It is expected that the  first-class letter rate will be 34c each effective from early 2001, as recommended by the independent Postal Rate Commission in a decision presented to the Postal Service Nov. 13. To meet with the needs of new rate stamps , USPS revealed six nondenominated First Class designs on Dec. 15, showing the Statue of Liberty, the United States flag over  farm, and four different flowers.

There are quite a lot different formats for these new designs. The Statue of Liberty stamp, shows a ground-level photograph of the New York Harbor landmark from the waist up, will be issued in self-adhesive coils of 100,  self-adhesive vending booklets of 20, self-adhesive convertible booklets of 20, and coils of 3,000 stamps with water-activated adhesive. The nondenominated Flag Over Farm stamp will be issued as two different panes of 20 stamps: one self-adhesive and one with lick-and-stick gum. It will also be sold as a self-adhesive pane of 18 designed for dispensing from automatic teller machines (ATM). Four different stamps showing the freesia, symbidium orchid, longiflorum lily and Asian hybrid lily, make up the Four Flowers set. The Four Flowers stamps will be issued in two-sided convertible booklets of 20, vending booklets of 20 and coils of 100, all self-adhesive.

Each of these stamps will be inscribed "First-Class", instead of alphabetical indicators previously used on nondenominated stamps to signify the rate that was represented.  It is believed that one reason for the policy change was to avoid an inevitable flood of jokes about irate postal customers purchasing "I-rate" stamps. Although the "First-Class" indicator made these stamps seem to be the same as the first-class-rate stamps issued by many other countries, there is a big difference, that USPS will remain the value of these stamps at the value assigned when the stamp is issued, and will not honor these new first-class-rate stamps at any higher rate.

The Postal Service also plans to release denominated stamps using the same designs and inscribed with the actual face value after the new rates are approved.

 The Statue of Liberty measures more than 151 feet tall from its base to the tip of the extended torch, but the pedestal upon which it stands, at 154 feet, is even taller. The great copper sculpture was designed in France by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and shipped to the United States in 350 pieces. Although originally conceived as a gift from France to mark the U.S. centennial, the statue was dedicated 10 years later on Oct. 28, 1886.  For more than a century it has served to symbolize political freedom in the United States. The United Nations designated the Statue of Liberty a World Heritage Site in 1984.
 

Technical Details
 

name	Nondenominated Statue of Liberty
issue date	Dec. 15, 2000
photographer	Paul Hardy, New York, N.Y
designer, art director and typographer	Derry Noyes, Washington, D.C.
format	self-adhesive convertible booklets of 20	self-adhesive vending booklet of 20	self-adhesive coil of 100	coil of 3,000
modeler	Avery Dennison		BEP
printing process	gravure
printer	Avery Dennison, Clinton, S.C.		Bureau of Engraving and Printing
processor	Avery Dennison, Clinton, S.C.		Bureau of Engraving and Printing
press	Dia Nippon Kiko		Andreotti 601
colors	process cyan, magenta, yellow, black
paper	prephosphored type II		prephosphored type I
gum	self-adhesive			water-activated
print quantity	1.5 billion	200 million	1 billion	200 million
image size	.83 inches by .72 inches		.71 inches by .82 inches
overall size	.98 inches by .87 inches		.87 inches by .96 inches
plate numbers	"V" followed by four single digits		four single digits
marginal markings	"©USPS 2000," plate numbers, removal instructions

 

name	Nondenominated Flag Over Farm
issue date	Dec. 15, 2000
photographer	Hiro Kimura, Brooklyn, N.Y.
designer, art director and typographer	Richard Sheaff, Scottsdale, Ariz.
format	self-adhesive pane of 20	pane of 20	self-adhesive ATM pane of 18
modeler	Joseph Sheeran		Avery Dennison
printing process	offset lithography		gravure
printing contractor		Ashton Potter USA Ltd.
printer	Ashton Potter USA Ltd.	Sterling Sommer, Tonawanda, N.Y.	Avery Dennison, Clinton, S.C.
processor	Ashton Potter USA Ltd., Williamsville, N.Y		Avery Dennison, Clinton, S.C.
press	Stevens Vari-size security press		Dia Nippon Kiko
colors	process cyan, magenta, yellow, black
paper	prephosphored type I	nonphosphored type III, block tagging	nonphosphored type III
gum	self-adhesive	water-activated	self-adhesive
print quantity	200 million stamps	25 million stamps	300 million
image size	.71 inches by .82 inches		.72 inches by .818 inches
overall size	.84 inches by .99 inches		.87 inches by .982 inches
plate numbers	"P" followed by four single digits		"V" followed by four single digits

 

name	Nondenominated Four Flowers
issue date	Dec. 15, 2000
photographer	Robert Peak, Winter Park, Fla.
designer, art director and typographer	Derry Noyes,Washington, D.C.
format	self-adhesive convertible booklets of 20	self-adhesive vending booklet	self-adhesive coil of 100
modeler	Donald H. Woo		Guilford Gravure, Guilford, Conn.
printing process	gravure
printing contractor	Sennett Security Products		Banknote Corporation of America
printer	American Packaging Corp, Columbus, Wis.		Guilford Gravure
processor	UniqueBinders, Fredericksburg, Va.		Guilford Gravure
press	Rotomec 3000		Cerrutti R118
colors	process cyan, magenta, yellow, black
paper	prephosphored type II
gum	self-adhesive
print quantity	1.5 billion	200 million	500 million
image size	.72 inches by .83 inches		.71 inches by .82 inches
overall size	.87 inches by .98 inches		.87 inches by .96 inches
plate numbers	"S" followed by four single digits		"B" followed by four single digits
marginal markings	"©USPS 2000," plate numbers, removal instructions