The United States-based philatelic agency, IGPC, has released a list of new stamp products which it is issuing on behalf of its client postal services. The agency seems to have caught on to the idea that stamps depicting wildlife - and mostly local to the countries whose name appear on the stamps - might appeal to collectors. Well, they are certainly better than some of the other items featured here including the ubiquitous Elvis Presley miniature sheets and the 'Star Trek' comics sheets.
🇦🇬 Antigua And Barbuda -
2019 - Beaches of Antigua And Barbuda - 2 miniature sheets, one containing 2 stamps and the other 6 stamps. Rating:- **.
2019 - Seabirds - 2 miniature sheets, one containing 6 different stamps and the other containing 2 different stamps. Rating:- **.
2019 - Beans - 1 miniature sheet containing 6 different stamps - Rating:- *.
🇬🇲 The Gambia -
4 April 2019 - Storks - 6 miniature sheets, 2 containing 6 different miniature sheets, 2 containing 4 different stamps, 1 containing 3 different stamps and 1 containing a single stamp. All storks featured in this set are found in The Gambia. Rating:- *.
4 April 2019 - the Honey badger - 2 miniature sheets, 1 containing 2 different stamps and the other containing 4 different stamps. This species is found in The Gambia. Rating:- **.
17 April 2019 - Star Trek Gold Key Comics - 1 sheetlet containing 6 different stamps. Rating:- 0.
27 March 2019 - The Green Iguana - 2 miniature sheets, 1 containing a single stamp and the other containing 4 different stamps. This species is found in Grenada. Rating:- **.
18 April 2019 - Hermit crabs - 2 miniature sheets, 1 containing 4 different stamps and the other containing 2 different stamps. Rating:- *.
27 March 2019 - Pantropical spotted dolphins - 1 miniature sheet containing 4 different stamps. This species is found in the waters off Grenada. Rating:- **.
18 April 2019 - Birth Bicentenary of Queen Victoria - 2 miniature sheets, both containing 4 different stamps. Rating:- 0.
29 April 2019 - Star Trek Gold Key Comics - 6 different stamps. Rating:- 0.
🇲🇸 Montserrat -
5 December 2018 - Local trees - 2 miniature sheets, 1 containing 4 different stamps and the other containing a single stamp. Rating:- ***.
🇻🇨 St Vincent And The Grenadines -
6 April 2019 - 15th anniversary of the Space shuttle Columbia disaster - 2 miniature sheets, 1 containing 3 different stamps and thee other containing a single stamp. Rating:- 0.
10 April 2019 - The West Indian Manatee - 2 miniature sheets, 1 containing 5 different stamps and the other containing a single stamp. This species is found in St Vincent And The Grenadines. Rating:- **.
🇹🇻 Tuvalu - 2 April - Plumeria - 1 sheetlet containing 3 different stamps. Rating:- **.
10 April 2019 - The striped dolphin - 2 miniature sheets, 1 containing 3 different stamps and the other containing a single stamp. The waters around Tuvalu make up part of the distribution area of this dolphin. Rating:- **.
15 April 2019 - Centenary of the End of the First World War - 1 miniature sheet containing 4 different stamps. Rating:- 0.
23 April 2019 - Elvis Presley Commemoration (US music performer) - 3 single stamp miniature sheets. Rating:- 0.
18 April 2019 - 500th Anniversary of the death of Leonardo Da Vinci - 3 miniature sheets, 2 containing 3 different stamps and the other containing 2 different stamps. Rating:- 0.
1 May 2019 - The Day Octopus - 3 miniature sheets, 2 containing 3 different stamps and 1 containing a single stamp. This creature is also known as the Big Blue Octopus and was featured recently on a miniature sheet issued by the Pitcairn Islands postal service. Rating:- **.
🇯🇪 Some anniversaries are worth commemorating philatelically and some are not. I feel myself that a first wedding anniversary falls into the latter category. Jersey Post holds the opposite opinion and has chosen to show that it does by announcing that it will issue 6 stamps and 2 miniature sheets (1 containing a single stamp and the other the set of six) on 2 May 2019 to commemorate the first wedding anniversary of the Duke and Duchess Of Sussex (The Duke is only sixth in the line of succession). The designs by Up are attractive but the subject is inconsequential (except perhaps to the royal couple themselves) and if a collector wants to buy 'one of each' he or she must kiss goodbye to a total of £12.96p. Rating:- *.
The Jersey Post Post and Go stamps mentioned in Blog 1408 which are made up of 2 strips each containing 6 different stamps and are intended to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and were released on 26 March 2019 are depicted below:-
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka Post issued a single stamp on 23 March 2019 on the subject of Tripitakabhivananda. President Maithripala Sirisena declared the week of 16 to 23 March 2019 to be Tripitakabhivananda Week to commemorate the declaration of the Theravada Tripitaka (Buddhist scriptures) as a National and World Heritage. Rating:- ***.
🇲🇾 Pos Malaysia issued 1 miniature sheet to commemorate the Four Nation Stamp Exhibition held in Kuala Lumpur from 29 to 31 March 2019. The sheet is the World Post Day sheet of 2018 with an additional small inscription with the logo of the exhibition. Rating:- **.
A personalised stamp sheetlet was also issued in association with the exhibition. The sheetlet is made up of 8 stamps (2 x 4 different designs) with attached labels which show the national flags of the 'Four Nations' - Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.
🇬🇧 I now depict below much better illustrations of the excellent set from Royal Mail which I highlighted in Blog 1412. The set commemorates British engineering and is made up of 6 stamps and 1 miniature sheet which contains 4 different stamps which commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Harrier jumpjet which played such an important role in the Falklands War. Rating:- *****.