FREE: (4) Four U.S. Merchant Marine (Forever) with a GIN Bonus

The listing, (4) Four U.S. Merchant Marine (Forever) with a GIN Bonus has ended.

Your choice of any 4 OR Get It now and receive a Bonus of 16 more totaling 20 stamps (the whole sheet with notes)
Issue City: Great Neck, NY 11021
Issue Date: July 28, 2011
Issue Series: N/A

Since the founding of the republic, the United States has looked to the maritime industry for much of its growth and security. The U.S. Postal Service™ honors the U.S. Merchant Marine—the modern name for our maritime fleet—with four stamps featuring vessels that have played an important role in our nation's history: clipper ships, auxiliary steamships, Liberty ships, and container ships.

The Clipper Ship stamp is based on an undated lithograph (by Frank Vining Smith) of the famous clipper Sovereign of the Seas, which launched in 1852.

The Auxiliary Steamship stamp is based on contemporary lithographs of ships of the Collins Line, which provided service between New York and Liverpool in the 1850s.

The Liberty Ship stamp is based on a photograph of an unidentified Liberty ship in the files of the Westport Public Library in Connecticut. During World War II, the United States built more than 2,700 Liberty ships, plain but sturdy cargo vessels that sustained the Allied forces with a steady supply of food and war material.

The Container Ship stamp is based on an undated photograph of the R.J. Pfeiffer, a modern container ship launched in 1992 and operated by Matson Navigation Company. Container ships, pioneered in the 1950s, are the lifeblood of today's global economy, carrying nearly all the world's manufactured goods across the oceans and exemplifying the modern merchant marine.

Illustrator Dennis Lyall created these beautiful stamps under the art direction of Carl Herrman.

The U.S. Merchant Marine stamps are being issued as Forever® stamps. Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce rate.