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44¢ American Flag
(Avery Dennison)
Self-Adhesive Coils of 100
Scott # 4394 V1111
Series USPS - NA ~ PNC3 - Flag / Patriotic
Issue Date & City May 8, 2009, Washington, DC 20066 (No First Day of Issue Ceremony)
Nationwide Sale May 8, 2009
Designer Terrence W. McCaffrey, USPS
Art Director Terrence W. McCaffrey, USPS
Typographer Terrence W. McCaffrey, USPS
Existing Photo Rick Barrentine, Duluth, GA
Modeler Avery Dennison (SPD)
Engraver Keating Gravure
To Press / Initial Quantity Spring 2009 / 1.75 Billion stamps
Coil Size 100
Printer >Avery Dennison (AVR)
Press Dia Nippon Kiko (DNK)
Process Gravure
Where Printed Clinton, SC
Where Processed AVR, Clinton, SC
Plate Size & Interval 480 stamps per revolution / plate # every 20 stamps
Paper Type Prephosphored, type II, Surface Coated
Adhesive Type Self-Adhesive
Tagging Type Prephosphored, Smooth Tagging
Die Cut Gauge 8.5 Vertically / 10 x 10 Valley-Peak (VP) and Peak-Valley (PV).  Valley-Peak seems to be scarcer.
Colors Yellow, Magenta, Cyan, Black
Image Size (w x h) 0.73 x 0.84 in. / 18.54 x 21.34 mm
Overall Size (w x h) 0.87 x 0.982 in. / 22.10 x 24.94 mm
Back Numbers None
Earliest Known Use May 8, 2009
USPS Order Numbers >787041 - Full Coil of 100 - $44.00
787061 First Day Cover - $.82 / Probably a random stamp from one of the three private printers.
Availability Stamp Fulfillment Services, Kansas City / Many local post office
Official Announcement On May 8, 2009, in Washington, DC, the Postal Service™ will issue a 44-cent, U.S. Flag definitive stamp in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive coil of 100 (Item 787000). The stamp, designed by Terrence W. McCaffrey, USPS®, goes on sale nationwide May 8, 2009.

This stamp was previously issued in the following formats:

  • Pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) coil of 3,000 (Item 787700).
  • Pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) coil of 10,000 (Item 787800).
  • Water-activated gum (WAG) coil of 3,000 (Item 787100).
Note  
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 https://store.usps.com/store/, or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:
U. S. Flag Stamp
Special Cancellations
PO Box 92282
Washington, DC 20090-2282
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. All orders must be postmarked by July 10, 2009.
How to Order First Day Covers
Stamp Fulfillment Services also offers first day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first day of issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly USA Philatelic catalog. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-STAMP-24 or writing to:
Information Fulfillment
Dept. 6270
U.S. Postal Service
PO Box 219014
Kansas City, MO 64121-9014
Philatelic Products
There is one philatelic product available for this stamp issue:
  • 787061*, First Day Cover (Coil of 100), $0.82.
Items with an asterisk (*) will use the 128 barcode from Stamp Fulfillment Services. All other philatelic products will continue to use barcode series A, with the exception of the Yearbook and the Guide Book.
Distribution: Item 787000, $44.00 U.S. Flag, PSA Coil of 100
All stamp distribution offices (SDOs) will receive automatic distributions of the $44.00 U.S. Flag, PSA coil of 100. Distributions will be in multiple waves. Initial SDO distribu­tions (first wave shipments), which began as early as February 25, 2009, will be complete by May 25, 2009. Subsequent SDO distributions (second wave shipments) will occur April 8, 2009, through May 21, 2009, and June 16, 2009, through July 23, 2009. Distributions are rounded up to the nearest master carton size (800 coils).
Initial Supply for Post Offices
SDOs will not make a subsequent automatic distribution of Item 787000 to Post Offices. All Post Offices requiring coils of Item 787000 must order them from their designated SDO using a separate PS Form 17. SDOs must not distribute coils to Post Offices before May 1, 2009.
Additional Supply
Post Offices requiring additional coils must requisition them from their designated SDO using PS Form 17. SDOs requiring additional coils must order them from the appropriate accountable paper depository (APD) using PS Form 17.
Following the initial automatic distributions to SDOs, the APDs will receive additional coils of Item 787000. Additional quantities of this definitive stamp coil will also be made available to SDOs via future automatic distributions, shipped directly from the supplier to the SDOs.