Tulip Blossoms (US 2023)

Announced by the USPS on October 24, 2022.

Close-up photographs of 10 beautiful tulips in a rainbow of colors grace this new booklet of 20 stamps. One blossom fills almost the entire frame of each stamp, with just the top of a stem peeking out from underneath. Since Dutch immigrants brought tulip bulbs to North America hundreds of years ago, the flower has become a dazzling part of our landscape. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamps with existing photographs by Denise Ippolito.

New information will appear below the line, with the most recent at the top.


Updated June 6th:
Here are the Scott catalogue numbers for this issue:
Coil stamps:
5767 Pink tulip with yellowish base
5768 Purple tulip with white base
5769 Pink and orange tulip
5770 Lilac tulip
5771 Orange and red tulip
5772 Dark purple tulip
5773 Brownish tulip with white base
5774 Pink tulip with white base
5775 Pink tulip with yellowish background
5776 White tulip with purplish base
a. Horiz. strip of 10, #5767-5776

Booklet stamps:
5777 Brownish tulip with white base
5778 Pink tulip with yellowish base
5779 Pink tulip with white base
5780 Orange and red tulip
5781 Purple tulip with white base
5782 Lilac tulip
5783 Pink and orange tulip
5784 Dark purple tulip
5785 White tulip with purplish base
5786 Pink tulip with white background
a. Block of 10, #5777-5786
b. Convertible booklet pane of 20, 2 each #5777-5786

Updated February 23rd:

Here are the first-day postmarks for this issue:The Digital Color Postmark measures 2.44″ x 1.50″There is no pictorial postmark for this issue, only the “standard killerbar.”

[first-day ceremony details] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Tulips Blossom on New Forever Stamps

What: The U.S. Postal Service celebrates spring and Americans’ love for tulips with the issuance of Tulip Blossoms Forever stamps.

The first-day-of-issue event for the Tulip Blossoms Forever stamp is open to the public. News of the stamp is being shared with the hashtag #TulipBlossomsStamps.

Who: Linda Malone, engineering systems vice president, U.S. Postal Service, will serve as dedicating official.

When: Wednesday, April 5, 2023, at 11 a.m. PT

Where: Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival
33814 S Meridian Road
Woodburn, OR 97071

RSVP: The Postal Service has purchased a limited number of tickets which are required to enter the festival. Please RSVP at usps.com/tulipblossoms to sign up for a ticket.

Background: Each fall, millions of gardeners bury bulbs in the earth, eagerly anticipating the rewards that springtime will bring. Months later, thick green leaves poke through the soil, soon revealing their treasure: tulip blossoms in spectacular variety from prim to ostentatious.

A member of the lily family (Liliaceae), the tulip (genus Tulipa) originated as a wildflower in Central Asia. Dutch immigrants brought the first tulip bulbs to America hundreds of years ago. Today, we import more than 1 billion bulbs per year.

These new stamps from the Postal Service feature closeup views of 10 different tulips in a rainbow of colors. Each flower fills almost the entire frame of the stamp, with just the top of the stem showing. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamps with existing photographs by Denise Ippolito.

Tulip Blossoms will be issued as Forever stamps in booklets of 20, as well as coils of 3,000 and 10,000.

From the Postal Bulletin:
On April 5, 2023, in Woodburn, OR, the United States Postal Service® will issue the Tulip Blossoms stamps (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate) in 10 designs, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) double-sided booklet of 20 stamps (Item 684200), a PSA coil of 3,000 stamps (Item 751500), and a PSA coil of 10,000 stamps (Item 761700). These stamps will go on sale nationwide April 5, 2023, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue.

Ten different stamps in a booklet of 20, as well as coils of 3,000 and 10,000, feature close-up photographs of beautiful tulip blossoms in a rainbow of colors. Each flower fills almost the entire frame of each stamp, with just the top of the stem showing. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamps with existing photographs by Denise Ippolito.

  • Item 684200, Double-sided Booklet of 20 Stamps: No automatic distribution
  • Item 751500, Coil of 3,000 Stamps: No automatic distribution
  • Item 761700, Coil of 10,000 Stamps: 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 store.usps.com/store/home. 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 – Tulip Blossoms 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 August 5, 2023.

Technical Specifications — Booklet:

Issue: Tulip Blossoms Stamps
Item Number: 684200
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Double-sided Booklet of 20 (10 designs)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: April 5, 2023, Woodburn, OR 97071
Designer: Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
Art Director: Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
Existing Photos: Denise Ippolito
Modeler: Sandra Lane / Michelle Finn
Manufacturing Process: Offset
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America
Press Type: Alprinta 74
Stamps per Booklet: 20
Print Quantity: 500,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Phosphor Tagged Paper, Block
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
Stamp Orientation: Vertical
Image Area (w x h): 0.77 x 1.05 in / 19.558 x 26.67 mm
Stamp Size (w x h): 0.91 x 1.19 in / 23.114 x 30.226 mm
Booklet Size (w x h): 5.743 x 2.375 in / 145.872 x 60.325 mm
Plate Size: 800 stamps per revolution
Plate Numbers: “B followed by four (4) single digits
Marginal Markings: Header: “Tulip Blossoms” Twenty First-Class Forever Stamps • ©2022 USPS in peel strip area • Barcode • USPS logo • Promotional text • Plate number in peel strip area

Technical Specifications — Coil of 3,000:

Issue: Tulip Blossoms Stamps
Item Number: 751500
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Coil of 3,000 (10 designs)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: April 5, 2023, Woodburn, OR 97071
Designer: Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
Art Director: Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
Existing Photos: Denise Ippolito
Modeler: Sandra Lane / Michelle Finn
Manufacturing Process: Offset
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America
Press Type: Alprinta 74
Stamps per Coil: 3,000
Print Quantity: 12,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Phosphor Tagged Paper, Overall
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
Stamp Orientation: Vertical
Image Area (w x h): 0.73 x 0.84 in / 18.542 x 21.336 mm
Stamp Size (w x h): 0.87 x 0.98 in / 22.098 x 24.892 mm
Plate Size: 540 stamps per revolution
Plate Number: “B” followed by four (4) single digits
Coil Number Frequency: Plate number every 27th stamp below stamp image

Technical Specifications — Coil of 10,000:

Issue: Tulip Blossoms Stamps
Item Number: 761700
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Coil of 10,000 (10 designs)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: April 5, 2023, Woodburn, OR 97071
Designer: Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
Art Director: Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
Existing Photos: Denise Ippolito
Modeler: Sandra Lane / Michelle Finn
Manufacturing Process: Offset
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America
Press Type: Alprinta 74
Stamps per Coil: 10,000
Print Quantity: 30,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Phosphor Tagged Paper, Overall
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
Stamp Orientation: Vertical
Image Area (w x h): 0.73 x 0.84 in / 18.542 x 21.336 mm
Stamp Size (w x h): 0.87 x 0.98 in / 22.098 x 24.892 mm
Plate Size: 540 stamps per revolution
Plate Number: “B” followed by four (4) single digits
Coil Number Frequency: Plate number every 27th stamp below stamp image

Updated January 10th:
These stamps will be issued Wednesday, April 5, in Woodburn, OR. The Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival will be held there March 17 – April 30.

7 thoughts on “Tulip Blossoms (US 2023)

  1. The Facilities of the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival are located about 8 miles from I-5 Exit 271, Woodburn OR. At the Exit, take OR Hwy 214 East, thru Woodburn, to US Hwy 99-East. ( 2.3 Mi ) Continue East, as Hwy 214 becomes OR-211. Follow Hwy OR-211 east 3.5 miles to Meridian Rd. Proceed South on Meridian Rd 2 miles to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival Facilities. ( East Side of the road ) More Than Likely Lots of Signs. The Flowers are blooming all spring, and the facility is open mid-March to the end of April. I will try to call the Postmaster in Woodland OR ( 525 N 1st St 97071 ) for more info. The First Day ceremony is on a Wednesday. If you had driven-in, and spent the night at one of the various motels, and maybe spent some money at the Very Large Premium Outlet Mall in Woodland, they MIGHT even have these stamps for sale at the Woodland Post Office, and you could buy some and be ready for a First Day of Issue cancellation at the ceremonies. ( The mall has a Bose Audio store, get your A20 or ProFlight headsets here. ) Woodland is about an hour south of the Portland Airport, ( PDX ) travel on I-205/I-5 or US-99 East. https://www.woodenshoe.com/events/tulip-fest/

    • I Have Spoken with the people at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival facilities And Confirmed that this Is Where the First-Day ceremonies will be held. More Info to follow.

    • Change Woodland to Woodburn… I have Spoken to the people at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival facilities, and This Is Where the First-Day Ceremony will be. More to follow…

  2. From Post Bull 23 FEB ’23 Tulip Blossoms (10 ) in Booklets of 20, Coils of 3,000, and Coils of 10,000. Digital Color and 4-Bar First Day Cancels. Plate-Number-Coil ( PNC ) Every 27 stamps. Unknown if they will sell strips-30. All are from Banknote Co. (Bxxxx) Booklet and Coil stamps are slightly different sizes. Not on Auto-Distrib. USPS #’s Booklet 6842xx, Coil 3K 7515xx, Coil 10K 7617xx.

      • I have my AMTRAK tickets, and will be bicycling in the rain to this event. Weather Forecast is Slow Rain with temp’s in the 30’s and 40’s. ( Oregon in the Spring. ) USPS has been in contact with me and said my ticket to the facility Is on Will-Call at the gate. I do not have equipment for Videos, but maybe a few pic’s over on the VSC FakeBook page…

    • From USA Philatelic 2023 Vol 28 QTR 2: For a PNC-Strip-of-25 3K # 751503 $15.75, 10K 761703 $15.75 Ten Notecards / Envelopes / 10 Stamps from a coil 684266 $20.95. ( Wish I’d had this info. on Wednesday… )

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