Commonwealth Stamps Opinion: Art

Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts

Tuesday, 18 November 2025

2826. 🇲🇹🇨🇾 Malta’s And Cyprus’ Christmas Stamps.

New stamps -

🇲🇹 MaltaPost -

20 November 2025 - Christmas, the Nativity - 2 stamps. Designed by Mark Micallef Perconte from paintings by Paul Camilleri Couchi and lithographed by Printex and perforated 14. Rating:- ***.

20 November 2025 - Christmas, Santa Claus and his nine reindeers - 10 stamps. Designed by Fabio Agius and lithographed by Printex and perforated 14.5. Rating:- **.

🇨🇾 Cyprus Post -

21 November 2025 - Christmas = 3 stamps printed in sheetlets of 8. Further details awaited. ***.

21 November 2025 - 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea - 1 miniature sheet containing a single stamp. Lithographed. Rating:- *****.

Wednesday, 12 November 2025

2826. 🇹🇷 🇮🇴 New Issues From Northern Cyprus; BIOT Not Dead Yet.

New issues -

🇹🇷 Postal service of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus -

12 November 2025 - Works by Northern Cyprus cartoonists - 4 stamps. Designed by Kustafa Camal Azizoğlu, Husain Mehmet Ulubatli, Çakmak and Alper Susuzlu and printed by Devlet Basimevi. Rating:- ***.

12 November 2025 - Chess in Northern Cyprus - 2 stamps. Designed by Gabriel Sönmezer and printed by Devlet Basimevi. Rating:- ***.

BIOT - Reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated.

On 22 May 2025 I published this -

On the basis of the belief that the issue was settled - the issue being that the British government would pay the Republic of Maurice £30 billion to take over the British Indian Ocean Territory - I removed the BIOT from my list of active Commonwealth philatelic entities. This turned out to be somewhat precipitate as the British Parliament still had to pass a bill to allow the government to lose the strategically important islands as well as the £30 billion it had promised to pay Mauritius where there was a considerable amount of pleasure voiced by the public there as the prime minister of Mauritius promised he would use it to cut taxes in Mauritius.

The descendants of the people who had lived in the Chagos Islands for 200 years, known as the Chagossians, who had been expelled from the Chagos Islands in the early 1970s by the British, were less pleased than the Mauritians because they would never be able to return to their ancestral homeland. It was a rare case of a colonial people wanting to continue with British rule. They mounted a heavy resistance to the bill which would deprive them of their homes and they were supported by the British opposition parties and other influential people. The bill to abandon the Chagos Islands did however make its way through the House of Commons and was then debated in the House of Lords where there was heavy resistance to it and the British government stepped back from attempting to take the final step. Today it has been announced that the bill will not be proceeded with until next year.

Therefore the British Indian Ocean Territory, for the present at least, continues to exist as a political entity though we do not expect to see any new stamps being released. I shall, however, return it to my list of philatelic entities until, and if, the bill to end the territory for ever is passed eventually.

BIOT - The present situation as one British commentator sees it.

Thursday, 6 November 2025

2822. 🇲🇹🇨🇦🇭🇰 Bumper edition - Malta, Canada And Hong Kong 2026 New Issue Programme.

New issues -

🇲🇹 MaltaPost -

20 November 2025 - Christmas, Santa Claus and his reindeers - 10 x 45c. Designed by Fabius Agius and lithographed by Printex and perforated 14.5. Illustrations awaited.

‘Se-tenant’ issues -

Stamps issued with attached labels often noting philatelic exhibitions -

21 November 2024 - Veronafil 2024 philatelic exhibition - 1 stamp.

14 March 2025 -Maltex 2025 philatelic exhibition - 1 stamp.

20 November 2025 - Veronafil 2025 philatelic exhibition - 2 stamps.

🇨🇦 Canada Post -

3 November 2025 - Remembrance Day - see Blog 2820. A sheetlet containing 5 additional probably gummed stamps was issued additional to the items described in Blog 2820.

6 November 2025 - Christmas -

‘Religious’ design - 1 self-adhesive stamps issued in booklets of 12 identical stamps (2 panes of 6). Designed by Sputnik Design Partners Inc from an illustration by Bex Morley and lithographed by Colour Innovations. Rating:- ***.

‘Secular’ designs - 3 self-adhesive stamps from individual booklets (12 x ‘Permanent’ value, 6 x $1?5 and 6 x $3.65) and 1 gummed miniature sheet containing 1 of each value), Designed by Kristine Do from illustrations by Alexandra Finkeldey and lithographed by Colour Innovations. Rating:- ****.

🇮🇳 India Post -

?November 2025 - My Stamp, personalised stamp - 50th anniversary of Coal India - 1 stamp with attached label printed in sheetlets of 12.

2026 new issue programmes.

🇭🇰 Hong Kong Post -

5 January 2026 - Chinese new year, Year of the Hotse - 4 stamps, 2 single stamp miniature sheets, 2 ‘Heartwarming’ stamps produced in ‘mini-panes’ and 1 ‘gold and silver’ miniature sheet marking the transition from the Year of the Snake to the Year of the Horse. Designed by Wong Chun-hong and lithographed. Rating:- *****.

24 March 2026 - Hong Kong Museums collection - Xubhaizhai collection + 6 stamps and 2 miniature sheets containing single stamps. Designed by Alex Tang Ho-pan and lithographed. Rating:- ****.

2 April 2026 - ‘Old Master Q 2’, festive celebrations- 6 stamps and 2 single-stamp miniature sheets. Designed by Young HoI-chun and lithographed. Rating:- **.