33c Year of the Dragon stamp

The 33-cent Year of the Dragon commemorative stamp was issued in San Francisco, California, on January 6, 2000. The stamp was designed and illustrated by Clarence Lee of Honolulu, Hawaii.

The dragon is the fifth of the twelve animals associated with the Chinese lunar calendar. People of Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tibetan, and Mongolian heritage celebrate the Lunar New Year. Clarence Lee, an American of Chinese descent, combined calligraphy with a paper-cut dragon in an intricate arrangement in the design of this stamp.

Sterling Sommer printed 56 million stamps in panes of twenty in the offset process with microprinting "dragon."

Reference: Postal Bulletin (December 16, 1999).

Scott Catalogue USA: 3370
mint

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Museum ID: 2000.2020.807