Updated December 4th: The Scott catalogue number for this issue is 5251.
Updated September 26th: A new first-day date has been sent. From the USPS:
U.S. Postal Service Honors the National Museum of African American History and Culture
Forever Stamp On Sale Oct. 13
What:
First-Day-of-Issue dedication ceremony for the Celebrating African American History and Culture Forever stamp. This stamp will be on sale at the ceremony and available nationwide on Friday, Oct. 13.
Who:
- Ronald A. Stroman, Deputy Postmaster General and Chief Government Relations Officer, U.S. Postal Service
- Lonnie Bunch, Founding Director, National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution
When: Friday, Oct. 13, 2017, 8:30 a.m.
(Note: RSVP is required to attend the ceremony. Please RSVP online at usps.com/nmaahc. Check your email for a confirmation from the Postal Service with additional instructions. This event is standing room only. Doors open at
7:30 a.m.
Where:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
1400 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20560
(Note: Enter the museum through the 14th Street and Madison Drive entrance.)
The U.S. Postal Service will post a video of the event at facebook.com/USPS. Share the news on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtags #NMAAHC and #APeoplesJourney.
Background:
Black history is inseparable from American history, and the black experience represents a profound and unique strand of the American story. This stamp issuance recognizes the richness of that experience by celebrating the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC.
The stamp art is based on a photograph of the museum showing a view of the northwest corner of the building. Text in the upper-left corner of the stamp reads “National Museum of African American History and Culture.”
Opened on Sept. 24, 2016, the National Museum of African American History and Culture is the 19th Smithsonian museum and the only national museum devoted exclusively to African American life, art, history and culture. The museum’s collections, which include art, artifacts, photographs, films, documents, data, books, manuscripts and audio recordings, represent all regions of the United States and acknowledge the cultural links of African Americans to the black experience around the world as well. The museum provides opportunities for the public to explore and enjoy African American history while demonstrating the centrality of that history to our nation’s past, present and future.
Updated August 30th: This stamp has been postponed until later in the year. The new date has not yet been announced.
Updated August 7th: Here are the first-day postmarks for this issue:
The Digital Color Postmark measures 3.0″ x 1.45″. 
The B&W “rubber-composition” (hand) cancel measures 2.30″ x 1.49″.
Updated August 3rd: From the Postal Bulletin, at long last, an issue date and details.
On September 24, 2017, in Washington, DC, the U.S. Postal Service® will issue the Celebrating African American History and Culture stamp (Forever® priced at 49 cents) in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 474200). The stamp will go on sale nationwide September 24, 2017.
This issuance recognizes the richness of the black experience by celebrating the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Occupying a 5-acre site on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the museum is the 19th Smithsonian museum and the only national museum devoted exclusively to African American life, art, history, and culture.
Text in the upper left corner of the stamp reads “National Museum of African American History and Culture.” Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamp.
Stamp Fulfillment Services will make an automatic push distribution to Post Offices™ of a quantity to cover approximately 30 days of sales.
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 usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-782-6724. 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 – Celebrating African American History and Culture Stamp
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 November 24, 2017.
Philatelic products for this stamp issue are as follows:
- 474206 Press Sheet with Die-cut, $88.20
- 474210 Digital Color Postmark Keepsake, $11.95
- 474216 First-Day Cover, $0.93
- 474221 Digital Color Postmark, $1.64
- 474224 Framed Art, $29.95
- 474230 Ceremony Program, $6.95
- 474233 Panel, $10.95
Technical Specifications:
Issue: Celebrating African American History and Culture Stamp
Item Number: 474200
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail® Forever
Format: Pane of 20 (1 design)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: September 24, 2017, Washington, DC 20066
Designer: Antonio Alcalà, Alexandria, VA
Art Director: Antonio Alcalà, Alexandria, VA
Typographer: Antonio Alcalà, Alexandria, VA
Existing Photo: Alan Karchmer
Modeler: Sandra Lane/Michelle Finn
Manufacturing Process: Offset, Microprint
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America
Printed at: Browns Summit, NC
Press Type: Alprinta 74
Stamps per Pane: 20
Print Quantity: 15,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Phosphor Tagged Paper, Block Tag
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Processed at: Banknote Corporation of America, Browns Summit NC
Colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
Stamp Orientation: Horizontal
Image Area (w x h): 1.42 x 1.085 in/36.07 x 27.56 mm
Overall Size (w x h): 1.56 x 1.225 in/39.62 x 31.12 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): 7.24 x 7.50 in/183.90 x 190.5 mm
Press Sheets Size (w x h): 21.72 x 22.50 in/551.69 x 571.5 mm
Plate Size: 180 stamps per revolution
Plate Numbers: “B” followed by four (4) single digits
Marginal Markings:
Front: Header: Celebrating African American History and Culture • Plate numbers in two corners of pane
Back: © 2016 USPS • USPS logo • Plate position diagram • Barcode (474200) in upper right and lower left corners of pane • Promotional text
From the USPS, September 20, 2016:
[Technically, “Celebrating African American History and Culture,”] this stamp celebrates the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Occupying a 5-acre site on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The museum is the 19th Smithsonian museum and the only national museum devoted exclusively to African-American life, art, history and culture. The stamp is based on a photograph of the museum by Alan Karchmer showing a view of the northwest corner of the building. Text in the upper left corner reads “National Museum of African American History and Culture.” Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamp.
Rumor has it that this may be in September 2017
Can’t believe that the FDOI ceremony has been cancelled ! ! !
And just because there were other ‘things’ going on to celebrate the Museum’s first anniversary ! ! !
How many times has a stamp had its FDOI at a stamp show/expo – – – a place that, by its very nature, has a lot of ‘things’ going on ! ! !
The first anniversary celebration is the perfectly logical choice to hold the ceremony. Any other time or place is chopped liver.
Then again, the USPS didn’t issue the JFK commem on the anniversary of his birth (and, yes, they’ve held Sunday FDOIs before and since).
Makes one wonder if the USPS is anti-actual-anniversary-date this year for some reason.
From Postal Bulletin 14 SEP 2017: Any post office that has received these via Push distribution is supposed to Sit on Them until a new release date is announced. Maybe this will be like the Valentines Day stamps that Could be sold as soon as they arrived, even though the First Day Ceremony was 14 FEB… Nah, that would be Reasonable and Prudent…
I thought the idea was to Sell Stamps & Then Cancel Them without the items going into the mail stream, costing the USPS time & Labor & everything else involved with Delivery… If there were a group, even a large group, of people willing to shell-out the cash to do this, why move the time of the sale? The people aren’t going to wait… ( Unless they’re in the Army, or getting treatment from the VA … )
https://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2017/pr17_054.htm
you’ve got this already…
From Linns DEC 18 Scott 5251
Hello
Do you have any more products of the Celebrating African American History and Culture Stamp such as the Ceremony Program and First Day Cover?
We’re not a dealer site. Those “products” were sold by the U.S. Postal Service, http://www.usps.com but I don’t think they’re still on sale three years later.
I personally produce first day cover cards, and I do still have some for this issue in stock: Dragon Cards.
Hello
Do you remember what is all included in the Ceremony Program of the Celebrating African American History and Culture Museum?