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Format:
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Pane of 20 (1 design)
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Series:
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N/A
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Issue Date & City:
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May 5, 2011, San Diego, CA 92199
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Designer:
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Jennifer Arnold, Washington, DC
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Art Director:
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William Gicker, Washington, DC
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Typographer:
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Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
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Photographer:
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Ira Wexler, Braddock Heights, MD
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Modeler:
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Donald Woo
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Manufacturing Process:
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Offset/Microprint “USPS”
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Engraver:
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N/A
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Printer:
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Banknote Corporation of America, Inc./SSP
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Printed at:
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Browns Summit, NC
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Press Type:
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Alprinta, 74
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Stamps per Pane:
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20
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Print Quantity:
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500 million stamps
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Paper Type:
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Phosphor Tagged, Block
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Adhesive Type:
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Pressure-sensitive
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Processed at:
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Unique Binders, Fredericksburg, VA
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Colors:
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Purple, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black, 266 (Purple), 1805 (Red), 7401 (Beige)
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Stamp Orientation:
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Vertical
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Image Area (w x h):
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0.71 x 0.82 in./18.03 x 20.83 mm
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Overall Size (w x h):
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0.87 x 0.98 in./22.10 x 24.89 mm
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Full Pane Size (w x h):
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5.35 x 4.88 in./135.89 x 123.95 mm
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Plate Size:
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200 stamps per revolution
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Plate Numbers:
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“S” followed by eight (8) single digits
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Marginal Markings:
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Front:
Back:
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Header: “Purple Heart The Medal for the Combat Wounded” • Plate block numbers in four corners • 2010 USPS
• USPS logo • Plate position diagram
• Barcode (114900) in four corners
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Purple Heart with Ribbon Stamp
PO Box 85530
San Diego, CA 92186-5530
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 July 5, 2011.
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 three philatelic products available for this stamp issue:
n 114961*, First Day Cover, $0.88.
n 114991*, Ceremony Program, $6.95.
n 114993, Keepsake, $9.95.
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) and stamp distribution centers (SDCs) will receive a standard distribution of the Purple Heart with Ribbon (Forever @ 44 cents) stamp. Distributions are rounded up to the nearest master carton size of 40,000 stamps.
SDOs/SDCs will not make a subsequent automatic distribution to Post Offices for this item. Post Offices should continue to maintain, order, and sell existing inventories of the current Purple Heart and order the new version as existing inventories of the current Purple Heart depletes as determined by the servicing SDO/SDC. SDOS/SDCs will continue to ship the current Purple Heart stamp, Item 113700, until their inventory is depleted. SDOs/SDCs must not distribute Item 114900 to Post Offices before April 20, 2011.
All Post Offices must acquire and maintain a supply of each new commemorative stamp for a minimum of 90 days from the first day of issue, and beyond that 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. Post Offices serving communities or areas with military installations, veteran organizations, and Veterans Administration facilities should ensure they keep sufficient supplies of this stamp on hand.
— Stamp Services,
Government Relations and Public Policy, 4-7-11
