March 8, 2006

MEDIA ADVISORY

Crops of the Americas to flourish on new postage stamps

What: The U.S. Postal Service will dedicate the "Crops of the Americas" 39-cent definitive postage stamps.

Who: Charles Bravo, Senior Vice President, Intelligent Mail and Address Quality, U.S. Postal Service
Dave Failor, Executive Director, Stamp Services, U.S. Postal Service
Eric Jackson, President, American Stamp Dealers Association
Steve Buchanan, Stamp Artist

When: 12 noon (EST) March 16, 2006

Where: Mega Stamp Show Madison Square Garden 4 Pennsylvania Plaza New York, New York 10001

Background: The "Crops of the Americas" postage stamps depict five crops: Corn, chili peppers, beans, squashes and sunflowers. These American plants transformed diets in many lands and are popular and important parts of the world's food supply. They can be grown in a variety of soils and climates, they develop quickly and they bear heavy yields.

Artist Steve Buchanan, of Winstead, CT, created each of the five stamp designs. As reference, he used slide photographs made by his wife, Rita Buchanan, a consultant for the stamp project. The slides document Rita Buchanan's research in the late 1970s on indigenous agricultural methods in the southwestern United States.

The stamps will be issued in three formats: A vending booklet of 20, a double-sided convertible booklet of 20 and a coil of 100.