Stamp Services

Stamp Announcement 19-25: State and County Fairs Stamps

©2018 USPS

On July 25, 2019, in Minot, ND, the United States Postal Service^® will issue the State and County Fairs stamps (Forever^® priced at the First-Class Mail^® rate) in four designs, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive pane of 20 stamps (Item 479300). The stamps will go on sale nationwide July 25, 2019, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue. The State and County Fairs pane of 20 stamps may not be split and the stamps may not be sold individually.

Four whimsical, se-tenant stamps celebrate the fun of America‘s state and county fairs. The stamps were designed to work together as a panorama of fair activities, while each stamp also works as an individual picture:

n Farmers unloading produce behind a white fence.

n A child holding a chicken sits atop the same fence, with carnival rides — a Ferris wheel and merry-go-round — in the background.

n Fairgoers admiring the livestock behind the fence while others walk, balloons in hand, toward a sweets stand, with carnival rides in the background.

n Children at the sweets stand buying treats from the vendor.

The art director was Greg Breeding, and Mike Ryan designed the stamps with original art by Mick Wiggins.

Availability to Post Offices: Item 479300, State and County Fairs (Forever Priced at the First-Class Mail Rate) Commemorative Pane of 20 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 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.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark

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 – State and County Fairs 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 November 25, 2019.

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 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.

— Stamp Services, Marketing, 6-20-19