New Mexico Turns 100 - The 'Land of Enchantment' Honored on Commemorative Forever Stamp

SANTA FE, N.M., Jan. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United States Postal Service today delivered one of the nation's highest honors to New Mexico with the issuance of a commemorative Forever Stamp recognizing the state's 100th anniversary.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120106/DC31353 )

"Known for its rich history, vibrant cultures and stunning geographic diversity, New Mexico is the 'Land of Enchantment,'" said Mickey Barnett, vice chairman, Board of Governors. "Today, the Postal Service is proud and honored to create this lasting tribute to New Mexico through the issuance of this commemorative stamp."

Barnett dedicated the stamp today at the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe.

Joining Barnett were: Susana Martinez, governor, State of New Mexico; David Coss, mayor of Santa Fe; Edward Romero, former United States Ambassador, Spain and Andorra; Veronica Gonzales, secretary of Cultural Affairs, state of New Mexico; Marie Therese Dominguez, vice president, Government Relations and Public Policy, U.S. Postal Service; and Richard Sheaff, art director.

The stamp art shows a landscape in northern New Mexico, about 65 miles northwest of Albuquerque. In this sweeping view of the high desert, junipers and pinon pines grow in the foreground. In the middle distance, the Rio Puerco courses through an arroyo, while in the background, two peaks known as Cerro de Santa Clara and Cerro de Guadalupe are silhouetted against a vast sky.

When Spanish missionaries arrived in present-day New Mexico in the 1500s, they found a region already settled by Pueblo and Navajo people. The flags of both Spain and Mexico flew over the land before it became American soil. Northern New Mexico was ceded to the U.S. in 1848 at the end of the U.S.-Mexican War. Two years later, Congress established the New Mexico Territory. English-speaking cattle ranchers, cowboys, and miners mingled with the earlier Native American and Hispanic residents to create the unique cultural diversity that characterizes New Mexico today. Even after it became a state in 1912, New Mexico retained much of its frontier and Old Mexico flavor, and Spanish and English are both widely spoken.

A resident of New Mexico for more than 35 years, artist Doug West is best known for his southwestern landscapes and skies. Art director Richard Sheaff selected one of West's existing oil paintings for the stamp art.

New Mexico Statehood is being issued as a Forever stamp. Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce rate.

The stamps go on sale today at Post Offices nationwide, online at usps.com and by phone at 800-782-6724.

Customers may view the New Mexico Statehood Forever Stamp as well as many of this year's other stamps on Facebook at facebook.com/USPSStamps, through Twitter @USPSstamps or on the website Beyond the Perf at beyondtheperf.com/2012-preview. Beyond the Perf is the Postal Service's online site for background on upcoming stamp subjects, first-day-of-issue events and other philatelic news.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark, New Mexico Statehood Forever Stamp
Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at a local Post Office, at The Postal Store website at usps.com/shop or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others) and place them in larger envelopes addressed to:

New Mexico Statehood Forever Stamp
Postmaster
120 South Federal Place
Santa Fe, NM  87501-9999

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes by mail. There is no charge for the postmark. All orders must be postmarked by March 6, 2012.

How to Order First-Day Covers
The Postal Service also offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly "USA Philatelic" catalog. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-STAMP-24 or writing to:

Information Fulfillment
Dept. 6270
U.S. Postal Service
P.O. Box 219014
Kansas City, MO  64121-9014

Philatelic Products
There are four philatelic products available for this stamp issue:

• 468161, First-Day Cover, $.88.
• 468165, Digital Color Postmark, $1.60.
• 468191, Ceremony Program, $6.95.
• 468199, Cancellation Keepsake (Digital Color Postmark w/Pane), $10.95.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world's mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

Follow USPS on Twitter @USPS_PR and at Facebook.com/usps.

SOURCE U.S. Postal Service