US #2491
1993 Pine Cone
Stamp Category: Definitive
Set: Flora and Fauna Series
Value: 29¢, First Class mail rate
First Day of Issue: November 5, 1993
First Day City: Kansas City, Missouri
Quantity Issued: 720,000,000
Printed by: Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method: Photogravure
Format: Panes of 18 from plates of 324, coils from plates of 216
Perforations: Die Cut
Why the stamp was issued: This stamp was issued to cover the First-Class mail rate. It was one of the first self-adhesive definitives of 1993 issued to satisfy customer demand.
About the stamp design: The Pine Cone stamp was designed by Paul Breeden and had been in the USPS files for 10 years. According to the artist, the stamp pictures a pine cone from a Ponderosa pine. This is the most common species of pine found in the US.
Breeden, a National Geographic artist, used a technique known as scratchboard. With this technique, clay-coated paper is covered with ink, then the artist scratches away the areas he doesn’t want colored. When this phase of his painting was completed, he painted pine needles around the pine cone.
About the printing process: The stamp was produced as a pane of 18 that could be folded into a booklet. Collectors could also buy coil strips of 18 stamps. The stamps were placed farther apart than the booklet stamps so the coils could be used by the USPS to apply the Pine cone stamp to First Day Covers.
This was the first self-adhesive stamp to be printed using only intaglio engraving. Previous self-adhesives were produced using engraving and lithograph.
First Day City: The First Day of Issue ceremony took place on opening day of Midaphil 93, a stamp show held in Kansas City, Missouri.
Unusual fact about this stamp: This stamp was sold before its official issue date. The earliest known use was October 18.