Breast Cancer Research semipostal with 2014 date

An offset-printed 2014-dated version of the United States Breast Cancer Research semipostal stamp will be issued in late September.

The new stamp will have the same design as the variety issued 16 years ago, but the year date, stamp printer and printing process are all changing.

According to U.S. Postal Service officials, Banknote Corporation of America will print the 2014 version of the stamp for Sennett Security Products using the offset printing process.

Press sheets, both with and without die cuts, will be made available for the new stamp.

The original stamp issued July 29, 1998, was gravure printed by Avery Dennison (Scott B1).

As of March this year, more than 970 million of the stamps had been sold, raising more than $73.7 million for cancer research.

The purchase price of the semipostal is currently 60¢. The amount collected in excess of the first-class letter rate is transferred to the National Institutes of Health and the medical research program at the Department of Defense. That surtax is currently 11¢ per stamp.

Sales of the stamp are scheduled to continue until Dec. 31, 2015.