29 thoughts on “Total Eclipse (U.S. 2017)”

1. OK: Susceptible to UV light, a protective envelope will be provided at a nominal fee. ( How Much, what size ? ) What About the UV light(s) in the mail stream processing equipment. Don’t they use UV to find the tagging & scan for chemicals? Is the UV from the equipment less than what would cause the stamp to stop changing when you touch it & heat it up?
   Will a regular paper, or Manilla Envelope block the UV light, or do you have to wrap a regular envelope with Aluminum foil? ( Like an RF-Pulse blocking envelope that protects credit cards? )
   Are they going to send these stamps to almost all of the post offices in the Path of the Shadow?

2. For folks in Oregon: The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde will have a special ‘Observance’ of the eclipse, from their Casino & Facilities at Spirit Mountain Lodge & Casino. Complementary Eye Protection Glasses will be provided on request,
   special areas near the Lodge/Casino will be set up outside for patrons to watch.
   The regular Buffet Breakfast & Lunch will be available. Lodge Reservations are only accepted 2 months in advance. All of the surrounding facilities are already booked. Some People have camping atop Mary’s Peak near Corvallis, to watch the Shadow Go Racing Across the Countryside. (1100 MPH ) I hope they’ll be selling the Solar Eclipse stamps.

3. REALLY ! ? ?
   What about “solar” did the stamp designers NOT understand.
   Why, on a “Solar Eclipse” stamp, is a FULL MOON pictured?
   “Sun” is “solar;” “Moon” is “lunar”!
   I think the effect is GREAT! It’s just that the wrong heavenly body is pictured when the ‘process’ is done.
   It should be the Sun ! Especially since the process to ‘activate’ the image requires some form of HEAT!
   During a solar eclipse, it’s rare to see the Moon itself or any features on its surface. Also, the Moon has been featured on a few stamps over the last few years while the Sun hasn’t. The eclipse ‘hides’ the Sun, so by using the ‘heat’ process, it should be the Sun that comes out from behind the dark area – – – just like in a real solar eclipse!
   Or, am I missing something?

   • Because, if there was a solar eclipse, it would be because the moon was in front of the sun, between us and the sun. And, if you could see past the corona, you would see the moon.

     • Yes, I know the dynamics of BOTH solar and lunar eclipses. But in order to SEE the Moon, the sun AND its corona and prominences would all have to either disappear or move quite a distance across the sky.
       In my June 20 reply to “Number 6” below, I kind of address the corona issue. And as you say, “if you could see past the corona, you would see the moon;” however, the corona is STILL THERE on the stamp and it can’t be if we’re looking PAST, or beyond, it.
       I also said that “If they [corona & prominences] disappeared as well, then I’d have no problem with the main design, just the descriptor of ‘Total SOLAR Eclipse’.” And that’s because, visually, there can’t be a solar eclipse AND a FULL Moon in the same place at the same time — which is what the design, to me, is portraying.

4. From Postal Bulletin MAY 11 PG 48-49 & 54-55
   USPS#4753 ONLY FOR SALE in Panes of 16 $7.84
   #10 $9.95, #16 93c #21 $1.64
   There will be an Any City cancel, and a PIC & DCP FDoI from Laramie WY.
   The Any City is similar to the Nebraska Statehood Crane & Mississippi Statehood 6-string Banjo cancels. Probably proposed for any city in the path of the shadow.
   ( NE only had 1, and MS has only had 2 so far… ) However, with a 4-week deadline for publication, and only 6 weeks until the event…

   • Update: Stamp Announcement 17-27: Total Eclipse of the Sun Stamp
     The Postal Service™ is revising the descriptive stamp
     text from the article entitled “Stamp Announcement 17-27:
     Total Eclipse of the Sun Stamp,” in Postal Bulletin 22467,
     (5-11-17, pages 48-49).
     The updated text is shown here:
     The heat of your touch is usually enough to activate the
     thermochromic ink, but other factors could influence this
     effect, such as lower body temperature, cooler extremities,
     or cooler room temperatures:
      Body temperature. Since body temperature differs
     from person to person, you may have to use an additional
     source of heat, such as a lamp, to reveal the
     image. When the temperature of the paper cools, the
     image will revert to the black disc.
      Room temperature. In an overly warm room, you
     may need to cool the stamps by placing them in an
     area which is substantially cooler than the room
     temperature.
     Thermochromic inks are vulnerable to UV light and you
     must keep them out of direct sunlight for extended periods
     of time. Excessive exposure to UV light could affect the
     changeability of the ink, which would result in a permanent
     clearing of the ink to reveal the moon.
     — Stamp Services,
     Marketing, 7-20-17

   • One of the Any City cancels for this stamp.

     July 29, 2017
     Charlotte Philatelic Society
     Charlotte, NC Station
     Postmaster
     2901 Scott Futrell Drive
     Charlotte, NC 28228-9998

     • Another city with the Standard Cancel is Washington DC 20002.
       For a BIG LIST see the 17 AUG 2017 Postal Bulletin, pages 71 – 83. I’m reasonably sure that the list is not complete ( publication deadline, right hand Left hand, ect… ) so there are probably more.
       Some of these have 60-day windows for the cancellation, and the First Day of Issue cancels & Digital Color Postmark will be on sale at The Caves in KC MO for about a year.

5. Jim Sutton: What you’re missing is that, during a solar eclipse, the light from the sun to the earth is blocked by the moon, which is what is depicted in this stamp. The rays flying off around the edge of the moon are the sun’s corona, which is all you can see of the sun during a total solar eclipse.

   A lunar eclipse is when the light from the sun to the moon is blocked by the earth.

   • Yes, I know that during a solar eclipse the sun is blocked by the Moon and that during a lunar eclipse the Moon is ‘shadowed’ by the Earth (re-read my original entry). However, the Moon is NEVER visible to the extent, and detail, shown on the stamp DURING any kind of SOLAR eclipse. And if the Moon was visible, one would NOT see the solar corona or prominences. And once the eclipse is over, one CANNOT see the Moon, but the sun IS visible again. And when you see a FULL Moon — the image when the stamp is warmed — in no way can one see any of the sun’s features (corona or prominences)! Especially eminating from the Moon!
     That’s why I consider this design to be in error. (The designer also had a design error on the green Star Trek stamp with the wrong shape of the Enterprise’s silhouette.)
     Again I say that when warmed up, it should be the sun that appears; especially since the surrounding solar activity (corona & prominences) is still there. If they disappeared as well, then I’d have no problem with the main design, just the descriptor of “Total SOLAR Eclipse.”
     Maybe I’m being too nitpicky and want the stamp to be scientifically accurate.
     My main objection is that a solar eclipse and a full Moon are complete opposites and cannot share the sky at the same time — like the stamp infers.
     Many people don’t know the difference between the two types of eclipses and this design, to me, does not help nor clarify — it acerbates the ‘problem.’

6. And speaking of “scientific accuracy,” the first day of summer — aka “summer solstice” — is on June 21, NOT June 20 (like it was LAST year). Granted it’s at 4:24am, but it’s still on the 21st!
   I’m curious as to how one day could make a difference on the release of this stamp.
   If it was a scheduling ‘thing,’ then the “why” for the difference should’ve been mentioned in the press releases.

   • I’m no expert, but what we were told is that the Summer Solstice occurs at different times depending on where you are, and the United States is big enough that it will occur on June 20 in Wyoming and other western states.

   • I love it when half the sources I check say one thing — June 20 — and the other half say the other thing — June 21 — and all the calendars say June 21.
     Most sources agree that the solstice marks the start of summer.
     However, the 4:24am time I found for June 21 was NOT clearly identified as “UT”.
     As such, though summer starts then there, as was pointed out, due to location difference, summer started at 9:24pm here in the west (MST).
     So, my apologies about questioning why the USPS picked June 20 as the release date.
     But I still think something should’ve been mentioned to avoid the whole “summer solstice / start of summer” confusion.
     Still, it all goes to “accuracy.”

7. Some folks may pick nits, but the bottom line says:
   ALL of the post offices here were SOLD OUT by noon.
   How many of these will be used for postage, and what percent will
   wind up in the secondary market once the novelty has worn off?
   The Post Office is only looking at the till after a day of SOLD OUT.

   • To My Knowledge, in the USA, the only other recent stamp that did this was the American Motorcycles stamps, First-Day of Issue, Sturgis SD. They are available in the secondary market, at Catalog Price. The USPS hopes the Solar Eclipse will perform similarly.

     • However, in Canada, the Lunar New Year seems to sell out rather well. ( It did in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Antigonish-Canada Post had none for sale in March. )

   • Where is “here”?
     I’m in Phoenix, AZ, and the post offices here have NOT sold out. I just called several and they all still have plenty.
     In fact, when I went to my local post office yesterday (3:00pm MST), the clerks were trying to get the customers interested and to buy at least a couple of the sheets. While I was there, I was the only one who bought the stamp — and only one sheet.
     There was NO run on the stamp yesterday, and from the reaction to my question of “Do you have any of the Solar Eclipse stamp,” there still was no rush to get them today.
     Of course, it may be possible that the daytime temps here of 115° to 122° might have something to do with that.

     Also, when my housemate saw them, the first thing he said was, “Are they real?”
     And after I demonstrated the ‘change,’ he said, “Are you sure they’re real postage stamps?”
     Thought his reaction was worth mentioning.

   • LAST WORD (on “sold out”) – – –
     Was at my usual post office to get a cancel during the eclipse (actually got it when maximum coverage occurred).
     Asked if they had any of the stamps left and was told they did.
     I suggested that they mention they had eclipse stamps available to the people as they came up to the counter. All the clerks thought it a great idea.

     Also, oddly enough, the first letter my housemate used the eclipse stamp on got LOST ! ! ! And it was a bill payment ! ! !
     Since the company did not receive the payment, he got hit with a late fee ! ! !

     I know this is a late post.
     I can only access the Internet with my tablet. I just got it back after it was ‘down’ for three weeks getting repaired.

8. The protective envelopes are twenty-five cents and they are the size of the pane. They are black and in silver say Total Eclipse of the Sun. They are very attractive and match the stamps well. Classy! I am anal about anyone touching my stamps. I collect them in document protectors with the press release in three ring binders. I would like to point out that the thermochronic ink works just as well while inside a document protector. So, you can enjoy the effect without actually touching the stamps. I believe only time will tell how long the thermochronic ink lasts after going through the mail stream. Anything now would be a guess. How long a mint stamp will still work, and how long the used stamps last will be determined. Things usually do not work nearly as well or long as the manufacturer specifies. But, I would love to be pleasantly surprised. Another first for the USPS. I like these as well. Keep in mind, it would probably be much cheaper for the USPS to just use the metered mail strips and not worry about designing and producing and distributing stamps at all. But, for every one of us philatelists, the post office sells hundreds or thousands of these stamps per year, for which they do not have to provide the service paid for. Does that make us a PAC?

   • I agree, the protective envelopes are very nice, attractive, and classy; however, I was not taken with the fact that you have to pay for them. (Maybe they were free at the FDOI ceremony?)
     The envelope, like the ‘glassine’ ones the post office hands out FREE when you buy any quantity of stamps, should also be free. I would have no problem to a limit of one free one per person, then charge a fee for extras.
     I’ve been to many release ceremonies, both coin and stamp, and any folders/envelopes and the like were free with the purchase of the item; or, the price of the item was increased to include the folder/envelope.
     Though a quarter is not much, it is the principle of the thing. It made me feel that the USPS was trying to nickel & dime us.

     • I was at the post office today (June 22) to get a cancelation on an unrelated commemorative of my own making and I asked how their supply of the eclipse stamp was. The clerk told me they had quite a few sheets still available, but that it was the “sleeve” {folder} they were short on since each post office only got a very limited number of them.
       This makes wonder, was it the stamp or the sleeve/folder that “Lefty” above (June 21) was talking about when he/she said all his/her post offices were “sold out”?

9. Wanted to buy solar eclipse American Commemorative Collectible Panel, $10.95
   SKU 475333 but couldn’t find it in USPS online stores.Can any body provide any information about the said product.

   • I don’t know if it’s available yet or already sold out.
     Best thing to do would be to call USPS and ask about it.
     Good luck.

   • It seems that the clerks at USPS.COM don’t get some of the new stamps up for sale for about 2 weeks after they Go on Sale. ( ex: Pollinators ) Others are available for pre-order. Don’t ask me why…

10. Lake Spring , Mo Post Office will have a cancellation stamp on Aug19. I don’t have a lot information yet , however anybody is welcome to contact them .

    • Todays Postal Bulletin had a BIG LIST of stations with the Generic Special Cancel, as well as quite a few who had artwork done for them. USPS Postal Bulletin 17 AUG 2017 Pages 73-81. ( Add Washington DC 20002 & Charlotte NC 28228 )

11. what would a defect lunar stamp be worth?

    • It depends on what the “defect” (error) is, how bad it is, and how common it is. It’s really hard to say without showing to an expert in either that issue or errors.

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