1990 25c Sea Creatures: Common Dolphin

US #2511
1990 Common Dolphin

• Part of Creatures of the Sea Block of 4
• Joint Issue with Soviet Union
• Features ocean mammals
  
  

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Set:  Creatures of the Sea
Value:  25¢
First Day of Issue:  October 3, 1990
First Day Cities:  Baltimore, Maryland and Moscow, USSR
Quantity Issued:  69,476,000
Printed by:  Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method:  Offset and Intaglio
Format:  Panes of 40
Perforations:  11

Why the stamp was issued:  The block of four Creatures of the Sea stamps was a joint issue between the US Postal Service and the Soviet Union’s Ministry of Posts.  The stamps picture marine mammals living in the ocean. 

About stamp design: The stamps were designed by artists from the US and the USSR.  American Peter Cocci created the images for the killer whales and the common dolphin.  Vladimir Beilin, from the Soviet Union’s Ministry of Communications was the talent behind the norther sea lions and sea otter images.

Special design details:  Unlike most US postage stamps, these included the date in the design.  This was done to make the stamps more like the Soviet designs.  The Soviet postal system always included the year of issue on its stamps.


First Day City: First Day of Issue ceremonies were held at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland, and at the Moscow Circus in Moscow, USSR.  The Baltimore ceremony was also the start of the 10^th annual national Stamp Collecting Month.  The theme was “Splash into an Ocean of Fun – Collect Stamps!”

About the Creatures of the Sea set: These stamps were just the second joint issue between the United States and the Soviet Union, the two superpowers at the time.  The first was the Apollo Soyuz stamps issued in 1975.
In the frigid waters off the coast of Point Hope, Alaska, lies an invisible line, recognized only by man.  The line marks the boundary of the US and the Soviet Union, dividing the Bering Strait in half.  The two countries share more than boundaries.  Fish, birds, and sea mammals don’t recognize manmade borders.  Four sea mammals – the sea otter, the common dolphin, the killer whale, and the northern sea lion inhabit the waters on both sides of the boundary line.  They have been threatened by the actions of both countries and are now on the rebound thanks to cooperative efforts on the part of both countries.

History the stamp represents: 

Common Dolphin: The Common Dolphin is both highly intelligent and credited with human-like emotions.  They are known to rescue wounded and drowning members of their family, helping them to the surface to breathe and giving support while swimming.  Possibly the most colorful of the dolphins, the Common Dolphin’s belly is stark white, its sides a combination of yellow and gray, and its back ebony or a deep brown.  Primarily living in tropical or war waters, the Common Dolphin rarely ventures into the coastlines or estuaries.  This may be because man has been known to kill the dolphin.  So severe was this predation that the Soviets banned its capture in 1966.  Other countries followed, and the population now stands at about six million animals.