FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contacts: Don Smeraldi (202) 268-6524 February 21, 2003 Ray Jacobs (740) 653-9069 Postal Service Web Site: www.usps.com Stamp News Release Number: 03-010 OHIO STATEHOOD POSTAGE STAMP TO BE ISSUED AT BICENTENNIAL KICK-OFF EVENT WASHINGTON – A colorful photograph taken of a rural area near what was the first settlement in the Northwest Territory is depicted on a new postage stamp commemorating the bicentennial of Ohio’s statehood. The U.S. Postal Service will issue the Ohio Statehood stamp March 1 during the Ohio bicentennial kick-off celebration to take place at 12:30 p.m. at the Ross County Courthouse, 28 N. Paint St., Chillicothe. The ceremony is free and open to the public. The stamp will be available March 1 at the event and at Chillicothe post offices. Starting March 3, the stamp will be available at all Ohio post offices, at Philatelic Centers and Postal Stores nationwide, by toll-free telephone order at 1 800 STAMP-24 and at the online Postal Store at www.usps.com/shop. Joseph W. Cinadr, postmaster of Mansfield, Ohio, and former president of the National League of Postmasters, will dedicate the stamp at the first day of issue ceremony. Also scheduled to participate are Sen. George Voinovich, Rep. Robert Ney and Governor Bob Taft. Comprised of land ceded to the United States after the Revolutionary War, the Northwest Territory included present-day Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. In 1787 Congress enacted a plan to organize and govern this large area. The following year its first permanent settlement was established in Marietta, Ohio. On Feb. 19, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson approved Ohio’s constitution, and on March 1, 1803, Ohio became the first state carved from the territory and the 17th admitted to the Union. The Ohio Statehood stamp features a color photograph taken by Ohiobased photographer Ian Adams. Taken near Marietta, Ohio, the photograph depicts a country lane and barn located on the edge of Wayne National Forest in Washington County. To see the stamp, visit the Postal Service Web site and open the online version of this press release at www.usps.com/communications/news/stamps/welcome.htm. Since 1775, the U.S. Postal Service has connected friends, families, neighbors and businesses by mail. An independent federal agency that visits 137 million homes and businesses every day, it is the only service provider to deliver to every address in the nation. The Postal Service receives no taxpayer dollars for routine operations, but derives its operating revenues solely from the sale of postage, products and services. With annual revenues of more than $66 billion, the Postal Service delivers more than 46 percent of the world’s mail volume—some 207 billion letters, advertisements, periodicals and packages a year—and serves 7 million customers each day at its 40,000 retail locations nationwide. TECHNICAL DETAILS Issue: Ohio Statehood Item Number: 453900 Denomination & Type of Issue: 37-cent Commemorative Format: Pane of 20 (1 design) Series: N/A Issue Date & City: March 1, 2003, Chillicothe, OH 45601 Designer: Phil Jordan, Falls Church, VA Engraver: N/A Photographer: Ian Adams, Cuyahoga Falls, OH Art Director: Phil Jordan, Falls Church, VA Typographer: Phil Jordan, Falls Church, VA Modeler: Banknote Corporation of America, Inc. (BCA) Manufacturing Process: Offset/Microprint “USPS” Printer: Banknote Corporation of America, Inc. (BCA) Printed at: Browns Summit, NC Press Type: Man Roland, 300 Stamps per Pane: 20 Print Quantity: 50 million stamps Paper Type: Nonphosphored type III, Phosphor Tagged, Block Gum Type: Pressure Sensitive Processed at: Banknote Corporation of America, Inc. (BCA) Colors: Yellow, Magenta, Cyan, Black Stamp Orientation: Vertical Image Area (w x h): 0.82 x 1.39 in./20.83 x 35.31 mm Overall Size (w x h): 0.99 x 1.56 in./25.15 x 39.62 mm Full Pane Size (w x h): 5.90 x 7.26 x in./149.86 x 184.40 mm Plate Size: 240 stamps per revolution Plate Numbers: “B” followed by four (4) single digits Marginal Markings: Ó 2002 USPS · Price · Plate numbers in four corners · Plate position diagram · Barcodes on back Catalog Item Number(s): 453920 Block of 4 — $1.48 453930 Block of 10 — $3.70 453940 Full Pane of 20 — $7.40 453961 First Day Cover — $0.75 453993 Full pane w/FDC — $8.15 HOW TO ORDER THE FIRST DAY OF ISSUE POSTMARK Customers have 30 days to obtain the first day of issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local post office, by telephone at 1 800 STAMP-24, and at the Postal Store at www.usps.com. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to: OHIO STATEHOOD COMMEMORATIVE STAMP POSTMASTER 40 S WALNUT ST CHILLICOTHE OH 45601-9991 After applying the first day of issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark. All orders must be postmarked by March 31, 2003.