Love (U.S. 2021)

From the U.S. Postal Service announcement on November 17, 2020:From the USPS: The Postal Service continues its popular Love series with a new stamp in 2021. The stamp art features a lighthearted and colorful digital illustration with the word “LOVE” and three large hearts shown in an unconventional palette of color duos, strikingly set against a dark blue background. Greg Breeding was art director; Bailey Sullivan created the original art and designed the stamp.

Additional information will be posted below the line, with the most recent at the top.


Updated January 4th:

[press release]
2021 Begins With Love
New Forever Stamps Available Jan. 14

WHAT: The U.S. Postal Service continues its popular Love series with a new stamp in 2021. The first stamp in the series was issued in 1973. The latest one features a colorful and lighthearted digital illustration.

News of the stamp is being shared with hashtag #LoveStamps.

WHO: USPS Chief Information Officer and Executive Vice President Pritha Mehra will serve as dedicating official.

WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. MST

BACKGROUND:
The virtual stamp event will be posted on the Postal Service Facebook and Twitter pages.Please visit usps.com/love for details of the dedication ceremony.

The first-day-of-issue location for the stamp is Loveland, CO. The city’s Chamber of Commerce has teamed up with the Postal Service for more than 70 years for an internationally renowned Valentine Remailing Program. Every year, more than 100,000 valentines, packaged inside larger envelopes, are sent to Loveland, where volunteers handstamp them with a Valentine’s Day verse and send them on to the intended recipients. A contest is held each year for residents to submit their designs and verses.

There are many reasons to say “I love you” and countless ways to show you care. Sending a card to a loved one or friend is a special way to declare your affection, friendship, gratitude or devotion. Today, there is renewed enthusiasm for handwritten notes that express exactly how you feel.

The playful, graphic lettering on this stamp will add color and whimsy to your mailings, making it clear that thought and care have been lavished on the message, inside and out.

Love 2021 is being issued as a Forever stamp in panes of 20. Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price.

Preorders for the Love 2021 stamp can be made online at usps.com and by phone at 800-STAMP24 (800-782-6724).

Updated December 7th:
Here are the first-day postmarks for this issue:The Digital Color Postmark measures 2.67″ x 1.34″ The pictorial postmark measures 2.64″ x 1.14″

Updated December 3rd:

On January 14, 2021, in Loveland, CO, the United States Postal Service® will issue the Love 2021 stamp (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate) in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive pane of 20 stamps (Item 565100). The stamp will go on sale nationwide January 14, 2021, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue.

The Postal Service™ continues its popular Love series with a new stamp in 2021. The stamp art features a lighthearted and colorful digital illustration with the word “LOVE” and three large hearts shown in an unconventional palette of color duos, strikingly set against a dark blue background. The design also includes a smaller heart, a rectangle, and a semicircle. Greg Breeding was art director; Bailey Sullivan created the original art and designed the stamp.

No automatic distribution.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office™ or at The Postal Store® website at usps.com/shop. They must affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

FDOI – Love 2021
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by May 14, 2021.

Technical Specifications:

Issue: Love 2021 Stamp
Item Number: 565100
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Pane of 20 (1 design)
Series: Love
Issue Date & City: January 14, 2021, Loveland, CO 80538
Art Director: Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
Designer: Bailey Sullivan, Brooklyn, NY
Typographer: Bailey Sullivan, Brooklyn, NY
Illustrator: Bailey Sullivan, Brooklyn, NY
Modeler: Joseph Sheeran
Manufacturing Process: Offset, Microprint
Printer: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)
Press Type: Muller A76
Stamps per Pane: 20
Print Quantity: 200,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Nonphosphored Type III, Block Tag
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Processed at: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)
Colors: PMS 289 C Dark Blue, PMS 7688 C Light Blue, PMS 485 C Red, PMS 7423 C Pink, PMS 1375 C Orange
Stamp Orientation: Horizontal
Image Area (w x h): 1.05 x 0.77 in. / 26.67 x 19.558 mm
Overall Size (w x h): 1.19 x 0.91 in. / 30.226 x 23.114 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): 5.76 x 5.55 in. / 146.304 x 140.97 mm
Press Sheet Size (w x h): 11.52 x 22.20 in. / 292.608 x 563.880 mm
Plate Size: 320 stamps per revolution
Plate Number: “P” followed by five (5) single digits in four corners
Marginal Markings:
Front: Plate number in 4 corners
Back: ©2020 USPS • USPS logo • Two barcodes (565100) • Plate position diagram (8) • Promotional text

5 thoughts on “Love (U.S. 2021)

  1. Issued in late JAN-First Week of FEB. Unlike the prior blunders of issuing on 14 FEB…

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