Announced November 1, 2021:

These stamps celebrate women’s rowing, a graceful but demanding sport in which American women have excelled, including in the Olympics. The artwork, which covers the entire pane, is a stylized illustration of five eight-person rowing teams competing or practicing. Four stamp designs are featured in a pane of 20 stamps arranged as five staggered rows of four. Nancy Stahl designed and illustrated the stamps and pane. Ethel Kessler was the art director.

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

Updated July 5^th:
Here are the Scott catalogue numbers for this issue:
5694 (58¢) Women’s Rowing – Women Wearing Red Shirts, No Oar Splash
a. Imperforate
5695 (58¢) Women’s Rowing – Women Wearing Red Shirts, Oar Splash at Lower Left
a. Imperforate
b. Horiz. pair, #5694-5695
c. Imperforate horiz. pair, #5694a-5695a
5696 (58¢) Women’s Rowing – Women Wearing Blue Shirts, Oar Splash at Center
a. Imperforate
5697 (58¢) Women’s Rowing – Women Wearing Blue Shirts, No Oar Splash
a. Imperforate
b. Horiz. pair, #5696-5697
c. Imperforate horiz. pair, #5696a-5697a

Updated April 22^nd:
Here are the first-day postmarks for this issue: The Digital Color Postmark measures 2.92″ x 1.42″ The pictorial postmark measures 2.75″ x 1.09″

Updated April 21^st:
On May 13, 2022, in Philadelphia, PA, the United States Postal Service® will issue the Women’s Rowing stamps (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate) in four designs, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 482100). These stamps will go on sale nationwide May 13, 2022, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue. The Women’s Rowing commemorative pane of 20 stamps may not be split and the stamps may not be sold individually.

This issuance celebrates women’s rowing, a graceful but demanding sport in which American women have excelled. Four different stamp designs are featured in a pane of 20 stamps arranged as five staggered rows of four. The artwork, which covers the entire pane, is a stylized illustration of five 8-person crews on the water, apparently practicing or possibly racing. The eight rowers, featured in the four stamps, face left. The ninth person in each shell, the coxswain, shown in the selvage, faces the direction the shell is moving, as her job is to steer. Nancy Stahl designed and illustrated the stamps and pane. Ethel Kessler was the project art director.

No automatic distribution of Item 482100, Pane of 20 Stamps

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 store.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 – Women’s Rowing Stamps
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 September 13, 2022.

Technical Specifications:

Issue: Women’s Rowing Stamps
Item Number: 482100
Denomination
& Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Pane of 20
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: May 13, 2022, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Art Director: Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
Designer: Nancy Stahl, New York, NY
Illustrator: Nancy Stahl, New York, NY
Manufacturing Process: Offset
Printer: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd (APU)
Press Type: Muller A76
Stamps per Pane: 20
Print Quantity: 18,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Nonphosphored Type III, Block Tag
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Colors: Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow
Stamp Orientation: Horizontal
Image Area (w x h): 1.42 x 0.84 in/36.068 x 21.336 mm
Overall Size (w x h): 1.56 x 0.98 in/39.624 x 24.892 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): 8.0 x 8.0 in/203.20 x 203.20 mm
Press Sheet Size (w x h): 25.00 x 27.00 in/635.0 x 685.8 mm
Plate Size: 180 stamps per revolution
Plate Number: “P” followed by four (4) single digits
Marginal Markings:
Front: Header: “Women’s Rowing” • Plate number in 2 corners
Back: ©2021 USPS • USPS logo • Two barcodes (482100) • Plate position diagram (9) • Promotional text

Updated April 15^th:
Ceremony information:

What: The U.S. Postal Service will commemorate Women’s Rowing with Forever stamps. The first-day-of-issue event will be held at the Philadelphia Girls’ Rowing Club.

The event for the Women’s Rowing Forever stamps is free and open to the public. Share the news of the stamp with the hashtag #WomensrowingStamps.

Who:
• Joe Corbett, chief financial officer and executive vice president, U.S. Postal Service
• Sophie Socha, president, Philadelphia Girls’ Rowing Club
• Amanda Kraus, chief executive officer, United States Rowing Association
• Elizabeth Milroy, professor emerita of art history, Wesleyan University
• Brannon Johnson, founder and head coach, BLJ Community Rowing
• Ethel Kessler, art director, U.S. Postal Service

When: Friday, May 13, 2022, at 11 a.m. EDT

Where:
Philadelphia Girls’ Rowing Club
14 Kelly Drive
Philadelphia, PA 19130

RSVP: at usps.com/womensrowing

Background:
This issuance celebrates women’s rowing, a graceful but demanding sport in which American women have excelled.

The sports world largely excluded women until 1972, when Congress amended federal education law by adding Title IX, which prohibited gender-based discrimination in federally funded education, including athletics. Although some colleges and universities reacted slowly, women pressed them into opening up varsity sports and disbursing funding equitably.

The men’s teams at some institutions had been racing each other since the mid-19th century, and administrators could not always fathom women in such a strenuous and macho sport — until they started winning big.

The first time they competed in the Olympics, in 1976, the women’s eight-person team won bronze. The team won gold in 1984, the next games in which the United States participated. The team then began a glorious second winning streak in 2004, attaining silver that year and gold in 2008, 2012 and 2016.

Postal Products:
Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through the Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps, by calling 844-737-7826, by mail through USA Philatelic, or at Post Office locations nationwide.