# MUS089 - 2023 #5799 Limited Edition Endangered Species Collector's Set: Progressive Stamp Proofs, 1 Mint Sheet & Numbered Cert

Limited-Edition Endangered Species Proof Set
Can Be Yours Today – Only 4,000 Ever Made!

• Includes 9 proof panes of 2023 US Endangered Species stamps in varying stages of the printing process:
  • Mint stamp pane
  • Finished pane without tagging and without printing on the back
  • Finished pane without special coating over the animals
  • Finished pane with special coating over the animals
  • Black ink only with special white ink sued for “Endangered”
  • Black ink only
  • Yellow ink only
  • Magenta ink only
  • Cyan ink only
• 5 x 9.5-inch, 36-page booklet with information on all 20 animals, photographer Joel Sartore, stamp designs, and printing process
• Pocket in back cover with glassine containing each proof pane
• Comes with individually numbered 4 x 3-inch certificate of authenticity
• Glassine between each proof pane
• The 4^th time in the last 10 years the USPS has created such a set

These special editon proof sets are always popular with collectors.  This is your chance to get the Endangered Species one today.  Just 4,000 were made, so not everyone will be able to own one.  Order yours now to become one of those lucky collectors.

Read on to learn more about the 2023 US Endangered Species stamps…

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Value:  63¢, First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue:  May 19, 2023
First Day City:  Wall, South Dakota
Quantity Issued:  30,000,000
Printed by:  Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method:  Offset, Flexographic
Format:  Panes of 20
Tagging:  Phosphor tagged paper

Why the stamps were issued:  To commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act.

About the stamp designs:  Photographs on the stamps were from Joel Sartore’s famous “Photo Ark” project.  They are among over 13,000 the National Geographic photographer has taken in his quest to shoot photos of as many animal species as possible.

Special design details:  Stamps include “Endangered” and the common name of each species.

First Day City:  First Day of Issue Ceremony was in Wall, South Dakota, at the National Grasslands Visitor Center.  The center encourages visitors to see the 20 National Grasslands and Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.  These habitats are home to the black-footed ferret, one of the endangered species pictured on the stamps.

History the stamp represents:  The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28.  The legislation “protect[s] species and the ecosystems upon which they depend,” with a goal “to halt and reverse the trend toward species extinction, whatever the cost.”  The ESA is jointly administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service.

In 2023, the US Postal Service celebrated the 50^th anniversary of the ESA with a set of 20 Forever stamps.  The stamps were issued on Endangered Species Day, which lands on the third Friday in May.  Each design pictures a different endangered species, representing only a small handful of the over 1,300 plants and animals protected under the ESA as of 2023.  The images used for the stamps were part of Joel Sartore’s “Photo Ark.”  Partnering with National Geographic, he set out to capture 20,000 species living in zoos and wildlife sanctuaries around the world.  Together, they are determined to intimately picture each species in order to educate and bring awareness to their preservation.  Sartore calls his work as a photographer a “mission to document endangered species and landscapes in order to show a world worth saving.”

Thanks to the ESA, many plant and animal species that were once endangered have made a comeback.  With the continued effort of conservationists, volunteers, and increased awareness, even more species can make their way back from the brink of extinction one day.