US #2527
1991 Flower

• Same design as rate-change stamp issued earlier in the year
• Issued in three formats

Category of Stamp:  Definitive
Value:  29¢
First Day of Issue:  April 5, 1991
First Day City:  Rochester, New York
Quantity Issued:  1,880,688,000
Printed by:  J.W. Fergusson & ...  more

US #2527
1991 Flower

• Same design as rate-change stamp issued earlier in the year
• Issued in three formats

Category of Stamp:  Definitive
Value:  29¢
First Day of Issue:  April 5, 1991
First Day City:  Rochester, New York
Quantity Issued:  1,880,688,000
Printed by:  J.W. Fergusson & Sons for KCS Industries Inc.
Printing Method/Format:  Photogravure, 2 booklet panes of 10 from printing cylinders of 400 (20 across, 20 down)
Perforations:  11

Reason the stamp was issued:  This flower stamp was issued following a rate change in 1991. 

About the stamp design:  The red tulip against a yellow background was first used for non-denominated stamps when rate changes were put in place.  The design was the work of Wallace Marosek, who created the painting while he was an art student at Yale University.

First Day City:  Rochester, New York, is nicknamed the Flower City, so it was an appropriate spot for the First Day of Issue of this denominated Flower stamps.  It took place during the Ropex 91 stamp show, though there was no official ceremony.

Unusual thing about this stamp:  The design for this stamp was first used in 1991 on an “F” rate change stamp.  That stamp was issued in sheet, coil, and booklet formats and was produced by three different printers.  When the new rate was set at 29¢, the tulip design was again used for these new stamps.  This was the first time in US history that the design for a non-denominated stamp was used again on a denominated stamp.  The 29¢ stamps were also printed as sheets, booklets, and coils..