United States, Scott #5846 (MIchel #6148BE)(Yvert&Tellier #5744), used(o), booklet stamp, 2024, the Post Office's Annual Flower series, this year's theme is 'Garden Delights: Flowers and Humming Birds', issued in booklets of 20 stamps with four designs, this stamp shows a female, red-breasted humming bird hovering near a spotted 'Touch Me Not' blossom; hummingbirds are found only in the Americas, with about 16 different species native to the United States; the ruby-throated hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) are among the smallest — about the weight of a penny and 3.5 inches long, they are the only hummingbirds found in the gardens of the eastern and central parts of the United States; most birds produce lift only when they flap their wings downwards, but hummingbirds are unique in that they also provide lift on the upstroke too by inverting their wings by the rapid twisting of their wings by their 'wrist' sockets, thus unique among birds, these tiny, aerodynamic marvels are able to hover and thus are remarkable pollinators; more than 7,000 flowering plants rely on hummingbirds to collect and deliver the pollen needed to produce fruit and seeds; issued as a forever stamp at an individual counter value of (68 cents), offset lithography printed, by Ashton Potter USA (APU), serpentine die cut simulated perforations at gauge: 11, issued with non-water soluble self adhesive gum, stamp is one of three internal right side stamps in the booklet, imperforated at the right side, perforated at the top, bottom and left (PIPP), only three of the twenty stamps in the booklet so configured, multicolored, Scott 2025 Catalog Value: not listed, but probably 30¢, nicely centered (superb), triple struck cancelled, all light, circular, red-inked, single-rimmed, quarter clockwise turned, socked-on-the-nose cancellations. the main, a quarter-to-half circular cancel with partial mailing details over the right half of the stamp, the second, bit smaller and lighter, half circular cancel over the left third of the stamp, and the third a half circle border cancel at the lower right, the lightness of all three cancels leaves the main image remarkably clear, good perforations, stamp was lifted from its mailing envelope using the Bestine solvent and placed on a piece of black cardstock for an attractive and uniform album appearance with other stamps from the period similarly mounted; centering, mounting, and reasonably image clear cancellation warrants a selling price premium. This is not a 'bait-and-switch;' the stamp you see will be the one you receive.
Please review my terms of sale. If you are not ordering from the United States, there is a $US1.65 additional postage expense that needs to be added to the price of the stamp. If you are ordering from the United States, there is only a $US0.73 added postage expense. Also, if you make additional purchases from my offerings, they can all go in one mailing at no extra shipping expense for the added purchases. I will send the purchase by US first class mail, since the relatively low value of the stamp does not warrant signature or tracking mail. Hence the buyer assumes risk of loss or non-delivery. I will keep a scan of my mailing to verify that the correct mailing address was used. If not satisfied, return the stamp to me at your own expense, and I will refund the cost, but not my postage to you. If the stamp is not as described, I will refund the cost and reimburse you for postage both ways.
By way of reference, I am an American Philatelic Society member (195176) and an American Stamp Dealers Association (ASDA) member. Thank you for looking, and I hope this is the perfect stamp to fill that gap in your collection.
