Issue dates announced for Sharks and Flowers

By Michael Baadke

The United States Postal Service has revealed issue dates and locations for two previously announced stamp sets.

The Sharks set of five forever stamps will be issued July 26 in Newport, Ky. Although additional details were not released, the city just south of Cincinnati, Ohio, is home to the Newport Aquarium, which includes exhibits of sharks and other underwater creatures.

The stamps in the Sharks set picture a shortfin mako shark, pelagic thresher shark, great white shark, whale shark, and scalloped hammerhead shark. The stamps are being issued in a pane of 20.

The Flowers from the Garden set of four forever stamps will be issued Aug. 16 in Sioux Falls, S.D. The stamps showing red camellias, white hydrangeas with roses, peonies, and blue hydrangeas are planned as a double-sided pane of 20 (described as a booklet by the Postal Service).

The Postal Service also clarified that the forever stamp honoring Father Ted Hesburgh will be issued in Notre Dame, Ind. An earlier USPS statement gave the official first-day location as South Bend.

The new dates and locations will be included in Linn’s  2017 U.S. Stamp Program.