©2018 USPS
On January 17, 2019, in Houston, TX, the U.S. Postal Service® will issue the Year of the Boar stamp (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate) in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive pane of 12 stamps (Item 564900). The stamp will go on sale nationwide January 17, 2019, and must not be sold or cancelled before the first-day-of-issue. The Year of the Boar pane of 12 stamps may not be split and the stamps may not be sold individually.
Year of the Boar is the 12th and final stamp in the Celebrating Lunar New Year series. The Year of the Boar begins on February 5, 2019, and ends on January 24, 2020. The stamp art depicts several bright pink peach blossoms on a branch. Peach blossoms, which often bloom just in time for Lunar New Year, mark the beginning of spring in Chinese culture. Artist Kam Mak created this original painting. Art director and stamp designer Ethel Kessler incorporated elements from the previous series of Lunar New Year stamps, including Clarence Lee’s cut-paper design of a boar and the Chinese character for “boar” drawn in grass-style calligraphy by Lau Bun.
Stamp Fulfillment Services will complete an automatic push distribution to Post Offices of a quantity to cover approximately 30 days of sales. Distribution quantities for the automatic push distribution will be 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 on their automatic push distribution.
Only the following pictorial postmark is permitted for Year of the Boar stamp. The word “Station” or the abbreviation “STA” is required somewhere in the design, because it will be a temporary station. Use of any image other than the following special pictorial image is prohibited.
To finalize the Year of the Boar stamp pictorial postmark art, insert the date, city, state, and ZIP Code™ of the physical location of your event adjacent to the stamp image. Overall dimensions of the pictorial postmark must not exceed 4 inches (horizontally) by 2 inches (vertically). Collectors prefer the dimensions 3-1/2 inches by 1.
The Postal Service™ must make all special postmarks known to collectors through advance publicity in the Postal Bulletin. Therefore, all special dedication cancellations must be reported to Stamp Services 4 weeks before the event using PS Form 413, Pictorial Postmark Announcement/Report. To get a copy of the form, go to blue.usps.gov/formmgmt/forms/ps413.pdf.
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 – Year of the Boar Stamp
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 May 17, 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 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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Year of the Boar Stamp
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Item Number:
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564900
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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 12 (1 design)
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Series:
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Celebrating Lunar New Year
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Issue Date & City:
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January 17, 2019, Houston, TX 77074
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Art Director:
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Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
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Designer:
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Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
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Typographer:
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Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
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Artist:
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Kam Mak, Brooklyn, NY
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Modeler:
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Sandra Lane/Michelle Finn
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Manufacturing Process:
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Offset, Microprint
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Printer:
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Banknote Corporation of America
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Press Type:
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Alprinta 74
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Stamps per Pane:
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12
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Print Quantity:
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20,100,000 stamps
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Paper Type:
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Phosphor, Block Tag
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Adhesive Type:
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Pressure-sensitive
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Processed at:
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Banknote Corporation of America
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Colors:
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Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black, Pantone 3425, Pantone 872
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Stamp Orientation:
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Horizontal
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Image Area (w x h):
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1.42 x 0.84 in./36.068 x 21.336 mm
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Overall Size (w x h):
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1.56 x 0.98 in./39.624 x 24.892 mm
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Full Pane Size (w x h):
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7.24 x 5.92 in./183.896 x 150.368 mm
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Press Sheet Size
(w x h):
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21.97 x 11.965 in./558.038 x 303.911 mm
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Plate Size:
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144 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: CELEBRATING LUNAR NEW YEAR
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Back:
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©2018 USPS • USPS Logo • One barcode (564900) • Promotional text
• Celebrating Lunar New Year text
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— Stamp Services, Marketing, 12-20-18
