Neon Celebrate reissue (U.S. 2015)

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Updated September 3rd: from the Postal Bulletin
s_neon15celebrateOn September 9, 2015, in Kansas City, MO, the U.S. Postal Service® will reissue the Neon Celebrate! special stamp (Forever® First-Class Mail® priced at 49 cents) in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 586200).

The stamp will go on sale nationwide September 9, 2015.

The Neon Celebrate! stamp, first issued in 2011, will be reissued in 2015. Neon Celebrate! helps postal patrons acknowledge a host of happy occasions. The first stamp art to be made with neon, Neon Celebrate! depicts the word “Celebrate!” in a design reminiscent of a fireworks display. Brilliantly colored images of swirls, circles, and dashes seem to erupt from the ground to illuminate the darkness. The words “Forever/USA” appear at the bottom of the stamp. Working with art director Phil Jordan, neon artist Michael Flechtner created the stamp art.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office, at The Postal Store® website at http://www.usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-782-6724. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

Neon Celebrate! Stamp
Cancellation Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Pillar 210
Kansas City, MO 64144-0001

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 November 8, 2015.

There are two philatelic products for this stamp issue:

  • 586216*, First-Day Cover, $0.93
  • 586231*, Stamp Deck Card, $0.95

Technical Specifications:

s_neon15celebrateIssue: Neon Celebrate! Stamp
Item Number: 586200
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever Special
Format: Pane of 20 (1 design)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: September 9, 2015, Kansas City, MO 64108
Designer: Phil Jordan, Falls Church, VA
Art Director: Phil Jordan, Falls Church, VA
Typographer: Phil Jordan, Falls Church, VA
Artist: Michael Flechtner, Van Nuys, CA
Modeler: Donald Woo
Manufacturing Process: Offset, Microprint
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America/SSP
Printed at: Browns Summit, NC
Press Type: Alprinta 74
Stamps per Pane: 20
Print Quantity: 60 million stamps
Paper Type: Phosphor Tagged Paper, Block Tagging
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Processed at: Banknote Corporation of America, Browns Summit SC
Colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
Stamp Orientation: Horizontal
Image Area (w x h): 1.05 x 0.77 in./26.67 x 19.56 mm
Overall Size (w x h): 1.19 x 0.91 in./30.23 x 23.11 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): 5.64 x 5.43 in./137.80 x 143.13 mm
Plate Size: 320 stamps per revolution
Plate Numbers: “S” followed by four (4) single digits
Marginal Markings:
Front: Plate numbers in four corners of pane
Back: © 2010 USPS • USPS logo • Plate position diagram • Barcode (586200) in upper right and lower left corners of pane • Promotional text

Updated August 31st: From Jay Bigalke, American Philatelist:

A new 2015 dated version will be issued September 9 in a pane of 20. There won’t be a first-day ceremony, but the postmark will read Kansas City, Missouri.

From the USPS:
One design.
FDOI: TBD (dependent on current quantity drawdown)
Format: Pane of 20

s_neon15celebrateThis Neon Celebrate! stamp, first issued in 2011, helps postal patrons acknowledge a host of happy occasions.

The first stamp art made with neon depicts the word “Celebrate!” in a design reminiscent of a fireworks display. Brilliantly colored images of swirls, circles, and dashes seem to erupt from the ground to illuminate the darkness.

The text on this reissue has been rearranged to help distinguish it from the previous versions.

Art Director: Phil Jordan
Neon Artist: Michael Flechtner

From the August 20th briefing: No ceremony, and a Kansas City postmark/servicing.

10 thoughts on “Neon Celebrate reissue (U.S. 2015)”

  2. I’m not a fan of repeating the same design. Too me, it just shows a lack of creativity and a lazy effort. A new design for the same subject would be fine.

  5. Maurice Bessette, the Postmaster at the Oneco, Connecticut post office, is reporting receipt of a reprint of this stamp, this time with plate number B1111. The previous version had an S prefix. His order number is 5862B.

  6. I have two sheets (panes) of the 2015 Celebrate stamp, one printed with a plate no. S111 and the other one has a B111. I understand that BCA bought out SSP….but, there is no data (that I can find) on the stamp printed by SSP in 2015. There is no physical differences in the stamps, just the Plate Number on the pane. Can someone give a bit of light on this?

  7. The initial printing for the Neon Celebrate Forever stamp in 2015 was for 60 million stamps. USPS ordered 20 million more, apparently in late 2016, but the facility that printed the stamps was now owned by a different company. The order was printed with the same 2015 date, but the plate number was changed from S1111 to B1111. The reprint was first reported in January 2017, from the difference in plate number. All other production features (design, paper, tagging, die cuts…) are identical. They have the same Scott number (5019) because the only way they can be told apart is from the plate number, which is not part of the design for an individual stamp. If anyone has more recent details regarding print quantities or dates, please report them. Note that other reprints from 2014 and 2015 also have the B prefix: Stars and Stripes coil (Scott 4962), Purple Heart (Scott 5035), Breast Cancer Awareness semipostal (Scott B5).

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