U.S. Floral Geometry definitive stamps with foil arrive June 20

A pair of high-denomination United States definitive (regular-issue) stamps depicting geometric floral patterns will be issued June 20 in Kansas City, Mo., without an official first-day ceremony.

The $2 Floral Geometry stamp was printed in panes of 10, and its $5 counterpart will be available in smaller panes of four. Banknote Corporation of America, one of the U.S. Postal Service’s two contract printers, produced the $2 and $5 Floral Geometry stamps in quantities of 19 million (1.9 million panes) and 2 million (500,000 panes), respectively.

Spaeth Hill, a contemporary design firm in Alexandria, Va., designed the stamps. They showcase “a series of overlapping geometric shapes that mimic the symmetry of floral patterns found in nature. … The watercolor backgrounds and the glimmer of the foil-stamped designs and typography create a sophisticated look,” the Postal Service said.

On the $2 stamp, six circles overlap to form a symmetrical pattern that resembles a flower with six petals. Arrangements of dots combine with the circles to form additional geometric shapes.

More complexity appears in the design of the $5 stamp, which features the same pattern of circles, additional lines and different dot patterns. A triangle can be seen in combination with the flowerlike pattern.

Postal Service art director Antonio Alcala worked directly with Jill Spaeth and Nathan Hill of Spaeth Hill to create the designs for the Floral Geometry stamps.

“I’ve known Jill Spaeth and Nathan Hill for many years,” Alcala told Forever Stamp Store’s Stamp News. “No specific project led me to collaborate with them.”

“I was drawn to their demonstrated interest in exploring more experimental design solutions, including wrapping papers, furniture, and their design journal äntrepō,” Alcala said.

“From our initial conversations which imposed few guidelines, they explored a variety of directions. Ultimately, we decided on developing the floral geometry theme. The result of those explorations are the new stamps.”

According to the Postal Service, “as the [Floral Geometry] stamp denominations rise, the designs become more complex,” which hints at the possibility of additional high-denomination Floral Geometry stamps being issued in the future.

“If we do other rates in this series they would follow a similar pattern [of complexity],” USPS spokesman Jim McKean told Forever Stamp Store’s.

On the U.S. Postal Service’s preliminary artwork for the stamps, the circles and lines on the $5 stamp appear thicker than those on the $2. Also, the dots on the $5 stamp look larger than the dots on the $2.

The denomination forStamps USPS each stamp, expressed as “2” or “5,” and the word “DOLLARS” are lettered down the left side. “USA” is printed between the two denomination elements. A small “2022” year date is in the bottom left corner.

A microprinted “USPS” will appear somewhere on each stamp, McKean said.

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