Name | Value |
---|---|
Date of Issue | October 11, 2018 |
Year | 2018 |
Quantity | 250,000,000 |
Denomination |
First-Class Mail Forever
|
Denomination Value | $0.50 |
Color | PMS 872 Gold, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black |
Perforation or Dimension | 0.91 x 1.19 in./23.114 x 30.226 mm |
Series | Sparkling Holidays - Haddon Sundblom |
Series Time Span | 2018 |
Issue Location | Pigeon Forge, TN 37863 |
Postal Administration | United States |
Condition | Name | Avg Value |
---|
Celebrate a nostalgic Christmas with this new 23.29 x 4.76-inch press sheet, containing eight booklets of Sparkling Holidays Forever® stamps positioned four across by two down.
Each stamp portrays a close-up of Santa’s face; the four images are details from larger paintings created by Haddon Sundblom and originally published in ads for The Coca-Cola Company from the 1940s through the early 1960s.
Made in the USA
SKUs featured on this page: 682106
Celebrate a nostalgic Christmas with this new set of four Sparkling Holidays First Day Covers. Each #6 ¾ envelope bears an affixed Forever® stamp cancelled with an official First Day of Issue postmark.
The four stamps feature classic images of Santa Claus, painted by famed commercial artist Haddon Sundblom for The Coca-Cola Company. Each stamp features one of four close-ups of Santa’s face; the four images are details from larger paintings created by Sundblom and originally published in ads from the 1940s through the early 1960s.
The pictorial postmark features festive snowflakes and flourishes that frame the stamp title. Also included are the date and location of stamp issuance: October 11, 2018, Pigeon Forge, TN, 37863.
Made in the USA.
SKUs featured on this page: 682116
Celebrate a nostalgic Christmas with this new Sparkling Holidays Digital Color Postmark First Day Cover. The #6 ¾ envelope bears an affixed Forever® stamp cancelled with an official First Day of Issue postmark.
The four stamps feature classic images of Santa Claus, painted by famed commercial artist Haddon Sundblom for The Coca-Cola Company. Each stamp features one of four close-ups of Santa’s face; the four images are details from larger paintings created by Sundblom and originally published in ads from the 1940s through the early 1960s.
The digital color postmark evokes holiday magic with festive red ornaments and snowflakes. Also included is the stamp title, as well as the date and location of stamp issuance: October 11, 2018, Pigeon Forge, TN, 37863.
Made in the USA.
SKUs featured on this page: 682121
Celebrate a nostalgic Christmas and recognize the First Day of Issue of the Sparkling Holidays Forever® stamp, with this new official ceremony program and cover.
The full-color program folder features the First Day of Issue details and narrative about the stamp design. An insert placed inside the folder includes the ceremony agenda and participants.
The program folder is tucked inside a 9 x 6-inch envelope bearing an affixed, randomly selected Forever® stamp and the official First Day of Issue cancellation. Also included are the words “First Day of Issue Ceremony Program” and “Celebrate the Art of Stamps,” along with the official United States Postal Service® logo.
Made in the USA.
SKUs featured on this page: 682130
Celebrate a nostalgic Christmas with this new Sparkling Holidays Stamp Ceremony Memento.
This collectible contains the First Day of Issue Ceremony Invitation, the First Day of Issue Ceremony Program, Digital Color Postmark First Day Cover, and a booklet of 20 Sparkling Holidays Forever® stamps.
The four stamps feature classic images of Santa Claus, painted by famed commercial artist Haddon Sundblom for The Coca-Cola Company. Each stamp features one of four close-ups of Santa’s face; the four images are details from larger paintings created by Sundblom and originally published in ads from the 1940s through the early 1960s.
Made in the USA.
SKUs featured on this page: 682134
Celebrate a nostalgic Christmas with this new keepsake combination: one booklet of 20 Sparkling Holidays Forever® stamps and a set of four Digital Color Postmark First Day Covers.
The four stamps feature classic images of Santa Claus, painted by famed commercial artist Haddon Sundblom for The Coca-Cola Company. Each stamp features one of four close-ups of Santa’s face; the four images are details from larger paintings created by Sundblom and originally published in ads from the 1940s through the early 1960s.
The digital color postmark evokes holiday magic with festive red ornaments and snowflakes. Also included is the stamp title, as well as the date and location of stamp issuance: October 11, 2018, Pigeon Forge, TN, 37863.
Made in the USA.
SKUs featured on this page: 682110
On October 11, 2018, in Pigeon Forge, TN, the U.S. Postal Service® will issue the Sparkling Holidays stamps (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate) in four designs, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive booklet of 20 stamps. The stamps will go on sale nationwide October 11, 2018.
The U.S. Postal Service® celebrates Christmas with four stamps featuring classic images of Santa Claus painted by famed commercial artist Haddon Sundblom. Each stamp portrays a close-up of Santa’s face; the four images are details from larger paintings created by Sundblom and originally published in ads for The Coca-Cola Company from the 1940s through the early 1960s.
Santa’s legend is based on customs brought to America by European immigrants. St. Nicholas, the Dutch Sinterklaas, was one of Santa’s forebearers; he delivered gifts on December 5, the eve of his feast day.
Several 19th-century works were instrumental in creating the legend and look that inspired Sundblom’s paintings. In 1809, author Washington Irving portrayed the gift-bearing St. Nicholas as a sage Dutchman rather than a somber bishop. The 1821 poem “The Children’s Friend” claimed that “Santeclaus” delivered toys to good girls and boys while riding in a sleigh drawn by a flying reindeer. Several years later, the poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” had the jolly, plump elf delivering presents on Christmas Eve, traveling on a sleigh pulled by eight flying reindeer, each of which were named.
Cartoonist Thomas Nast embellished Santa’s look in his drawings for the magazine Harper’s Weekly. Beginning in 1863, the published engravings depicted Santa in all manner of guises, from a portly elfin figure to a big-bellied, white-bearded man.
Haddon Sundblom is the man credited with refining the modern image of Santa Claus. In 1931, Sundblom created the first of his more than 40 paintings of Santa Claus for The Coca-Cola Company’s holiday advertising campaign. The paintings of the rosy-cheeked, smiling, grandfatherly man in his red suit came to embody the very essence of “Santa.”
Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamps with existing art by Sundblom.
The Sparkling Holidays stamps are being issued as Forever® stamps. These Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce price.