2012 Block Of 4: 65c Dogs At Work Stamps

Another announcement from the US Postal Service which will cover the 2 oz. domestic rate:

I think the USPS may have messed up on this announcement. The 65c "Dogs at Work" stamps described above were announced on Facebook; the 65c Butterfly Stamp (separate post) was announced on "Beyond the Perf". It would appear the "Dogs at Work" stamps were prematurely announced on Facebook only.

USPS on Facebook is now reporting an issue date for these stamps as January 20, 2012 in Merrifield, VA.

Oh boy - thanks for letting us know about this wt1

I just had a friend of mine in the United States send me a block of 4, a single and a FDC of Owney for my wife's collection of dog stamps. Looks like I will have to ask him again once these come out.

All the best

Chimo

Bujutsu

In looking over the specs posted online for these 65c Dogs at Work stamps, I note that they are being printed in a quantity of 80 million. That seems heavy, considering typical Forever stamps (first class rate) are usually printed in quantities of around 50 million.

Since the 65c rate will cover the second ounce, is the USPS anticipating a higher use of these stamps than regular first class "Forever" stamps? Or is the USPS just anticipating that these stamps will be available for a longer period of time and therefore they can justify an increased printing? Or could it be because it is in a block of 4 format the USPS is anticipating high collector demand?

In that this is not the only 65c stamp being issued this year, it will be interesting to see just how long these stamps are kept available for sale at post offices.

Dog stamps always seem to sell well. That US issue titled Adopt a Rescue Pet (US Scott #4451-4460) sold out quickly at my post office and, as has been stated, Owney was very popular. I doubt that the .65 price tag on each will affect sales, but competition with the Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly may be a problem since butterflies are also ever popular. While we're discussing the working dog stamps, they seem to have a Norman Rockwell look about them - particularly the Springer Spaniel.

I like the one lying on the floor. That`s
about my speed!

Now we know that Stamp #4 of this block is that of the late "Mittru" from New York State. Here's his story:

http://centralny.ynn.com/content/to...-search-dog/

I picked up some of these last week. Maybe I am picky, but the print quality is HORRIBLE. The digital image the USPS gave us looks far nicer than the actual stamp. But again, that may just be me geing overly critical...