Stamp Announcement 14-51: Circus Souvenir Sheet

© 2014 USPS

On December 10, 2014, in Baraboo, WI, the U.S. Postal Service^® will issue a Circus souvenir sheet, available as single mint souvenir sheets exclusively in the 2014 Stamp Yearbook.

The U.S. Postal Service celebrates the joy of the big top with Circus, an individual mint souvenir sheet available exclusively as a bonus in the 2014 Stamp Yearbook. The issuance features a $1 stamp showcasing an iconic vintage circus poster and two identical 50-cent circus wagon 1900s stamps illustrated by Susan Sanford, which are new versions of a design originally issued in 1990. Made by the Strobridge Lithographing Company, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey poster features a clown tipping his cap and gesturing toward the circus. The circus wagon stamps showcase an illustration of the type of decorated wagon that routinely rolled into cities across America more than a century ago. Art director Jennifer Arnold designed the Circus souvenir sheet with selvage colors of red and gold, often used in circus imagery. The shape of the selvage is reminiscent of an ornately decorated circus wagon.

To learn more about the stories behind the stamps, visit http://uspsstamps.com.

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 the new 2014 Stamp Yearbook or the Uncut Press sheets at the Postal Store^® website at http://www.usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should affix the stamps or souvenir sheets to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

Circus Souvenir Sheet
Postmaster
303 Broadway Street
Baraboo, WI 53913-6738

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 up to a quantity of 50. For more than 50, customers have to pay five cents each. All orders must be postmarked by February 8, 2015.

How to Order First-Day Covers

The Postal Service 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, online at http://usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-782-6724. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-782-6724 or writing to:

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

Philatelic Products

There are two philatelic products for this stamp issue:

n 588708, Circus Souvenir Sheet, uncut press sheet, $24.00 (print quantity 10,000).

n 588716*, Circus Souvenir Sheet FDC (full pane), $4.50.

Note: Sheets included in the Yearbook will have Die cut stamps. FDC and uncut press sheets will not have Die cut stamps, but will include the Die-cut–to-shape around the souvenir sheets.

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 Services,
Marketing and Sales, 10-30-14