US #2717

1992 29¢ Fire Pumper

Christmas Toys

• Contemporary Christmas stamps for 1992
• Issued as sheets and booklets
•  Pictures antique horse-drawn fire pumper toy

Stamp Category: Commemorative

Value: 29¢, Fi...  more

US #2717

1992 29¢ Fire Pumper

Christmas Toys

• Contemporary Christmas stamps for 1992
• Issued as sheets and booklets
•  Pictures antique horse-drawn fire pumper toy

Stamp Category: Commemorative

Value: 29¢, First Class Mail rate

First Day of Issue: October 22, 1992

First Day City: Kansas City, Missouri

Quantity Issued: 102,137,500 stamps

Printed by: American Bank Note Company

Printing Method: Photogravure

Format: Booklets of 20

Perforations: 11

Why the stamp was issued: This stamp is part of a set of four stamps that was the Contemporary Christmas issues in 1992.

About the stamp design: The stamp art was the work of Lou Nolan. He painted his designs of four antique toys on illustration board. The fire pumper was modeled after a toy in the national Museum of American History’s Division of Domestic Life, part of the Smithsonian Institution.

Nolan’s work can be seen on several stamps in the Transportation series and other US stamps. 

Special design details: To prevent counterfeiting, Ashton-Potter printed the “29” and “USA” using a special green ink that contained metallic elements. If the stamps were photocopied, the colors would have separated. In addition, each stamp has a microscopic “© 1992” included on the front bar of the fire pumper. A third security feature is a small patch of magenta dots between two spokes of the front wheel on the far side.

First Day City: The First Day of Issue ceremony for the Christmas Toys stamps took place at Hallmark Cards Corporate Headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri.