2878. Commonwealth Day 2026.

 

Commonwealth Day

The annual Commonwealth Day ‘celebrations’ take place this year on Monday 9 March (the event traditionally takes place on the second Monday of March).

Every year there is a new theme - in 2026 it is “Unlocking opportunities together for a prosperous Commonwealth”.  This year finds relative upheaval in The Commonwealth with Mauritius having broken off diplomatic relations with its Indian Ocean neighbour Maldives because the latter will not support the former’s attempt to take the British Indian Ocean Territory off the hands of the United Kingdom together with more than £30 billion. Though the hapless British prime minister, Starmer, has signed a treaty with Mauritius, its journey through the British Parliament has stalled and the corrupt Mauritius government,  badly in need of the British money to balance its budget, is threatening to take the United Kingdom to court over its failure to handover the money and the islands.

  Meanwhile, Starmer finds himself in more trouble because of his initial failure to support Trump in the Middle East War and Britain’s failure to take swift enough measures to help to defend former British protected states and present allies in the Gulf - Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait as well as the British Sovereign Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia which has implications for the security of Cyprus. What Trump hasn’t said about Starmer is anybody’s business.

  Elsewhere Pakistan is effectively at war with its neighbour Afghanistan though Guyana is looking safe from invasion by its neighbour Venezuala now that Trump has kidnapped the Venezuelan despot, Maduro, and removed him from office.

Regardless of all this, Happy Commonwealth Day!

New issues -

🇬🇧 Royal Mail -

27 March 2026 - Definitives in new values to cover increased overseas rates - 3 stamps, £3.60 (‘purple heather’), £3.80 (‘aqua green’) and £4.60 (‘sapphic blue’). Code - M26L MAIL. Rating:- ****. These stamps are described and illustrated in the always invaluable online Norvic Stamp Blog.

Meanwhile, if you feel that you have not already spent an adequate amount of money on Royal Mail products, you may wish to consider purchasing the latest little temptations recently added to the Royal Mail internet site. Or you may not.

2875. 🇮🇳 India Commemorates Stamp Printers Centenary.

 

New Issues -

🇮🇳 India Post -

7 March 2026 - Centenary of India Security Press, Nashik - 1 stamp. Printed by India Security Press, Nashik. Rating:- *****.

🇮🇪 A Post (postal service of the Irish Republic) - 4 self-adhesive stamps issued in two sheetlets of 4 (2 setenant pairs in one sheetlet and a similar arrangement in the second sheetlet). Designed by Design HQ and lithographed by Enschedé. Rating:- ***.

🇭🇰 Hong Kong Post -

24 March 2026 - Hong Kong museums collection - Xubaizhai collections - 6 stamps and 2 miniature sheets each containing a single stamp and 1 minipane containing 2 sets. Designed by Tang Ho-pan and lithographed. Rating:- ***.

2874. 🇧🇿🇼🇸🇫🇯 Belize, Samoa, Fiji, Middle East War.

 

New issues -

🇧🇿 Belize postal service -

2025 - Previously issued definitives with surcharges applied 80c on 15c, $1.50 on 60c, $3 on 10c and $5 on 25c. These are the best illustrations I can presently provide and are taken from a post on Stampboards by superftg, based in Guangdong in China. Rating:- *****.

🇼🇸 Samoa Post - 

6 November 2025 - Birds, joint issue with the postal service of the Chinese People’s Republic (see Blog 2827) - 2 stamps. Further information on the Samoan part of this issue as reported by superftg (see above) on Stamboards - the issue was lithographed by Government Printing Samoa and appears to be rouletted. Steven Zirinsky reports that the stamps are sold ungummed.

🇫🇯 Fiji Post -

4  February 2026 - World Stamp Exhibition, Dubai - 3 stamps. Previously issued stamps overprinted and surcharged. Rating:- *****.

The above set is now being offered on the internet site of the Spanish dealer Princestamps who attended the Dubai exhibition but it appears from a notice on the site that his return home has been delayed because of outbreak of the Middle East War and the Iranian regime’s attack on the United Arab Emirates. Good luck to him in returning home and a thought that there may well be a number of future philatelic consequences of the conflict.

The British government’s delay in allowing allied aircraft to use British bases including Diego Garcia and the subsequent Iranian regime’s attack on the British sovereign territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia highlight the importance of British Indian Ocean Territory remaining a British Overseas Territory and, potentially, continuing as a separate philatelic entity.

🇯🇪 Jersey Post -

23 March 2026 - Passenger vessels - 8 stamps, price £19.87), 1 miniature sheet containing all 8 stamps (19.87) and 1 prestige booklet costing an incredible £34.74. Total cost - £74.48p! Designed by Martin Mörck and lithographed by bpost. Rating:- 0.

2873 🇬🇧 First View Of Royal Mail Lord Of The Rings Stamps.

 

New issues - 

🇬🇧 Royal Mail -

20 March 2026 - 25th anniversary of the first Lord of the Rings movie - 8 stamps  (4 se-tenant pairs all of 1st Class domestic rate) and other items expected. Further details awaited. These illustrations are taken from the Facebook page of a British local post office).

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka Post - 

2 March 2026 - 75th anniversary of the Sri Lanka Airforce - 1 stamp. Lithographed. Rating:- ***. 

🇸🇬 Singapore Post -

28 March 2026 - Joint first day covers of previously issued Joint issue stamps - Singapore/Maldives and Singapore/Thailand (stamps issued in 2025). I have not yet seen the Maldives issue being offered for sale so this is an opportunity to obtain them. Rating:- ****.

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

22 January 2026 - The Sharjah Old Cars Club and Museum, rare vintage cars  -1 miniature sheet containing 6 different stamps. Lithographed. Rating:- ****.

2872. 🇳🇬 Nigeria Commemorates The 50th anniversary of ECOWAS.

 

New issues -

🇳🇬 Nigeria postal service -

12 February 2026 - 50th anniversary of ECOWAS (joint issue with the postal services of other ECOWAS member states) - 1 stamp. Lithographed. Rating:- ****.

The stamp is also included in a multi-national sheetlet of 12 different stamps - one each from the 12 member states - Commonwealth countries - Togo, The Gambia, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Nigeria - plus  Benin, Côte D’Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Liberia and the Cape Verde Islands. The specialist dealer of Nigerian stamps, C J Tern, is currently offering this interesting items on his internet site for a little over £50.

🇼🇸 Samoa Post -

2025, possibly August - Previously issued stamp with $3.00 surcharge applied in black. This illustration is taken from Zirinsky Stamps internet site where it has been featured recently. Rating:- ****5.

🇮🇳 India Post -

16 February 2026 - Centenary of Ol Chiki script by Pandit Raghunath Murmu - 1 stamp. Rating:- ***.

🇲🇼 Malawi Post -

?2025 - Another surcharge on the previously issued Butterfly definitives (K960 on K60) which I have overlooked. Thanks to Anonymous for drawing my attention to this stamp.

🇬🇬 Guernsey Post -

🇨🇶 Products inscribed Sark -

1 April 2026 - ‘An Artist’s View of Sark’ - Art by Louise Hill and lithographed by Brebner Print and perforated 14. Cost of set - £16.38. An attractive set but far too expensive, Rating:- *.