USPS tapped Sennett Security Products of Chantilly, Va., to produce the new American Toleware coil in lick-and-stick rolls of 10,000. American Packaging Corporation of Columbus, Wis., a stamp-manufacturing partner of Sennett Security Products, printed the stamps. Unique Binders finished them. A seven-digit plate number preceded by the letter "S" will appear on every 14th Toleware stamp in a given roll. The "S" represents the USPS contractor, Sennett Security Products.

Toleware is painted tinplate. Because the art form originated in the Orient (primarily in China, India and Japan), it is sometimes called "japanned-ware." From there, toleware spread to Europe and then to the United States, where it became extremely popular in the 19th century. Pictured on the stamp is a toleware coffeepot that resides in the Winterthur Museum in Winterthur, Del.. Art historians date the coffeepot to between 1850 and 1875 and believe that it was manufactured in Philadelphia. This coffeepot is typical of the Pennsylvania German style, which usually employs bright hues of yellow, green, blue and vermilion against a black background. The black background usually is a type of varnish (called asphaltum) that imitates lacquer, to which are applied oil paints. This toleware style also may be recognized by designs that incorporate ornamental swirls, flowers and fruit.