State and County Fairs (U.S. 2019)

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Announced November 20, 2018. The most recent information will appear after the large illustration and the introductory description from the USPS. Four whimsical se-tenant stamps celebrate the fun of America’s state and county fairs. The stamps were designed to work together as a panorama of fair activities, while each stamp also works as an individual picture. The stamp on the far left shows farmers unloading produce behind a white fence. In the second stamp, a child holding a chicken sits atop the same fence, with carnival rides — a Ferris wheel and merry-go-round — in the background. Those rides can be seen in the third stamp, where some fairgoers admire the livestock behind the fence while others walk, balloons in hand, toward a sweets stand. The last stamp shows children at the stand buying treats from the vendor. The art director was Greg Breeding. Mike Ryan designed the stamps with original art by Mick Wiggins.

Updated March 29th:
These stamps will be issued Thursday, July 25th, in Minot, ND. The North Dakota State Fair runs July 19-26 in Minot.

From the June 20th Postal Bulletin:

On July 25, 2019, in Minot, ND, the United States Postal Service® will issue the State and County Fairs stamps (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate) in four designs, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive pane of 20 stamps (Item 479300). The stamps will go on sale nationwide July 25, 2019, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue. The State and County Fairs pane of 20 stamps may not be split and the stamps may not be sold individually.

Four whimsical, se-tenant stamps celebrate the fun of America‘s state and county fairs. The stamps were designed to work together as a panorama of fair activities, while each stamp also works as an individual picture:

  • Farmers unloading produce behind a white fence.
  • A child holding a chicken sits atop the same fence, with carnival rides — a Ferris wheel and merry-go-round — in the background.
  • Fairgoers admiring the livestock behind the fence while others walk, balloons in hand, toward a sweets stand, with carnival rides in the background.
  • Children at the sweets stand buying treats from the vendor.

The art director was Greg Breeding, and Mike Ryan designed the stamps with original art by Mick Wiggins.

Availability to Post Offices: Item 479300, State and County Fairs (Forever Priced at the First-Class Mail Rate) Commemorative Pane of 20 Stamps: 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 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 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 – State and County Fairs 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 November 25, 2019.

Technical Specifications:

Issue: State and County Fairs Stamps
Item Number: 479300
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Pane of 20 (4 designs)
Series: N/A  [corrected]
Issue Date & City: July 25, 2019, Minot, ND 58701
Art Director: Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
Designer: Mike Ryan, Charlottesville, VA
Typographer: Mike Ryan, Charlottesville, VA
Artist: Mick Wiggins, Little Rock, AR
Modeler: Joseph Sheeran
Manufacturing Process: Offset
Printer: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)
Press Type: Muller A76
Stamps per Pane: 20
Print Quantity: 40,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Nonphosphored Type III, Block Tag
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Processed at: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)
Stamp Orientation: Vertical
Image Area (w x h): 0.73 x 1.05 in./18.542 x 26.67 mm
Stamp Size (w x h): 0.91 x 1.19 in./23.114 x 30.226 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): 4.875 x 8.5 in./123.825 x 215.9 mm
Press Sheet Size (w x h): 14.875 x 25.75 in./ 377.825 x 654.05 mm
Colors: Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow
Plate Size: 300 stamps per revolution
Plate Number: “P” followed by four (4) single digits
Marginal Markings:
Front: Header: State and County Fairs • Plate number bottom two corners
Back: ©2018 USPS • USPS logo • two barcodes (479300) • Promotional text
• Plate position diagram

Updated July 4th:
Here are the first-day postmarks for this issue:The Digital Color Postmark for this issue measures 2.24″x1.49″ The B&W pictorial measures 2.29″x1.49″

Updated July 5th:
[ceremony advisory]
Stamps Showcase State and County FairsWhat: The U.S. Postal Service celebrates the fun of America’s state and county fairs with four stamps. The whimsical artwork of the stamps is meant to evoke a nostalgic feeling for America’s fairs past and present. The stamps show a traditional fair theme where communities gather to socialize and have fun.

News of the stamps is being shared with the hashtags #StateFairsStamps,
#StateCountyFairsStamps, and #CountyFairsStamps. Also, a video of the stamps unveiling ceremony will be shown live on Facebook.com/usps

Who: U.S. Postal Service Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President David E. Williams

When: Thursday, July 25, at 11 a.m. CDT

Where:
North Dakota State Fair- Stage 2
2005 Burdick Expressway East
Minot, ND 58701

[The reservation link is usps.com/statecountyfairs —LdeV]

Background: The colorful se-tenant stamps — one scene across four stamps —celebrate the fun of America’s state and county fairs. The stamp on the far left shows farmers unloading produce behind a white fence. In the second stamp, a child holding a chicken sits atop the same fence, with carnival rides—a Ferris wheel and merry-go-round—in the background. Those rides can be seen in the third stamp, where some fairgoers admire the livestock behind the fence while others walk, balloons in hand, toward a sweets stand. The last stamp shows children at the stand buying treats from the vendor.

The art director was Greg Breeding. Mike Ryan designed the stamps with original art by Mick Wiggins.

The State and County Fairs stamps are being issued as Forever stamps and will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price.

The stamps will be available for purchase July 25. Pre-orders for the State and County Fairs stamps can be reserved through The Postal Store at usps.com/shop.

Updated July 18th:
As VSC member Mary points out below, he Postal Bulletin states, “the stamp series in the technical details table was incorrectly listed as ‘Americana.’ The correct entry for the stamp series is ‘N/A.'”

10 thoughts on “State and County Fairs (U.S. 2019)”

  1. How about issuing something like this with the first class rate on one stamp and the 2nd ounce rate on the other. That way they can both be used together for two ounce letters or one can be saved to add to other two ounce letters?

    • This is a good idea, because the way they are they really are best used on large flats or packages so as to preserve the continuous scene.

  2. The postal bulletin says this is part of the “Americana Series” The Americana Series that ended in 1981 was a definitive series. Do you think this is a new Americana commemorative series?

  3. From Post Bull JUNE 20: On Auto-Distrib #4793xx, #04 PN-20 Cannot split, #16 -4 $3.96, #21 -4 $6.80 #10 -4 $17.95. PIC & DCP in Post Bull.

  4. I’m a very traditional-subject FDC collector that absolutely loves this issue (even if blurs the “traditional” subject lines). Like with the post office mural issue, I enjoy the nostalgic look back to a different time that has mostly slipped away.

    I may be the suburban child of a couple of Depression-era farm kids, but regret that just during my lifetime we’ve watched a whole way of life mostly gone away. Some things just are and nostalgia won’t change that, but I mourn that something profoundly good was lost in the process..

  5. If State and County Fairs stamps are part of the “Americana Series”, I would think Thanksgiving day parade issued in the same format, would be considered part of this series as well.

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