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Total Eclipse of the Sun

Stamp Info

Name Value
Date of Issue June 20, 2017
Year 2017
Quantity 60,000,000
Denomination
First-Class Mail Forever®
Denomination Value $0.49
Perforation or Dimension 1.225 x 1.225 in./31.12 x 31.12 mm
Issue Location Laramie, WY 82072
Postal Administration United States

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Layouts

Pane of 16 (1 Design)

Quantity Produced - 3,750,000
Original Purchase Price: $7.84
SKU: 475304
Dimension: 6.00 x 6.00 in./152.40 x 152.40 mm
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America
Printed at: Browns Summit, NC
Printing Process: Offset, Microprint
Gum Type: Pressure-sensitive
Paper: Phosphor Tagged Paper, Overall
Layout Number: “B” followed by five (5) single digits
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Press Sheet With Die-cut

Quantity Produced - Unknown
Original Purchase Price: $62.72
SKU: 475306
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First-day Cover

Quantity Produced - Unknown
Original Purchase Price: $0.93
SKU: 475316
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Digital Color Postmark

Quantity Produced - Unknown
Original Purchase Price: $1.64
SKU: 475321
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Ceremony Program

Quantity Produced - Unknown
Original Purchase Price: $6.95
SKU: 475330
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DCP Keepsake

Quantity Produced - Unknown
Original Purchase Price: $9.95
SKU: 475310
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Protective Sleeve

Quantity Produced - Unknown
Original Purchase Price: $0.25
SKU: 475329
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American Commemorative Collectible Panel

Quantity Produced - Unknown
No Images Exist for this Layout.
Original Purchase Price: $10.95
SKU: 475333
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Folio

Quantity Produced - Unknown
Original Purchase Price: $9.95
SKU: 475327
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About Stamp

On August 21, 2017, tens of millions of people in the United States will have an opportunity to view a total eclipse of the Sun. A total solar eclipse was last seen on the U.S. mainland in 1979, but only in the Northwest. The eclipse this summer will sweep a narrow path across the entire country—the first time this has happened since 1918. The U.S. Postal Service® anticipates this rare event with a stamp celebrating the majesty of solar eclipses.

The Total Eclipse of the Sun stamp is the first U.S. stamp to use thermochromic ink, which reacts to the heat of your touch. Placing your finger over the black disc on the stamp causes the ink to change from black to clear to reveal an underlying image of the moon (see image below).

The image reverts back to the black disc once it cools. The back of the stamp pane shows a map of the eclipse path.You can preserve the integrity of your Total Eclipse of the Sun Forever® stamp pane with our protective sleeve specifically designed for stamp preservation. The stamp uses a photograph taken by astrophysicist Fred Espenak of a total solar eclipse that was seen over Jalu, Libya, on March 29, 2006. Mr. Espenak also took the photograph of the full moon that is revealed by pressing upon the stamp image. The reverse side of the stamp pane shows the path across the United States of the forthcoming August 21, 2017, total solar eclipse and gives the times that it will appear in some locations.

A total eclipse of the Sun occurs when the Moon completely blocks the visible solar disk from view, casting a shadow on Earth. The 70-mile-wide shadow path of the eclipse, known as the “path of totality,” will traverse the country diagonally, appearing first in Oregon (mid-morning local time) and exiting some 90 minutes later off the coast of South Carolina (mid-afternoon local time).

A total solar eclipse provides us with the only chance to see the Sun’s corona—its extended outer atmosphere—without specialized instruments. The corona during an eclipse looks like a gossamer white halo around a black disk, or like the petals of a flower reaching out into space.

Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamp.

Colors

Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black, Thermochromic/Black

Creators

Designer: Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA.
Art Director: Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA.
Typographer: Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA.
Existing Photos: Fred Espenak.
Modeler: Sandra Lane/Michelle Finn.

Similar Stamps

Reference

USPS Postal Bulletin 22467. Copyright: USPS.

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