ATM pane added to the mix of Winter Fun forever stamps

The United States Winter Fun forever stamps will be issued in two different formats Oct. 23 in New York City.

The four forever stamps will be available in an ATM pane of 18 in addition to the previously announced double-sided pane of 20 in convertible booklet format.

Pictured nearby is a preliminary image of the convertible booklet stamps. The ATM stamps will be smaller and more square in shape.

The new format was first reported by the Postal Service just one week before the issue date, with a brief mention in the Oct. 16 issue of its Postal Bulletin.

The Winter Fun stamps are being issued at an 11 a.m. first-day ceremony at the New York Hilton Midtown, 1335 Avenue of the Americas, during the American Stamp Dealers Association’s National Postage Stamp Show.

Stamp printer Ashton Potter manufactured 36 million Winter Fun ATM stamps. No press sheets are planned for the ATM pane.

Stamped envelopes with two of the Winter Fun designs were issued Oct. 1, as reported on page 10 of this issue.

Technical details and first-day-cancel ordering information for the Winter Fun forever stamps are provided below.

Nondenominated (49¢) Winter Fun forever stamps, ATM pane of 18

FIRST DAY— Oct. 23, 2014; city— New York, NY 10199, and nationwide.

DESIGN: artists— Janet Atkinson (Ice Skating), Jing Jing Tsong (Snowman, Snow Angels), Christine Roy (Bird Watching); designer, typographer and art director— Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, Md.; modeler— Joseph Sheeran.

PRINTING: process— offset with microprinting; printer and processor— Ashton Potter USA Ltd., Williamsville, N.Y.; press— Muller Martini A76; inks— cyan, magenta, yellow, black; paper— nonphosphored type Ill, block tagging; gum— self-adhesive; issue quantity— 36 million stamps; format— ATM pane of 18, from 720-subject cylinders; size— 0.73 inches by 0.84 inches (image); 0.87 inches by 0.98 inches (overall); 2.61 inches by 6.125 inches (full pane); plate numbers— “P” followed by four single digits; marginal markings— plate numbers (stamp side); “©2014 USPS,” USPS logo, “Winter Fun,” “Eighteen First-Class Forever Stamps,” bar code, promotional information (back side); USPS item No.— 588604.

First-day cancel ordering information

Standard ordering instructions apply. Collectors requesting first-day cancels are encouraged to purchase their own stamps and affix them to envelopes. The first-day cover envelopes should be addressed for return (a removable label may be used), and mailed in a larger envelope addressed to Winter Fun Stamps, Special Events Coordinator, 380 W. 33rd St., Room 4032, New York, NY 10199-9998. Requests for first-day cancels must be postmarked by Dec. 22.

The Postal Service’s uncacheted set of four first-day covers for the Winter Fun stamps is USPS item No. 588616 at $3.72.