©2018 USPS
On October 11, 2018, in Pigeon Forge, TN, the U.S. Postal Service® will issue the Sparkling Holidays stamps (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate) in four designs, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive booklet of 20 stamps (Item 682100). The stamps will go on sale nationwide October 11, 2018, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue.
The U.S. Postal Service® celebrates Christmas with Sparkling Holidays, four new stamps featuring classic images of Santa Claus painted by famed commercial artist Haddon Sundblom. Each of the four images portraying a close-up of Santa’s face are details from larger paintings created by Sundblom and originally published in ads for The Coca-Cola Company from the 1940s through the early 1960s. Sundblom is the man credited with refining the modern image of Santa Claus. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamps.
Stamp Fulfillment Services will make an automatic push distribution to Post Offices of a quantity to cover approximately 30 days of sales. Distribution quantities for the automatic push distribution are available by logging on to SFS Web at sfsweb.usps.gov. Post Offices may begin ordering stamps on the first-day-of-issue through SFS Web; offices must also check the amount they will receive in their automatic push distribution.
Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office™ or at The Postal Store® website at usps.com/shop. They must affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:
FDOI – Sparkling Holidays Stamps
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900
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. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by February 11, 2019.
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 USA Philatelic publication and online at http://usps.com/shop. Customers may register to receive a free USA Philatelic publication online at usps.com/philatelic.
Locally produced items are not authorized. Only merchandise that has been approved and assigned an item number by Headquarters Retail Marketing may be produced and sold.
Issue:
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Sparkling Holidays Stamps
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Item Number:
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682100
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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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Double-Sided Booklet of 20 (4 designs)
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Series:
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N/A
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Issue Date & City:
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October 11, 2018, Pigeon Forge, TN 37862
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Art Director:
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Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
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Designer:
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Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
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Typographer:
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Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
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Existing Art:
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Haddon Sundblom
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Modeler:
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Joseph Sheeran
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Manufacturing Process:
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Offset
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Printer:
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Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)
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Press Type:
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Muller A76
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Stamps per Booklet:
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20
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Print Quantity:
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1,000,000,000 stamps
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Paper Type:
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Nonphosphored Type III, Block Tag
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Adhesive Type:
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Pressure-sensitive
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Processed at:
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Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)
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Colors:
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PMS 872 Gold, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
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Stamp Orientation:
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Vertical
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Image Area (w x h):
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0.77 x 1.05 in./19.558 x 26.67 mm
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Stamp Size (w x h):
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0.91 x 1.19 in./23.114 x 30.226 mm
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Full Booklet Size (w x h):
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5.76 x 2.38 in./146.304 x 60.452 mm
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Press Sheet Size (w x h):
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23.29 x 4.76 in./ 591.566 x 120.904 mm
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Plate Size:
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880 stamps per revolution
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Plate Numbers:
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“P” followed by five (5) single digits
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Marginal Markings:
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Front:
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Header: “Sparkling Holidays” Twenty First-Class Forever Stamps • Plate number in peel strip area
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Back:
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©2018 USPS in peel strip area • Barcode • Promotional text in peel strip area
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— Stamp Services, Marketing, 8-30-18