2728. 🇮🇴 BIOT - Now A ‘Dead Country’.

End of the British Indian Ocean Territory.

🇮🇴 Postal service of the British Indian Ocean Territory -

22 May 2025 - The fate of the Chagos Islands including Diego Garcia, location of a large, strategically important United States Airforce base, was finally settled on this date when the British prime minister signed an agreement to hand over the territory which had been a British possession since the Napoleonic Wars to Mauritius, an ally of China, along with a sum of money amounting to £30 billion. This agreement was generally against the wishes of the former inhabitants or their descendants (known as the.Chagossians) who had been given no formal say in the fate of the islands. Hence, British Indian Ocean Territory ceased to be a philatelic entity and became what stamp collectors have long termed, “a dead country”. The last stamps of the BIOT were issued in 2021 and featured Angelfish. See also Blogs 2580, 2312, 2260 and 2695 (April 1 edition).

BIOT’s final stamp, 2021.

New issues -

🇱🇹 Stamperija (or affiliate) -

🇸🇱 Products inscribed Sierra Leone -

Stated ‘date of issue’, 15 January 2025 - Further to the reports in Blogs 2720 and 2721, additional numerous and expensive products have appeared with the name of Sierra Leone printed on them on the following subjects:- ‘Biodiversity of Africa treasures of the wild’, ‘Amazing species’, ‘Animal camouflage art’ and ‘Birds of Sierra Leone’. To give an idea of what some of these products look like, some ‘first day covers’ are depicted below. These products are not otherwise dealt with in any detail and as ever, caveat emptor.

2721. 🇮🇲 Isle Of Man New Issue Features Old Tourism Posters.

 

New Issues - 

🇮🇲 Isle Of Man Post Office -

 

29 May 2025 - Old tourism posters - 6 stamps. Designed by EJC Design and lithographed by Cartor and perforated 11.5. Rating:- *.

 

🇱🇹 Stamperija or affiliate -

🇸🇱 Products inscribed Sierra Leone -

Stated ‘date of issue’ - 15 January 2025 - Further to the report in Blog 2720 of a number of products released on the subject of ‘Biodiversity of Palestine’, a wide range of similar philatelic products were also issued on the subjects of Endangered reptiles, ‘Amazing amphibians’ and World Wildlife Day. As with most recent products inscribed’Sierra Leone’ these are released far in excess of postal need, with an extraordinarily large total cost to collectors and probably will never be sold in Sierra Leone post offices. These are therefore not detailed here and it is doubtful that serious stamp collectors would ever want to buy them although if evidence of genuine postal usage and sale in Sierra Leone post offices came to light then these items would become of much greater interest. As always with the products inscribed with the name of Stamperija client postal services - caveat emptor - you might spend a vast amount of money on products of no value.

Rating:-0.

🇲🇲 Myanmar Post -

5 May 2025 - The Ten Traditional Arts - 1 sheetlet containing the 10 previously issued stamps. Lithographed. Rating:- ****.

2720. 🇯🇪 Jersey Celebrates Gerald Durrell.

 

New issues -

🇯🇪 Jersey Post -

11 June 2025 - Birth centenary of Gerald Durrell, naturalist and founder of Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust - 8 stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing a single stamp. Further details awaited. Rating:- ***.

🇱🇹 Stamperija or affiliate -

🇸🇱 Products inscribed Sierra Leone - 

Stated ‘date of issue’ 15 January 2025 - ‘Biodiversity of Palestine - 5 stamps (imperforate and perforated formats) and 3 miniature sheets (imperforate and perforated), 1 containing 8 stamps (2 x 4 different stamps) and the others each containing a single example of the Le300 value. Rating:- 0 Caveat emptor!

2713. 🇨🇾 🇮🇳 Cyprus Europa Stamps; India Cinema Legends.

 

New Issues -

🇨🇾 Cyprus Post - 

9 May 2025 - EUROPA - Archaeological discoveries - 2 setenant stamps and 1 booklet containing 4 pairs. Printed by Baltijas Banknote. Rating:- *****.

🇮🇳 India Post -

1 May 2025 - Birth centenaries of ‘Legends of Indian Cinema’, World Audio, Video Entertainment Summit (WAVES), Mumbai, 1 - 4 May - 1 miniature sheet containing 5 different stamps. Designed by Sh. Surash Kumar. Rating:- ****.

🇱🇹 Stamperija or an affiliate -

🇸🇱 Products inscribed Sierra Leone -

It seems unlikely that the stated ‘date of issue’ is the date of the release of these products in Sierra Leone post offices if they are ever issued in that country. These products exist in both perforated and imperforate format. Caveat emptor. Rating:- 0.

15 January 2025 - Wildlife of Sierra Leone - 25 different stamps sold in a sheetlet of 16 (2 sets of the Le30:values) or in a miniature sheet of 8 (1 set of the Le40 values) and 1 miniature sheet containing a single example of the Le300 values.

Other products including 9 proof sheets were also released.

15 January 2025 - Fungi, Reptiles and Frogs of Sierra Leone - 18 surcharged values with the inscription ‘2023’ cancelled in red and replaced by ‘2025’ possibly obtained from 3 miniatures sheets, each one containing 6 different stamps.

 15 January 2025 - Birds of China - 4 stamps available as singles or as a setenant strip of 4 obtained from sheetlets of 16 (4 of each design).

15 January 2025 - 75th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China - 

9 different stamps obtained from 3 different miniature sheets, one containing 6 x identical Le50 stamps, one containing 5 x Le 80 stamps and the third containing a single Le300 stamp.