2013 USPS Issues... News? Thoughts? Opinions?

Did anyone pickup their Lydia Mendoza stamps today (first day of issue) at their local post office? I did, and upon looking at it, the lettering looks blurred, so I scanned it in higher resolution and it appears like this ... is this a color mis-registration or are all the stamps printed this way?



For anyone who hasn't yet picked up the pane of stamps at their post office, the reverse side is shown here:

Here's an excerpt from the May 30, 2013 Postal Bulletin defining the remaining stamps scheduled to be issued in 2013. Of particular note is that we're going to have quite an array of Holiday stamps from which to choose:

What's the Harry Potter stamp for? I thought he was British?!

It will be interesting to see the gingerbread houses.

Thanks, wt1, for always keeping us up-to-date on these new stamps!

Many Many Americans lined up outside of bookstores for days to read Harry Potter.

It's an interesting grey area, but I am not seeing a major issue.

The Harry Potter issue is totally unexpected. Where did that come from? My May issue of Linn's makes no mention of it. And it looks like USPS has now dumped the WWII Medals of Honor. I'm not sure in what world this all makes sense.

Multiple departments all doing the same thing but each only reporting what is reported to each one individually. It will never make sense.

What is this march on washington stamp? Hasn't there been quite a few marches to make it so vague?

The March on Washington stamp is the third in the 2013 series of Civil Rights anniversary stamps (the other two were the Emancipation Proclamation and the Rosa Parks stamp).

In the case of the March on Washington Stamp, it is planned for August 28, 2013 commemorating the 50th anniversary of the famous March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. It is interesting that this will be the second stamp issued on the subject, the first of which was issued back in 2005.

This stamp issue was announced in several USPS news releases very early in 2013, however, the artwork for the stamp has hit some delay and has not yet been revealed.

http://blog-stampofapproval.com/tag...-washington/

I just received my monthly stamp shopping and on my invoice in big bold letters is this:

"Just Move stamp issuance has been delayed."

I didn't order that one, though I seem to be one of the few that might have, so it's on all invoices I assume.

As for the March on Washington, I see why I don't recognize it, no artwork to remember. I was hoping it would be for the Bonus Army march or even the Tea Party...

The "Just Move" stamp is supposed to be delayed until 2014 or later. The printing of USA Philatelic (Second Quarter) where the ordering information and stamp designs were shown, was likely the cause of confusion for many collectors. Frankly, it's beyond me how the powers that be would have even released USA Philatelic with a stamp that will not be issued this year. Seems like someone was asleep at the switch when it happened.

No matter, the list shown a few posts ago doesn't include the Medal of Honor stamps either, as shown in the poster that was included in USA Philatelic. No one seems to know for certain whether that one will actually be issued this year or not. As the story goes, the selvage of those Medal of Honor stamps were supposed to include the names of Medal of Honor recipients (including those still living, along with images of some) which, of course, goes back to the previously announced (then later dropped) idea that living people could be depicted on stamps. Obviously, no "living people" are depicted on the stamps shown, but I guess the political mess is whether a "stamp" is defined as including images or names on the selvage, too.

I suspect like other publications the cutoff already passed for the Quarterly when they "cancelled" the just move series? I wonder if they issue refunds or credits for those who ordered.
The things I notice in the Postal Bulletin, misorganized sections, mistakes in address and other issues with the pictorial postmarks and the like, I can more easily see the grid just having an error than an issue being mysteriously cancelled. But we'll see apparently.

For those interested in such things, this report was just posted today advising that the Muscle Cars Stamps are being reprinted. Apparently the initial 35 million Muscle Cars Stamps is not enough to meet demand so an additional 30 million are being printed and distributed. It is further noted that 16 million stamps have been sold to date.

That math doesn't seem to add up in my book ... what do you think?

https://liteblue.usps.gov/news/link...news07s4.htm

Collectors will be especially interested to know if the reprinted stamps have any discernable differences from the initial printing.

I wish my employer had that kind of logic when it came to paycheck!

I don't get it. Let them sell out. Isn't that the point to commemoratives? When they're gone, they're gone.

The new "New England Coastal Lighthouses" stamp issue is now available for preorder:
https://store.usps.com/store/browse...tId=S_471204

I assume everyone else noticed that the beyondtheperf preview site now reverts back to the beyondtheperf website even though a handful of stamps haven't been announced yet. Quite pitiful to be honest...

Although I planned to stop my US collection at the year 2000, I note that the design of US stamps is improving. The last sheet of modern art, in particular, includes some of the strongest issues of the US in a long while.

The June 13, 2013 of the Postal Bulletin has amended the remaining 2013 Stamp Issue calendar as highlighted below (as always, it's subject to change). Of particular note is:

1. The addition of a 1-cent Bobcat WAG Stamp in coils of 10K.

2. A CB10 of the Flags for All Seasons.

3. Confirmation that the Gingerbread Houses Stamps will be in a CB20 with 4 different designs.

4. The Christmas Poinsettia stamp will be issued in both CB20 and ATM18 booklets.

5. The reconfiguration of the Global Forever Christmas Stamp (Wreath) to be in panes of 10 (instead of panes of 20).

6. The Harry Potter stamp is still in the "TBD" stages, with the number of designs unconfirmed at this time.

7. The USPS continues to omit any reference to the Medal of Honor stamps as was depicted in the poster included in the last USA Philatelic: