Politics & Government

A Dragon Stamp is 'Forever,' This New Year

The new 45-cent stamp is one in the second series of Chinese horoscope stamps that U.S Postal Service began in 1993.

The U.S. Postal Service unveiled in San Francisco the new 'Forever' stamp Monday, just in time for the Lunar New Year—and a 1-cent price hike. 

The stamp is part of a series by artist New York artist Kim Mak, that began with the Year of the Rat in 2008. The Chinese horoscope is based on a 12-year cycle, and the postal service commissioned its first series 1993 to 2004, using the work of Hawaii-based artist Clarence Lee.

The stamp can be purchased in Los Altos at the  at 221 Main St., or at the postal station .  

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For those interested in stamp-collecting, Postal Service issued these instructions for how to order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark, Year of the Dragon Forever Stamp: Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at a local Post Office, at The Postal Store website at usps.com/shop or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others) and place them in larger envelopes addressed to:

Lunar New Year: Year of the Dragon Stamp, Postmaster, 180 Steuart Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-9992

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After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes by mail. There is no charge for the postmark. All orders must be postmarked by March 23, 2012.

The postal service has a full list of the types of stamp products for this issue that can be ordered.

There are more stamps found on the Postal Service's Facebook page, facebook.com/USPSStamps, and a preview of upcoming stamps on the website, Beyond the Perf.


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