# 2711-14 - 1992 29c Contemporary Christmas: Toys
1992 29¢ Christmas Toys
Contemporary Christmas
City: Kansas City, MO
Quantity: 125,000,000
Microprinting In U.S. Stamps
A long-standing concern for U.S. postal officials has always been combating stamp counterfeiting. Over the years, they’ve experimented with a number of techniques and technologies to help safeguard against this illegal practice.
Stamps are a type of “security paper” much like currency. They prepare the government for the delivery of mail, so counterfeiting or reusing postage stamps defrauds the government. So it’s very important to the USPS to develop new, more advanced ways to prevent this fraud.
Each of the four stamps has Microprinted magenta dots in one part of its design (in the wheels of the fire truck, train, and horseman, and in a window of the ship). Plus, each stamp also has “© 1992″ printed in tiny letters. These stamps also have another security feature – a special green metallic ink was used in the “29” denomination and the “USA.” This ink would make it harder to reproduce these stamps, as it wouldn’t print the same if the stamps were copied.
In the coming years, the USPS continued to produce more and more microprinted stamps. These microprints often related to the topic, such as “POW&MIA” on the POW & MIA stamp, or more commonly, “USPS” or the year the stamps were issued.
Click here for a lengthy list of microprinted U.S. stamps and here to see several examples of microprinted stamps.
1992 29¢ Christmas Toys
Contemporary Christmas
City: Kansas City, MO
Quantity: 125,000,000
Microprinting In U.S. Stamps
A long-standing concern for U.S. postal officials has always been combating stamp counterfeiting. Over the years, they’ve experimented with a number of techniques and technologies to help safeguard against this illegal practice.
Stamps are a type of “security paper” much like currency. They prepare the government for the delivery of mail, so counterfeiting or reusing postage stamps defrauds the government. So it’s very important to the USPS to develop new, more advanced ways to prevent this fraud.
Each of the four stamps has Microprinted magenta dots in one part of its design (in the wheels of the fire truck, train, and horseman, and in a window of the ship). Plus, each stamp also has “© 1992″ printed in tiny letters. These stamps also have another security feature – a special green metallic ink was used in the “29” denomination and the “USA.” This ink would make it harder to reproduce these stamps, as it wouldn’t print the same if the stamps were copied.
In the coming years, the USPS continued to produce more and more microprinted stamps. These microprints often related to the topic, such as “POW&MIA” on the POW & MIA stamp, or more commonly, “USPS” or the year the stamps were issued.
Click here for a lengthy list of microprinted U.S. stamps and here to see several examples of microprinted stamps.