May 14, 2018 - A Legit Date To Commemorate

Perhaps this topic has been raised before somewhere in this forum but I have not found it:

In 2013, the USPS, in its infinite wisdom, decides to release an altered reproduction of the most famous and beloved discovered US error stamp - the 1918 24 cents US Airmail stamp famously known as the "Inverted Jenny"....not to commemorate a milestone or significant anniversary of the issuance of that classic airmail stamp or the most famous discovered error in US philatelic history in 1918 but instead to ostensibly raise funds for the USPS by drawing attention to the opening of a gallery in a museum. This, five years prior to the actual 100th anniversary of that famous 1918 "Inverted Jenny" error stamp sheet which is the explicit subject of that prematurely released 2013 commemorative stamp sheet.

Does it strike anyone else as ill-timed, ill-advised, or inappropriate that the USPS has done this?

And will the USPS do nothing on the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the most famous error stamp in US history in 2018 when they made enormous efforts to put out a sheet 5 years prematurely in 2013?

What should we expect from the USPS in 2018??

I doubt they would want to celebrate a day that they messed up but otherwise I see your point.

Personally I don't see anything much wrong with using the stamp for some other stamp-related purpose, but I agree that if they do that, they should also commemorate the stamp for its own sake. If it's so iconic they want to use it for a gallery, then it deserves to be recognised by itself as well.

I think the thing to honor isn't the invert; it's the centennial of regularly scheduled and available airmail service in the US. Perhaps a new issue reproducing each of the original 3 airmail stamps would be nice.

Excellent idea! I too do not consider the error something to commemorate. But the centennial of airmail service is something else. It would be a natural addition to C74, the 1968 air mail stamp commemorating the 50th anniversary of US air mail service.

So how do these suggestions make their way to the decision makers at the USPS?

Make your request known to the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee. Here's the link:

https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/csac/process.htm

Thanks, wt1. I'm going to make a submission. I wonder if this is a case of "the more the merrier?" I'm sure it wouldn't hurt for them to receive multiple requests.

Added: mmisinglink, the first flight for US Airmail service was on May 15, 1918, and C74 was issued on May 15, 1968. Why did you select May 14?

I say they should issue a Jenny invert with a forever denomination in booklet and/or coil format - something that will see every day use. What better way to advertise stamp collecting? I think people would find the stamp amusing and some would be interested to know more about the history of it and may take up collecting. With a $2 per-stamp denomination and $12 a sheet, 99% of non-collectors will never see a copy or even know of its existence. The Jenny discovery is one of the great stories of stamp collecting, probably the greatest "find" of all time. That sort of thing is rare, but it does happen, and I see nothing wrong with promoting this aspect of stamp collecting. Even though most collectors are realistic about the possibility of finding something that major, they all wish it would happen to them, and even much smaller finds can still be quite thrilling.

A 2018 stamp to commem. a stamp that was famous for an error?

What if these 2018 stamps have some errors on them as well

paperhistory had written: "I think the thing to honor isn't the invert; it's the centennial of regularly scheduled and available airmail service in the US. Perhaps a new issue reproducing each of the original 3 airmail stamps would be nice."

Agreed, this I would like to see as well.



wt1 had written: "Make your request known to the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee. Here's the link:
https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/c...process.htm"

Thank you, excellent suggestion.




blcrj had written: "mmisinglink, the first flight for US Airmail service was on May 15, 1918, and C74 was issued on May 15, 1968. Why did you select May 14?"

The reason why I mentioned May 14, 1918 is clearly because this is the date the US Post office issued the first airmail stamps and the day that the Inverted Jenny sheet was discovered and I was suggesting that these 2 events may be worth commemorating. But I can also see the merits in commemorating the date that airmail service had begun. So either commemorating the 100th anniversary release date of the first airmail stamp and the discovery or the Inverted Jenny sheet or the innaugural airmail service would work for me.



Also, I like the suggestion of TheArtfulHinger


.

About a month a go I made a formal request to the CSAC to commemorate the May 15, 1918 event. I have not received any acknowledgment of my request (yet), even though acknowledgment is said to be part of the process. If, after two months, it has not been acknowledged, I will resubmit the request.

It always struck me that 2013 was five years too early for the two-dollar Jenny. Now, after the whole debacle with the uninverts, any future reprints will be forever tainted.

That being said, I could see a reprint of the 6, 16, and 24-cent designs in more postal-friendly rates, say one-ounce, two-ounce, and international airmail. (does anyone use post cards any more?) Another cool idea would be a side-by-side 24-cent invert and non-invert se-tenant, perhaps on a sheetlet, and again, in a more friendly postage rate. ($2 is absurd)

After the 2013 Jenny fiasco, I am decidedly not in a mood to entertain any more USPS hidden issue shenanigans.

I suggested a design incorporating the De Havilland DH-4 as repesentative of early airmail transport rather than the Jenny both because of the recent Jenny issue and because the DH-4 was actually more important to the early development of airmail. I also suggested a generic jetliner for the modern era since the mail came to be carried to be carried on lots of different models in the modern era.

2013 was ( I say was cuz USPS missed the opportunity ) the year to celebrate the 50th year of ZIP code useage.
2013 shouldn't have been the year to celebrate the 95th anniversary of an error stamp. They couldn't wait another 5 years. Sheesh. That flustered me in 2013 and still does. And once again....why didn't the USPS commemorate the 50th anniversary of ZIP code useage in 2013 instead??

Well, it is pretty clear now that the issue in 2013 was just about marketing, not commemorating a significant event in U.S. Postal history.

Do you know if commemorating the 50th anniversary of ZIP code usage was ever proposed to the USPS? If no one ever proposed it, it is hard to fault them for not doing it.