© 2023 USPS
On March 9, 2024, in Church Creek, MD, the United States Postal Service® will issue The Underground Railroad stamps (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate) in 10 designs, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 484600). These stamps will go on sale nationwide March 9, 2024, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue. The Underground Railroad commemorative pane of 20 stamps must not be split and the stamps must not be sold individually.
From the time slavery was introduced to the Colonies until it was abolished in 1865, enslaved people tried to escape it. This stamp issuance commemorates the Underground Railroad, as their resistance efforts became known. The pane of 20 stamps depicts 10 men and women who escaped slavery or helped others escape. The top third of each stamp features a sepia-toned portrait of one individual:
n Catharine Coffin,
n Frederick Douglass,
n Thomas Garrett,
n Laura Haviland,
n Lewis Hayden,
n Harriet Jacobs,
n William Lambert,
n Rev. Jermain Loguen,
n William Still, and
n Harriet Tubman.
Below each portrait are eight lines of text: BLACK/WHITE; COOPERATION; TRUST/DANGER; FLIGHT/FAITH; COURAGE/RISK; DEFIANCE/HOPE; UNDERGROUND; RAILROAD/USA. Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamps using existing photographs.
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/sfsweb. Post Offices may begin ordering stamps before the first-day-of-issue through SFS Web; offices must also check the amount they will receive on 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 store.usps.com/store/home. 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 – The Underground Railroad 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 July 9, 2024.
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 store.usps.com/store/home. 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.
Issue:
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The Underground Railroad Stamps
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Item Number:
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484600
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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 20 (10 designs)
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Series:
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N/A
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Issue Date & City:
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March 9, 2024, Church Creek, MD 21622
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Art Director:
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Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA
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Designer:
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Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA
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Typographer:
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Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA
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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
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Press Type:
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Muller
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Stamps per Pane:
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A76
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Print Quantity:
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20,000,000
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Paper Type:
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Nonphosphored Type III, Block Tag Applied
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Adhesive Type:
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Pressure-sensitive
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Colors:
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Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow
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Stamp Orientation:
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Vertical
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Image Area (w x h):
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0.8400 x 1.4200 in. / 21.3360 x
36.0680 mm
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Overall Size (w x h):
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0.9800 x 1.5600 in. / 24.8920 x
39.6240 mm
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Full Pane Size (w x h):
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5.9200 x 7.6250 in. / 150.3680 x
193.6750 mm
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Press Sheets Size (w x h):
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11.8400 x 22.8750 in. / 300.7360 x
581.0250 mm
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Plate Size:
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240 stamps per revolution
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Plate Number:
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“P” followed by four (4) single digits in bottom two corners
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Marginal Markings:
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Front:
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Header: THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD • Plate number in bottom two corners
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Back:
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Header: NETWORK TO FREEDOM • Routes of the Underground Railroad • Descriptive text for each stamp honoree • © 2023 USPS • USPS logo • One barcode (484600) • Plate position diagram (6) • Promotional text
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— Stamp Services,
Marketing, 2-8-24
