USS Arizona Memorial stamp

The iconic USS Arizona Memorial will grace a new high-denomination United States stamp to be issued March 13 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The U.S. Postal Service will issue its $19.99 Priority Mail Express stamp during a 10:30 a.m. first-day ceremony at the National Park Service’s Pearl Harbor Visitors Center, 1 Arizona Memorial Place, Honolulu, Hawaii.

The ceremony is being hosted locally by the USPS Honolulu district office.

The stamp, pictured on page 13 as a USPS preliminary design, fulfills the new postage fee that went into effect Jan. 26 for a Priority Mail Express flat-rate envelope.

Banknote Corporation of America for Sennett Security Products manufactured the offset-printed stamps, issued to post offices in panes of 10.

Three million self-adhesive stamps were produced.

Dan Cosgrove created the stamp design featuring the memorial. Cosgrove has illustrated the Priority Mail and Express Mail stamps issued by the USPS since 2008.

The Scott catalog has categorized this stamp series with the title “American Landmarks.”

This is the first appearance of the USS Arizona Memorial on a U.S. postage stamp.

The ship was bombed during the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese aerial attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor. The memorial on the site honors the 1,177 sailors aboard the ship who died in the attack. Designed by architect Alfred Preis, the memorial was dedicated May 30, 1962.

Technical details and first-day-of-issue cancel ordering information for the USS Arizona Memorial stamp can be found in the box on nearby.$19.99 USS Arizona Memorial

Priority Mail Express stamp

FIRST DAY— March 13, 2014; city— Honolulu, Hawaii, and nationwide.

DESIGN: illustrator— Dan Cosgrove, Chicago, Ill.; designer, art director and typographer— Phil Jordan, Falls Church, Va.; modeler— Donald Woo.

PRINTING: process— offset with microprinting; printer and processor— Banknote Corporation of America for Sennett Security Products, Browns Summit, N.C.; press— Goebel; inks— cyan, magenta, yellow, black; paper— prephosphored overall tagged; gum— self-adhesive; issue quantity— 3 million stamps; format— pane of 10, from 90-subject cylinders; size— 1.4 inches by 1.07 inches (image); 1.56 inches by 1.23 inches (overall); 4.12 inches by 7.24 inches (full pane); plate numbers— “S” followed by four single digits; marginal markings— plate numbers in two corners (stamp side); “©2013 USPS,” plate position diagram, USPS logo, bar code 116400 in two corners, promotional text; USPS item No.— 116400.

First-day cancel ordering information

Collectors requesting first-day cancels are encouraged to purchase their own stamps and affix them to envelopes. The first-day cover envelopes should be addressed for return (a removable label may be used), and mailed in a larger envelope addressed to USS Arizona Memorial Stamp, Postmaster, 3600 Aolele St., Honolulu, HI 96820-9998. Requests for first-day cancels must be postmarked by May 13.

The Postal Service’s uncacheted first-day cover for the USS Arizona Memorial stamp is USPS item No. 116416 at $20.43. USPS order numbers for stamps and FDCs also appear in Linn’s 2014 U.S. Stamp Program.