Friday 31 December 2021

2003. ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ผ More Surcharges From Malawi.


๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡พ Pos Malaysia issued a se-tenant pair of stamps on 27 December 2021 to commemorate the Centenary of the Malaysia Cup, the national football tournament. Rating:- ***.




  A second issue was released on 31 December 2021 on the subject of Edible flowers. The set was made up of 2 stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing a single stamp. The issue was designed by Koo Jye Chen and Hoean Yun and was lithographed by Southern Colour Print. The stamps are perforated 14. A very attractive issue.Rating:- *****.






๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ผ The postal service of Malawi issued a set of 3 more surcharges on previously issued commemorative stamps in December 2021. Rating:- ****.





๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India Post issued a My Stamp personalised stamp with attached label on 15 December 2021 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the L & T Construction and Mining Machinery business. The item was as usual sold in sheetlets of 12 with attached labels and sold at a premium price.



๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Guernsey Post has revealed the design of the £3 miniature sheet it plans to issue on 9 February 2022 as another part of its ongoing Clematis Gold series. The new sheet features the Samaritan Joe variety of the plant. Rating:- **.



  The full programme of 2022 Guernsey Post issues is:-

Issues inscribed ‘Alderney’ - 

4 February - Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II - 6 stamps, 1 miniature sheet and 1 prestige booklet

4 April - Alderney patois - 8 stamps 

9 June - Alderney Wildlife Trust - 4 stamps and 1 miniature sheet 

24 August - 175th anniversary of the Alderney breakwater 

2 November - Christmas - 7 stamps

Issues inscribed ‘Guernsey’ - 

19 January  - Chinese new year, Year of the Tiger - 6 stamps, 1 miniature sheet, 1 ‘limited edition gold replica souvenir sheet’

9 February - ‘Clematis Gold’ - 1 miniature sheet 

9 February - ‘Quartet series’, ‘Heart of the Forest’ - 1 stamp

17 February - Post and Go stamps, Guernsey cuisine - 6 stamps 

4 April - Quartet part 2 - 1 stamp 

4 April - Voice Vouaie, Guernsey patois - 8 stamps

21 May - 40th anniversary of the Falklands War - 6 stamps and 1 prestige booklet 

21 May - EUROPA, Folklore, Guernsey witches - 6 stamps and 2 miniature sheets 

24 August - Ebenezer Le Page - 6 stamps

24 August - Quartet part 3 - 1 stamp

24 August - Sepac, locally made beverages (Seagull fun)  4 stamps 

2 November - Christmas - 7 stamps 

2 November - Quartet part 4 - 1 stamp and 1 miniature sheet containing all 4 stamps in the series.



Thursday 30 December 2021

2000. Commonwealth Stamps Review Of 2021.

 

Here is a review of the Commonwealth events and anniversaries in 2021 which usually had philatelic consequences and which are worth noting as the world continued to try to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic -  


2 February ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง Death of centenarian charity fund raiser, Major Sir Tom Moore, who became a British icon during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Royal Mail refused to issue a stamp to commemorate this British hero but later in the year announced that a design competition for schoolchildren was to be held on the subject of Heroes of the Pandemic. It is possible that one of the designs will feature ‘Captain Tom’. The set will be released on 23 March 2022.


17 March ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฉ Birth Centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Father figure of Bangladesh. Throughout the year numerous commemoratives were released to commemorate this important anniversary.


9 April ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง Death of The Duke Of Edinburgh (consort of Queen Elizabeth II) at the age of 99, a couple of months before his 100th birthday. Stamps from various Commonwealth philatelic entities planned to commemorate his birthday were substituted by more sombre stamps which looked back on his life.



21 April ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง 95th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. Many stamp issues from around The Commonwealth were released.





27 April ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฑ 60th anniversary of Sierra Leone’s independence. So far no related commemoratives are known to have been issued by its postal service. There was good news in that the vast number of products produced in the country’s name by the notorious agency Stamperija appeared to have ceased.

17 May ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Royal Gibraltar Post Office felt it necessary to issue a Cryptocurrency stamp in a limited edition miniature sheet linked to a “block chain-based digital collectable” or “non-fungible token” counterpart (please don’t ask me to explain).








26 May ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฟ The government of Mozambique abolished the national postal service, Correios de Moรงambique, on the grounds that it was uneconomic to run. The day before the announcement,  Stamperija sneaked out a lot of expensive stamp issues including a number dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.


23 June ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ผ The 60th anniversary of the independence of Kuwait after Great Britain gave up its protectorate over the country. The country’s Post Office issued 2 stamps to commemorate the anniversary.


26 - 27 June - ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ผ The meeting of Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) due to take place on these dates  in Kigali in Rwanda was postponed for a second time because of the ongoing pandemic.

24 July - 19 August. ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฒ Delayed 2020 Olympic Games held in Tokyo.Australia Post, as usual, issued stamps to commemorate all of its gold medal winners while a Bermuda triathlete, Flora Duffy, won the territory’s first ever gold medal and was subsequently commemorated by a stamp issue.



15 August - ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ญ 50th anniversary of the Independence of Bahrain after Great Britain gave up its protectorate over the country. There is no news of any stamp issue having been released by the country’s postal service to commemorate the event.

21 August, ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ซ Probably the most important event of the year, the fall of Kabul as Taliban forces invaded the city following the sudden abandonment of Afghanistan by US forces under orders from the disastrous US President Biden. The Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was forced to flee the country as Taliban forces closed in on the presidential palace precipitating widespread panic among the people with many wishing to follow Ghani’s example and escape from the country and the threat of rule by terrorists. British troops assisted in the mass evacuation of the terrified inhabitants from Kabul airport. Afghan Post’s final stamp of the Islamic Republic period had been issued earlier in the year to commemorate Tetsu Nakamura’s humanitarian work in the country.


22 August ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ถ Centenary of the Accession of King Faisal I to the throne of Iraq by which the country became a Kingdom under a League of Nations Mandate belonging to Great Britain. The postal service of Iraq issued a stamp and a miniature sheet to commemorate the centenary.



27 August  ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ด The Congress of the Universal Postal Union held in Abidjan in Cรดte D’Ivoire decided that the stamps of the British Indian Ocean Territory should no longer be registered, distributed and transmitted by the UPU and that only the stamps of the Republic of Mauritius should be used on mail from Diego Garcia and The Chagos Islands though that pronouncement failed to recognise that there was no functioning Mauritian post office in the islands.



3 September - ๐Ÿ‡ถ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Fiftieth anniversary of the achievement of Independence of Qatar after Great Britain gave up its protectorate over the country. The country’s postal service has so far not issued any stamps to commemorate the anniversary.

9 November ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ญ The postal services of four UK Overseas territories, Ascension Island, British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia And The South Sandwich Islands and Tristan Da Cunha, participated in an omnibus issue commemorating the Blue Belt Programme whereby the British government helps the territories to develop programmes to protect their territorial waters. Each territory issued 4 stamps and 1 miniature sheet.



11 November - ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Death of former President of South Africa, FW De Klerk, last Head of State of South Africa who was a leader of the apartheid regime but who played an important role in negotiating with Nelson Mandela the end of white rule in the country and the establishment of democracy there.



20 November - ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ณ After a long break, the first stamps to be issued by the postal service of Pitcairn Islands under the direction of its new philatelic agents, Tower Mint, were released commemorating the 95th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II.


30 November - ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ง Barbados became a Republic within The Commonwealth on the 45th anniversary of its independence from The United Kingdom. Dame Sandra Mason, the former Governor General, became the first President of the Republic. The Ceremony marking the enD of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II in Barbados was attended by The Prince Of Wales. Surprisingly no commemorative stamps were issued by the Barbados postal service to celebrate this landmark event in the nation’s history.

2 December - ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ช 50th anniversary of the achievement of Independence of The Trucial States after Great Britain gave up its protectorate over them. Six of the seven territories united to form The United Arab Emirates and the country’s postal service issued 1 stamp and 8 miniature sheets to commemorate the anniversary.


9 December - ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฟ 60th anniversary of the Independence of Tanganyika. No news yet of any stamps having been released to commemorate the anniversary but it is possible than such an issue has been released by the postal service of Tanzania

26 December - ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ The death was announced of the former Archbishop of Cape Town, Desmond Tutu, who was an important campaigner against apartheid in South Africa and who headed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission after the introduction of majority rule in the country which helped to ensure a peaceful transition period in South Africa. After conflict in the Solomon Islands he was called upon to carry on a similar role in that small Pacific nation. Expect to see many stamps in his honour during 2022.


Happy new year!



Tuesday 28 December 2021

2002. ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Isle Of Man To Commemorate Local Stamp Designer And Artist.

 












๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Isle Of Man Post Office, having already announced one new issue for 2022 (Chinese new year) has now released details of its second excursion of 2022 into the pockets of any loyal collectors of its stamps that it still has left.

  The issue, due on 23 February 2022, will take the form of an 8 stamp set (4 se-tenant pairs) which features the pleasing art of local artists, the late Nancy Corkish and David Byrne, who lived together in the last house on the road before The Sound at Creigneash. Nancy Corkish died in 2021 and as her work included some charming Manx stamp designs, including the ‘Cats’ set of 1996, this issue is intended as a tribute to her and a celebration of the couple’s partnership and collaboration. Well, I’ve heard of worse reasons for a stamp issue.

  The issue was designed by Icon Imaging and features paintings by the couple and was lithographed by Cartor and the stamps are perforated 13. All in all, a lovely and worthwhile issue. Rating:- *****.









๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ The United States-based producer and seller of philatelic items, IGPC. has released news of its latest products which have the names of their Commonwealth clients printed on them:-

๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฒ The Gambia - 1 February 2022 - Chinese New Year, Year of the Tiger (1 miniature sheet).

๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Grenada - 1 December 2021 - Flowers (2 miniature sheets), Nine-banded armadillo (2 miniature sheets), Red-footed tortoise (2 miniature sheets); 23 December 2021 - Dolphins (2 miniature sheets), Green anole (2 miniature sheets); 1 February 2022 - Chinese New Year, Year of the Tiger (1 miniature sheet).

๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Grenada Carriacou and Petite Martinique - 29 November 2021 - Iguana (2 miniature sheets), Crocodiles (2 miniature sheets); 23 December 2021 - Hummingbirds (2 miniature sheets).

๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡จ St Vincent And The Grenadines - 27 December 2021 - Butterflies (1 miniature sheet), Crocodiles (2 miniature sheets), Elvis Presley (1 miniature sheet), Third Wedding anniversary of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (2 miniature sheets), 10th Wedding anniversary of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (2 miniature sheets).

๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ป Tuvalu - 1 December 2021 - 50th anniversary of Apollo 15 (2 miniature sheets); 1 February 2022 - Chinese New Year, Year of the Tiger (1 miniature sheet).

Monday 27 December 2021

2001. ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡พ Delayed Cayman Islands Issues Released At Last.

 



๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡พ The postal service of Cayman Islands issued 3 sets of stamps locally, probably on 16 December 2021, which had been delayed arriving in the territory. A post office spokesman said that for reasons beyond the Cayman Islands Post Office control the stamps were late in arriving in the islands and they were not in the islands in time for the planned dates of issue. Even then only one of the prepared first day covers had arrived in the island (the Duke of Edinburgh issue) and the two others were still awaited. The issues are:-

Planned date of issue - 10 November 2021 - 95th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth II - 4 stamps and 1 miniature sheet. An attractive issue. Rating:- *****.








Planned date of issue:- 22 October 2021 - Commemoration of the late Duke Of Edinburgh - 4 stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- ****.









2021 - Christmas - 4 stamps. The designs take the form of stamps on stamps and use the designs of a previous issue. Rating:- ***.







  As the year draws to a close here is a list of those Commonwealth philatelic entities which are not yet known during 2021 to have issued, or have had issued on their behalf, legal items which are intended to be or are purporting to be, postage stamps:- 

Anguilla
Cameroon
Dominica
eSwatini
Ghana
Lesotho
Montserrat
Nauru
Rarotonga Cook Islands
Rwanda 
St Kitts
Saint Lucia 
Samoa
Sierra Leone 
Solomon Islands 
Tanzania 
Tokelau 
Turks And Caicos Islands 
Zambia

Nineteen in all.

And that would seem to be that.