The U.S. Postal Service has issued a 44-cent Celebrating Lunar New Year: Year of the Tiger commemorative stamp in one design in a pressure-sensitive adhesive souvenir sheet of 12 stamps. The stamp is on sale nationwide.

The $5.28 souvenir sheet may not be split, and the stamps may not be sold individually.

The U.S. Postal Service introduced its Celebrating Lunar New Year series in 2008. This is the third stamp in that series, which will continue through 2019 with stamps for the Year of the Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar.Some 40 million stamps have been printed.

Art Director Ethel Kessler and artist Kam Mak, who grew up in New York City’s Chinatown and now lives in Brooklyn, worked on the new series and decided to focus on some of the common ways the Lunar New Year Holiday is celebrated.

To commemorate the Year of the Tiger, which begins February 14, 2010, they chose Narcissus flowers, considered auspicious at any time of the year and, thus, especially appropriate at this time of renewed hope for the future.

The illustration was originally created using oil paints on a fiberboard panel. Kessler’s design also incorporates elements from the previous series of Lunar New Year Stamps, using Clarence Lee’s intricate paper-cut design of a tiger and the Chinese character-drawn in grass-style calligraphy by Lau Bun-for “Tiger.”

Customers have 90 days from the official first day of issuance date to obtain first day of sale postmarks on new stamps and stationery items. Collectors may request a local first day of sale postmark by mail only.

There is no charge for servicing of first day of sale postmarks up to 50 covers. Mail-in customers must supply a self-addressed envelope with sufficient return postage applied to return the serviced covers.

To obtain the first day of sale postmark, mail stationery items bearing Celebrating Lunar New Year: Year of the Tiger stamps to: Customer Relations USPS, 79 Mid Cape Terr Ste 8, Cape Coral, FL 33991. Specify which city you are requesting a postmark for – Fort Myers, Cape Coral, or Naples; if not specified, the postmark applied will be for the return address city. All orders must be postmarked by April 14, 2010.