Sunday 10 December 2023

2414. Commonwealth New Issues 2024.


🇬🇧 Royal Mail -  

For those who feel inclined to spend a lot of money on next year’s basic products (stamps and miniature sheets) Royal Mail is promoting the sale of its 2024 year set of such items at a total cost of £221.35p. This offer is only available until the 10 January 2024, the day before the first issue of the year will be released - another one of those tiresome ‘’Music Giants’ collection of products. Of course, at this stage collectors do not know what they’re buying for that price as Royal Mail steadfastly refuses to release next year’s stamp programme to ordinary collectors. Doubtless there will be the usual mix of worthy issues and the inconsequential with the latter, otherwise known as trash, usually proving to be more expensive than the worthwhile.



  It is impossible to predict which subjects will be featured on the issues of 2024 as the same regime is in control of the stamp issuing programme. There is little evidence that those who decide these things have any love of Britain itself, being content to celebrate foreign comic characters, foreign movie actors and trivial subjects and ‘celebrities’ who will not be worthy of a mention in the history books in 200 years time while ignoring the important events and figures of British history particularly if, when they are viewed in a modern context, their commemoration would enrage the woke section of the population. 

  Royal Mail will, I suppose, continue to emphasise its sympathy with identity politics and at the same time continue to feature subjects which evoke a nostalgia for, and appeal to, the elderly age group who make up the majority of stamp collectors or of the general public who might be attracted by the nostalgia of such stamps and who  buy them in the hope of passing them on as an investment to their grandchildren though they will never have an interest in collecting little bits of sticky paper for which they see no practical use.

  Out of interest we might quickly look at what subjects (anniversaries and events) would be worthy of commemoration were it not necessary to make money from eye-wateringly expensive additional products (collectors sheets, prestige booklets, ‘fan sheets’, ‘gold’ stamps, ingots, coin covers and so on) on the subjects of veteran popular musicians, fantasy and science fiction, children’s book characters, popular television series, American comics, new ‘blockbuster’ movie releases and other such fripperies.

Notable British anniversaries and events, 2024

5 January2019 - The bakery chain, Greggs launched its vegetarian sausage. (well, why not?)

20 January 2024 - Launch of the Queen Mary 2 (no ‘ship’ issues recently)

22 January 1964 - Release of the movie Zulu (that will never happen)

12 February 1974 - First television broadcast of the children’s television animated programme Bagpuss (that’s a possible)


4 April 1949 - First signing of the NATO Treaty (75th anniversary) 


5 April 1874 - First civic public park was opened in Birkenhead (150th anniversary)

27 April 1749 - First performance of Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks took place in Green Park, London (275th anniversary)(Music Giants issue? - probably not)

10 May 1824 - Opening of the National Gallery in London (Bicentenary - worthy subject for a stamp issue)

15 July 1964 - Completion of the building of the Post Office Tower in London (60th anniversary)



9 October 2004 - The Scottish Parliament building, designed by architect, Enric Moralles, was opened in Edinburgh

2 November 1924 - The first British newspaper crossword was published in The Daily Express

30 November 1874 - Birth of Sir Winston Churchill (150th anniversary)


Other Commonwealth Countries 

Significant Independence anniversaries. Some countries may issue stamps to commemorate more notable anniversaries of the granting of their Independence. The following countries will celebrate significant independence anniversaries during 2024 - 

7 February Grenada 50th anniversary 


22 February Saint Lucia 45th anniversary 

23 February Brunei Darussalam 40th anniversary 

6 July Malawi 60th anniversary 

12 July Kiribati 45th anniversary 

21 September Malta 60th anniversary 

24 October Zambia 60th anniversary 

27 October St Vincent And The Grenadines 45th anniversary 


🇺🇳 150th anniversary of the Universal Postal Union (UPU).


  The Universal Postal Union (UPU) will commemorate its 150th anniversary on 9 October 2024 and it is to be expected that a number of Commonwealth postal administrations or their agents will issue stamps to commemorate the event. There are now 192 member states in the organisation (one less than the number of members of the United Nations - UN members  Palau and the Marshall Islands are not UPU members while the Vatican City, not a UN member, is a member of the UPU) - with 24 countries having originally signed the Treaty of Bern back on 9 October 1874 which established what was then the General Postal Union.

  The UPU, which in the recent past chose to stop recognising the stamps of the British Indian Ocean Territory, claiming that the territory was part of Mauritius, has sent out a proposed design, remarkably, tasteless and ugly, to its member postal administrations intending them to use the ghastly design as a basis for any commemorative stamp they choose to release to note the UPU’s anniversary. There is one good thing about the new issues released by Royal Mail and that is that they almost certainly would not include among them a stamp with such a vile, crass design.

Friday 8 December 2023

2413. 🇸🇭 Tristan Commemorates The Resettlement Of 1963.

 


11 December 2023 - 60th anniversary of the resettlement of Tristan Da Cunha on the return of the islanders after the volcanic eruption. Designed by Andrew Robinson and lithographed by Cartor and perforated 13.5. Production coordinated by Creative Direction. Rating:- *****.


🇸🇿 eSwatini Posts and Telecommunications -

7 December 2023 - An e-mail kindly sent on this date by Shabalala Khosie of eSwatini P&T in response to a question on the subject of new issues has confirmed that there have been no new stamp issues by that organisation since 2019. The most recent issue identified by Khosie is the ‘Small mammals’ set (though that issue was previously identified as having been released on 31 August 2018 (see Blog 1552) with the set and miniature sheet which commemorated King Mswati III’s 50th birthday and the 50th anniversary of Independence being issued on 30 April 2019. Regardless, Khosie has confirmed that the eSwatini postal service has not issued any new stamps for almost 5 years which is very helpful since some postal services release stamps with little or no publicity and their issue remains undiscovered sometimes for some years. We are now at least clear about the new issue situation as regarding eSwatini. I have sent similar questions to other Commonwealth postal administrations from to time to time often to receive no reply and so I am grateful for Khosie’s response.





Wednesday 6 December 2023

2412. 🇬🇬 Yet Another Guernsey Chinese New Year Issue.


New Issues.

🇮🇳 India Post -

5 December 2023 - 125th anniversary of Hindu College, New Delhi - 1 stamp. Rating:- ***.


🇬🇬 Guernsey Post -

25 January 2024 - Chinese New Year, Year of the Dragon - 6 stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing all 6 stamps. Designed by Chrissy Lau and lithographed. Rating:- 0.





🇴🇲 Oman Post -

30 November 2023 - Joint issue with Switzerland, 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, castles - 2 stamps issued in sheetlets of 8 with 2 se-tenant pairs included in the sheetlet. Lithographed. Rating:- ****.




8 November 2023 - Reigns of the Omani Sultans, coins of their reigns - 1 sheetlet with a large item valued 5 Rial and a vertical strip of 3 different circular stamps at the left hand side of the sheet each with a value of 500 bailable. Lithographed. Rating:- *****.





19 November 2023 - 53rd National Day, the Sultan of Oman - 1 stamp from sheets of 10 and 1 miniature sheet containing a single stamp. Rating:- ****.







Tuesday 5 December 2023

2411. 🇲🇾 Lakes of Malaysia.

 


New issues.

🇲🇾 Pos Malaysia

9 December 2023 - National Stamp Week, Lakes of Malaysia - 3 stamps. Lithographed. Rating:- *****.



🇮🇳 India Post -

30 November 2023 - 75th anniversary of the National Defence Academy - 1 stamp. Rating:- **



🇲🇲 Myanmar Post -

1 December 2023 - 44th anniversary of the International Year of the Child - 1 stamp. Designed by Myanmar Post from an illustration by U Khin Hiang and lithographed by Security Printing Works (Myanmar) and perforated 14. Rating:- ***.

🇦🇪 Emirates Post (Postal service of the United Arab Emirates -

2 December 2023 - 52nd Union Day, the past, present and future of the UAE - 1 miniature sheet containing 3 different stamps. Lithographed. Rating:- *****.






Saturday 2 December 2023

2410. 🇮🇳 India Post Commemorates 16th Century Mystic Poet.

 


New issues.

🇮🇳 India Post -

23 November 2023 - 525th Birth anniversary of Saint Meera Bai (mystic poet and devotee of Krishna) - 1 stamp (illustrated above. Rating:- *****.

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka Post

1 December 2023 - Christmas - 2 stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing the 2 stamp. Lithographed. Rating::- *****.




🇹🇿 Tanzania Posts Corporation -

2 September 2023 - Inauguration of the Pan African Postal Union (PAPU) Tower, Arusha (Joint issue with some other PAPU members) - See Blog 2263. It has not up to now been fully clear what are the exact products issued by the Tanzanian postal service but it now appears that the issue is made up of 4 stamps from ordinary sheets, 1 miniature sheet containing the 4 stamps and 4 single stamp miniature sheets.






🇦🇪 Emirates Post (postal service of the United Arb Emirates) -

1 December 2023 - Cop 28, Dubai  (annual Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change), ‘Official Edition’ and ‘Youth Edition’ - 2 miniature sheets each containing 3 different stamps. Designed by Aicha Mohammad Alzain (design competition winner) and lithographed. Rating:- ****.