TMCnet News

Muscle Car Stamps Among Sports Items to be Auctioned on eBay
[February 22, 2014]

Muscle Car Stamps Among Sports Items to be Auctioned on eBay


(Targeted News Service Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 -- The Postal Service issued the following news release: Fans of NASCAR, football, as well as other sports aficionados, have an opportunity to bid on nearly 50 rare sports theme stamps and collectibles -- many of which are from the exclusive Postmaster General's (PMG) Collection. The eBay online auction is at this link and ends at 3 a.m. EST Feb. 26.



In addition to the auction, at ebay.com/stamps (http://www.ebay.com/stamps), customers can find a variety of new stamps to fit their personal and business mailing needs as well as unique limited-edition collectable stamps.

"This is the Postal Service's second PMG Collection auction on eBay," said Chief Marketing and Sales Officer and Executive Vice President Nagisa Manabe. "The first took place in September 2013 and was highly successful. This sports-themed auction will open the doors of the wonderful world of stamp collecting to the myriad of eBay customers who daily shop for sports memorabilia.


"Moreover, the Postmaster General's Collection is a stamp collector's dream that includes rare postal artifacts found nowhere else in the world. By limiting our auctions to duplicate philatelic items from the PMG's Collection, we continue to preserve the collection's integrity," added Manabe.

Following are three of the nearly 50 items in the auction: Muscle Cars Stamps autographed by Richard and Kyle Petty and a set of Stamped Postcards Attached photos omitted. Click here to view: (http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2014/pr14_011.htm) This car lover's offering includes two full sheets of 20 Muscle Cars Forever stamps -- one signed by Richard Petty and the other by Kyle Petty. The third issuance in the America on the Move series, the five stamp designs were created by Tom Fritz under the art direction of Carl T. Herrman and depict five iconic muscle cars: the 1966 Pontiac GTO, 1967 Shelby GT-100, 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona, 1970 Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda and the 1970 Chevelle SS.

37-cent Early Football Stamp Pane and First-Day Cover Set Attached photo omitted. Click here to view: (http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2014/pr14_011.htm) Issued in a pressure-sensitive adhesive pane of 20 on Aug. 8, 2003, in South Bend, IN, the stamps feature four great figures from the early days of football: Walter Camp, Ernie Nevers, Red Grange and Bronko Nagurski. All four players are enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame (http://www.collegefootball.org/). The stamps, which feature colorized photographs were designed by Richard Sheaff. Avery Dennison (AVR) printed 70 million of these stamps in the gravure process with Scrambled Indicia. To complement the stamps, a set of four First Day Covers are also included. Each of these #6 3/4 commemorative envelopes bears a different affixed Early Football stamp postmarked by the official First-Day-of-Issue postmark that features a football helmet graphic adjacent to the date (Aug. 8, 2003) and location (South Bend, IN) of issue.

Signed 13-cent 1976 Block of Four Stamps Proof is 1 of 3 from the Postmaster General's Philatelic Collection Attached photos omitted. Click here to view: (http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2014/pr14_011.htm) The Postmaster General's Collection The PMG's Collection consists primarily of 20th century stamp designs and is best known for its extensive collection of Postal Service stamp proofs. Early proofs were made from the original steel dies on which stamp designs were engraved. The dies were then pressed onto transfer rolls which were used to create the plates for printing stamps. Later, with lithographic printing, designer or production prints were mounted to replicate the earlier die proof standard. The se-tenant stamps were designed by Donald Moss and issued July 16, 1976. Se-tenant is a stamp or label printed from the same plate that adjoin one another but have different designs and colors. The Winter Games were held in Innsbruck, Austria, and the Summer Games took place in Montreal, Canada. The stamps feature four sports: two winter sports (skiing and skating) and two summer sports (diving and running). The proof was signed by Postmaster General Benjamin F. Bailar, who served from 1975 to 1978.

The PMG's Collection began in the 1860s as a modest set of Post Office Department files filled with records and a small sampling of stamps, and continues to evolve today. Now, thousands of stamps later, the archive has become a one-of-a-kind stamp collecting resource with unusual, rare and unique holdings. To preserve the integrity of the collection, only duplicate items will be auctioned.

The 30,000 items consist of two distinct elements: stamps and original stamp artwork. They include many pre-production items, including proofs (quality control samples) and essays (either rejected or not finalized stamp designs), black and white models and uncut press sheets (typically six to eight sheets of stamps from a single sheet that is not perforated for individual stamp removal).

The Collection also contains many rare and unique items, including full sheets of early high denomination stamps, experimental paper issues, die proofs (quality control samples) of the inverted Jenny airmail stamp and mail postmarked on the moon. Very few of these items have been seen by the public.

The stamp art collection originated in 1942 and includes original art commissioned by the Post Office Department and U.S. Postal Service for more than 3,000 U.S. postage stamps. The collection includes original artwork by Norman Rockwell and hundreds of other artists who have volunteered to create art that would be used in miniature form on U.S. stamps. In addition to the approved artwork, the collection includes thousands of concept designs and many preliminary sketches.

The eBay/Postal Service Relationship Headquartered in San Jose, CA, eBay is one of the world's largest online marketplaces, connecting people with the things they need and love, virtually anytime, anywhere. With more than 120 million active users globally, eBay is one of the U.S. Postal Service's largest package mailers.

The Postal Service and eBay relationship is based on providing value and convenience to the eBay marketplace. Unlike most traditional brick and mortar retailers, eBay doesn't physically handle the products that consumers purchase. Instead, eBay's marketplace serves as an online platform connecting sellers directly with buyers worldwide. In this model, sellers rely on the Postal Service to provide superior delivery performance, combined with shipping products that are easy-to-use, price-effective and convenient.

For a wide selection of stamps and related collectible products, please visit the official Postal Service Store on eBay at ebay.com/stamps.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

TNS 24KuanRap-140222 30FurigayJof-4646109 30FurigayJof (c) 2014 Targeted News Service

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]