2123. 🇴🇲 Oman Post - It’s A Date.

 

New issues.

🇴🇲 Oman Post -

21 July 2022 - Omani dates - 4 stamps produced in sheets of 8 (2 sets of 4) and 1 miniature sheet containing 4 different stamps. Rating:- ***.

🇵🇰 Pakistan Post -

25 July 2022 - Centenary of Attock Refinery Ltd - 1 stamp. Lithographed. Rating:- **.

🇬🇬 Guernsey Post:-

24 August 2022 - ‘Quartet - Heart of the Forest’ part 3 - 1 stamp. Designed by Gail Armstrong. Rating:- *.

🇳🇺 Niue postal service -

New Zealand Post has produced postage stamps on behalf of the postal service of Niue for several years and sold them through its internet site. No issue is known to have been released since 7 April 2021 and New Zealand Post no longer features any of the territory’s issues on its site. Whether this means that Niue is another inert philatelic entity or if some other philatelic agency has got its hands on the right to produce stamps in its name remains to be seen. 

🇹🇰 Tokelau postal service - 

In contrast, stamps from Tokelau, for which territory New Zealand Post has also produced stamps for a number of years, are still depicted on NZ Post’s internet site but they are only the 2012 definitive issue and, on closer scrutiny, are all described as ‘out of stock’. There have been no new stamps issued since the Christmas set was released on 4 November 2020. It seems likely that whatever is happening with the  new issues of Niue is also probably happening with those from Tokelau. We will see.

1752. 🇬🇸 South Georgia Remembers Shackleton’s ‘Forgotten Heroes’.

 🇬🇸 The administration of South Georgia And The South Sandwich Islands will issue a set of 4 stamps on 11 November 2020, Armistice Day, on the subject of ‘Shackleton’s heroes’, the issue being titled ‘Lest We Forget’. The stamps, designed beautifully by Andrew Robinson, depict four of Ernest Shackleton’s crew members aboard the Endurance in the 1915 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition who when when they eventually returned signed up to fight for Britain and The Empire in the First World War and were all tragically killed in the war. The issue remembers those of Shackleton’s heroes who did not receive any official recognition at the time despite their sacrifices. A very worthy issue which was lithographed by Cartor and is perforated 13.5. Rating:- *****. 

🇲🇲 The postal service of Myanmar issued a single stamp on 13 October 2020 to commemorate the Centenary of film-making in Myanmar. This really is an excellent design. Rating:- *****.

🇳🇿 New Zealand Post will issue its Christmas stamps on 4 November 2020 depicting scenes from the Nativity in the form of stained glass. The issue is made up of 3 self-adhesive stamps from booklets or sold separately as singles and 4 gummed stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing all 4 stamps. The designs are by on Ward, New Zealand Post and lithographed by Southern Colour Print and perforated 14.5 x 14. Rating:- ***.

🇹🇰 The postal service of Tokelau will also release a set of 4 stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing all 4 stamps on 4 November 2020 as its Christmas issue. The stamps also depict the Nativity using traditional motifs and placing it in a Tokelau setting. I like this original and locally relevant approach to the subject. The issue was designed by Cam Price and lithographed by the Collectables and Solutions Centre in Whanganui and is perforated 13.5. Rating:- ****.

1675. 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka Commemorates The Vesak Festival With Health Themed Stamps.

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka Post released what I think were probably 2 issues on 6 May 2020 related to the Vesak 2564 festival. The first was a single stamp issue with a face value of LKR15 commemorating the State Vesak Festival.

  The second issue was made up of 3 values (LKR10, LKR15 and LKR45) with an accompanying LKR70 miniature sheet containing the 3 stamps and had a distinctly Health-related theme. Whether or not these stamps were a late choice because of the COVID-19 pandemic or were preplanned to tie in with the International Year of Nursing and Birth Bicentenary of Florence Nightingale (which has already resulted in a set on the theme from Isle Of Man Post Office) or were merely themed coincidently, I do not know but the subjects featured on the stamps are, ‘Listening to Dhamma preaching for mental well being’ (LKR10), ‘Preparation of medicine’ (LKR15) and ‘Nursing (the) sick’ (LKR45).

  Better quality illustrations of these stamps are awaited.

  Some of the decorations in the margins of the miniature sheet resemble eerily the appearance of a coronavirus and a quote from Buddha printed on the sheet “Health is the greatest gift, Contentment is the greatest wealth” seems to be remarkably apt at this present time.

🇳🇺🇹🇰 The postal services of Niue and Tokelau, both of which have their stamps designed and produced for them by New Zealand Post, released sets of identically themed stamps - Traditional Textile Patterns - on 20 May. Each set was made up of 4 stamps and accompanied by a miniature sheet containing the 4 stamps of the respective territory. Not the most exciting of issues. Rating:- ***.

🇬🇬 Guernsey Post has revealed the design of one of the stamps it will issue later this year as its contribution to the SEPAC omnibus series for 2020. The series features work by local artists and this particular Guernsey design depicts an atmospheric piece of work, ‘Dusk’ by Keith Langlois.

🇲🇾 Pos Malaysia issued another Personalised stamp sheetlet (Setem Ku) on 22 May 2020 which  contains 10 stamps (5 x 2 different designs) to mark the Hari Gawai and Pesta Kaamatan festivals helped in Sarawak and Sabah with the state flags being included in the designs. The sheetlet is being sold for RM25 at way above the total face value of the stamps (RM6.)

1554. 🇳🇿 Chinese New Year Stamps From New Zealand.

🇳🇿 New Zealand Post has a busy day on 4 December 2019 releasing as it will its Year Of The Rat stamps as well as seeing the issue of Christmas stamps which it has produced for the postal services of Niue and Tokelau.

  Its Chinese new year issue is made up of 4 stamps and 2 miniature sheets, one containing all 4 stamps and the other containing 12 circular stamps depicting the animals of the Chinese zodiac. The issue was designed by Asiaworks and lithographed by New Zealand Post and perforated 13.5 x 13. Rating:- ***.

  For those with rather more money than sense there are also various miniature sheets sold in different types of frame - a gold foil sheet with gold foil stamps (NZ$560 framed or NZ$188 in a perspex stand), a gold foil sheet with coloured stamps (NZ$288), a silver foil sheet with silver stamps (NZ$188) and a silver foil stamp with coloured stamps NZ$288). Rating:- 0.

🇳🇺 Niue - 4 stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing all 4 stamps. Designed by Hannah Fortune and lithographed by Collectables and Solutions Centre, Whanganui and perforated 13.5. Rating:- **.

🇹🇰 Tokelau - Christmas - 4 stamps and I miniature sheet containing all 4 stamps. Designed by Saint Andrew Matautia and lithographed by Collectables and Solutions Centre, Whanganui and perforated 13.5. Rating:- **.