Announced by the USPS on October 24, 2022.
Beloved by children and adults alike, snow globes can be miniature works of art, kitschy souvenirs or anything in between. Celebrating the spirit of the holidays, the Postal Service captures the playful pleasure of Christmas snow globes on four new stamps.
Painting in oil, the artist created spherical snow globes featuring icons of the season: a snowman wearing a jaunty red-and-white scarf; Santa Claus on a rooftop preparing to climb down the chimney; a reindeer standing in a snowy forest; and a snowy tree decorated with colorful ornaments. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamps with original art by Gregory Manchess.
New information will appear below the line, with the most recent at the top.
Updated November 7:
Here are the Scott catalogue numbers for this issue:
- 5816 Snowman in snow globe
- 5817 Santa Claus in snow globe
- 5818 Reindeer in snow globe
- 5819 Christmas tree in snow globe
- a. Block of 4, #5816-5819
- b. Convertible booklet pane of 20, 5 each #5616-5619
Updated August 19:
[ceremony details] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
U.S. Postal Service to Shake Up Mail With Snow Globe Stamps
What: Celebrating the spirit of the holidays, the U.S. Postal Service captures the playful pleasure of Christmas snow globes on four new stamps. Each Snow Globes stamp features an artist’s rendition of a wintertime or seasonal motif.
The first-day-of-issue event for these Forever stamps is free and open to the public. News of the stamp is being shared with the hashtag #SnowGlobesStamps.
Who: Sheila Holman, vice president of marketing, USPS
Harry Rinker, USPS Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee
Gregory Manchess, stamp artist
When: Tuesday, Sept. 19, at 11 a.m. MDT
Where:
Stephen C. West Ice Arena
189 Boreas Pass Road
Breckenridge, CO 80424
RSVP: Dedication ceremony attendees are encouraged to RSVP at usps.com/snowglobes.
Background: Beloved by children and adults alike, snow globes can be miniature works of art, kitschy souvenirs or anything in between. Snow globes share common features. A 
container — made of glass, plastic or other clear material — is filled with liquid that covers a central figure or scene; when shaken, the flitter, the technical term for the “snow,” creates a storm that briefly obscures the inside of the container.
In each of the four stamps, artist Gregory Manchess used oil paint to reproduce the magic of the holidays held within four tiny, encapsulated landscapes. The stamps include a snowman, Santa Claus poised on a chimney, a majestic deer and a Christmas tree.
The Snow Globes stamps are being issued in booklets of 20 Forever stamps that will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price.
From the Postal Bulletin:
On September 19, 2023, in Breckenridge, CO, the United States Postal Service® will issue the Snow Globes stamps (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate) in four designs, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) double-sided booklet of 20 stamps (Item 684500). These stamps will go on sale nationwide September 19, 2023, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue.
Snow Globes stamps celebrate the holidays with whimsical elegance. Painting in oil, the artist created spherical snow globes, each on a brown base, featuring icons of the season:
- A snowman wearing a jaunty red-and-white scarf.
- Santa Claus on a rooftop preparing to climb down the chimney.
- A reindeer standing in a snowy forest.
- A snowy tree decorated with colorful ornaments.
Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamps with original art by Gregory Manchess.
No automatic distribution.
How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office™ or at The Postal Store® website at store.usps.com/store/home. They must affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:
FDOI – Snow Globes Stamps
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900
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 up to a quantity of 50. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by January 19, 2024.
Technical Specifications:
Issue: Snow Globes Stamps
Item Number: 684500
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Double-sided Booklet of 20 (4 designs)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: September 19, 2023, Breckenridge, CO 80424
Designer: Derry Noyes, Washington, DC
Art Director: Derry Noyes, Washington, DC
Artist: Gregory Manchess
Modeler: Joseph Sheeran
Manufacturing Process: Offset
Printer: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd (APU)
Press Type: Muller A76
Stamps per Booklet: 20
Print Quantity: 550,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Nonphosphored Type III, Block Tagged
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Colors: Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow
Stamp Orientation: Vertical
Image Area (w x h): 0.77 x 1.05 in / 19.558 x 26.67 mm
Stamp Size (w x h): 0.91 x 1.19 in / 23.114 x 30.226 mm
Booklet Size (w x h): 5.76 x 2.38 in / 146.304 x 60.452 mm
Plate Size: 880 stamps per revolution
Plate Numbers: “P” followed by four (4) single digits
Marginal Markings: Header: “Snow Globes” Twenty First-Class Forever Stamps • ©2022 USPS in peel strip area • Barcode • USPS logo • Promotional text • Plate number in peel strip area
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