Stamp Announcement 21-6: Lunar New Year – Year of the Ox Stamp

©2020 USPS

On February 2, 2021, in Chicago, IL, the United States Postal Service® will issue the Lunar New Year – Year of the Ox stamp (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate) in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 480100). This stamp will go on sale nationwide February 2, 2021, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue. The Lunar New Year – Year of the Ox commemorative pane of 20 stamps must not be split and the stamps must not be sold individually.

In 2021, the United States Postal Service issues the second of 12 stamps in a new series of Lunar New Year stamps. Calling to mind the elaborately decorated masks used in the dragon or lion dances often performed during Lunar New Year parades, these 3-dimensional masks are a contemporary take on the long tradition of paper-cut folk art crafts created during this auspicious time of year. The ox mask in the stamp design incorporates elements with symbolic meaning. Several of the patterns were created with the style of Asian textiles in mind as well as purple flowers that represent the arrival of spring, which Lunar New Year also signals in Chinese culture. The star in the center of the ox’s head references the celestial themes of the Chinese zodiac. Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamp with original art by Camille Chew.

Availability to Post Offices: Item 480100, Lunar New Year – Year of the Ox (Forever Priced at the First-Class Mail Rate) Commemorative PSA Pane of 20 Stamps

Stamp Fulfillment Services will not make an automatic push distribution to Post Offices. Post Offices may begin ordering stamps before the first-day-of-issue through SFS Web at sfsweb.usps.gov.

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 – Lunar New Year – Year of the Ox 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 June 2, 2021.

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 catalog and online at usps.com/shop. Customers may register to receive a free USA Philatelic catalog 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, 12-31-20