Banners, blooms to star on stamps

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Blooming flowers, Air Force One, wildlife, landscapes and famous women will grace new postage stamps this year as the price of mailing a letter goes up.

The U.S. Postal Service announced the stamps yesterday to cover the new rates that take effect May 14, including a 2-cent rise in first-class mail to 41 cents.

The new stamps are what the agency used to call definitives, meaning they will be the standard stamp for that price. The post office also issues commemorative stamps that remain in circulation for limited periods of time.

An American flag, this time rippling in the wind and attached to a flagpole, will carry the new 41-cent rate and will be sold in coils starting May 6.

“Beautiful Blooms,” a set of 10 41-cent stamps goes on sale Aug. 10 and includes flowers such as the coneflower, dahlia, chrysanthemum, gerbera daisy, tulip and iris.

On sale Aug. 17 will be the new 41-cent special occasion stamp, a colorful pattern incorporating the word “Celebrate.”

And a 41-cent stamped envelope with an image of galloping horses will be available May 12.

Among the other new stamps announced yesterday were:

• Margaret Chase Smith, 58 cents (the two-ounce rate) on sale June 13 commemorates the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress. This is the latest in the Distinguished Americans stamp series.

• Harriet Beecher Stowe, 75 cents (third-ounce price), on sale June 13 honors the author of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” one of the most influential novels in American history.

• Air Force One, $4.60 (Priority Mail) on sale June 13, illustrating the jumbo jet that serves as the president’s traveling office.

• Marine One, $16.25 (Express Mail) on sale June 13. This stamp illustrates the helicopter used by the president.