Ocean Darkness Comes to Light 2/22

On February 22, 2018, in Fort Pierce, FL, the U.S. Postal Service will issue the Bioluminescent Life First-Class Mail stamps in 10 designs, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive pane of 20 stamps.

The stamps will go on sale nationwide February 22, 2018.

Bioluminescent Life stamps celebrate the phenomenon of bioluminescence – the ability of some species to glow – with a pane of 20 stamps featuring 10 life-forms that create their own light. The stamp images represent the work of some of the top explorers of the bioluminescent ocean realm as well as two terrestrial bioluminescent life-forms:

 

§  Row 1: deep-ocean octopus and midwater jellyfish, photos by Edith Widder.
§  Row 2: deep-sea comb jelly, photo by Edith Widder; mushroom, photo by Taylor F. Lockwood.
§  Row 3: firefly, photo by Gail Shumway; bamboo coral, photo by Edith Widder.
§  Row 4: marine worm and crown jellyfish, photos by Edith Widder.
§  Row 5: marine worm, photo by Steve Haddock; sea pen, photo by Edith Widder.

On each row of stamps, the third and fourth stamps repeat the first two designs. The selvage also features the transparent deep-sea comb jelly (photo by Gregory G. Dimijian) and the firefly squid (photo by Danté Fenolio). Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamps and selvage from existing photographs.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
Customers have 120 days to obtain the First-Day-Of-Issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office, at The Postal Store website at usps.com/shop, or by phone at 800-782-6724. They must affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

FDOI – Bioluminescent Life Stamps
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900

After applying the First-Day-Of-Issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by June 22, 2018.

Philatelic products for this stamp issue are as follows:

§  475710 Digital Color Postmark Keepsake (random cover), $11.95.
§  475716 First-Day Cover (set of 10), $9.40.
§  475721 Digital Color Postmark (set of 10), $16.50.
§  475730 Ceremony Program, $6.95.