New plate number discovered on $5 Floral Geometry stamp

By Charles Snee

In mid-September Linn’s Stamp News learned of a new plate number for the United States $5 Floral Geometry stamp (Scott 5701) that was issued June 20, 2022.

Foster Miller of Maryland provided Linn’s with a picture of a pane of four, illustrated on this page, showing plate number B2222 in the top and bottom selvage margins. The “B” prefix represents printer Banknote Corporation of America of Browns Summit, N.C., one of the U.S. Postal Service’s two contract printers.

Miller said that he recently ordered some $5 Floral Geometry stamps from the Stamp Fulfillment Services mail-order center in Kansas City, Mo. He bought them for use on packages, he told Linn’s.

“The $5 Floral Geometry stamp was reprinted in 2024,” Postal Service spokesman Jim McKean told Linn’s. “The plate number change was due to a paper change and a change from 9 [pane] positions to 6 positions.”

The first two Floral Geometry stamps, denominated $2 and $5 (Scott 5700 and 5701), were issued June 20, 2022, in Kansas City, Mo. The $2 stamp was issued in panes of 10, and the $5 stamp in panes of four.

A $10 stamp (Scott 5755) in panes of four joined the series Feb. 24, 2023, the first day of the Feb. 24-26 San Diego Stamp Show.

The $1 Floral Geometry stamp (Scott 5853), the final stamp in the series, was issued in panes of 10 April 26 at the Westpex 2024 stamp show in Burlingame, Calif., near San Francisco.

The $1 stamp features six circles overlapping to form a central pattern that looks like a four-petal flower. Dots in the shape of a stylized six-point star make other geometric patterns.

In a similar but somewhat more complex arrangement on the $2 stamp, six circles overlap to form a symmetrical pattern that resembles a flower with six petals. Arrangements of dots combine with the circles to form additional geometric shapes.

More complexity appears in the design of the $5 stamp, which features the same pattern of circles, additional lines and different dot patterns. A triangle can be seen in combination with the flowerlike pattern.

Even greater intricacy is exhibited in the design of the $10 stamp, which features a hexagon at the center. A flower with six symmetrical petals is nested inside the hexagon.

Spaeth Hill, a contemporary design firm in Alexandria, Va., designed the four Floral Geometry stamps. The Postal Service described the designs as “a series of overlapping geometric shapes that mimic the symmetry of floral patterns found in nature. … The watercolor backgrounds and the glimmer of the foil-stamped designs and typography create a sophisticated look.”

Banknote Corporation of America printed the Floral Geometry stamps using offset lithography with foil stamping. The geometric design, denomination and “USA” were printed using Kurz silver foil with an Alufin satin gloss.

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