Tuesday, 31 January 2023

2241. 🇨🇦 First Canadian Issues of 2023.


New issues.

🇨🇦 Canada Post -

30 January 2023 - Black history month, Chloe Cooley, early slave in Canada - 1 self-adhesive stamp issued in booklets of 6 stamps. Designed by Lime Design from an illustration by Rick Jacobsen. Rating:- ****.






1 March 2023 - Flowers, Ranunculus, Persian buttercup - 2 self-adhesive stamps issued in booklets of 10, 2 self-adhesive stamps produced in coils and 1 gummed miniature sheet containing the 2 stamps. Designed by Stephane Huot. Rating:- ****.































3April 2023 - Eid (Muslim religious festival) - 1 self-adhesive stamp produced in booklets of 6 stamps. Designed by Subplot Design Inc. rating:- ****.






🇯🇪 Jersey Post -

16 February 2023 - Post and Go, Jersey baby farm animals - se-tenant strip of 6 different self-adhesive stamps. Designed by Sabrina Luoni and digitally printed by Cartoe. Rating:- ****.



🇸🇱 Sierra Leone ?Stamperija -

2023 - International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People - 5 stamps produced in sheetlets of 20 stamps (4 horizontal strips of 5 se-tenant stamps), 1 miniature sheet containing 8 stamps (2 sets of 4 different stamps), 1 miniature sheet containing a single stamp, imperforate versions of the foregoing, 1 postcard (with Salpost logo) depicting 4 of the stamps on the obverse and 2 proof-style cards (1 depicting 4 different stamps and the other depicting the fifth stamp)

  These items are offered for sale by an Algeria-based internet auction site dealer. Also on sale are many items from territories such as Mali, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Djibouti, Togo and other countries whose modern philatelic product issuing is in the hands of Stamperija as is the case with Sierra Leone. The dealer also offers older stamps issued mainly by African Francophone territories which do not have a relationship with Stamperija. The products often are part of a ‘joint issue’ with other Stamperija clients on popular themes such as the COVID-19 pandemic and include not just basic stamps and  miniature sheets but also postcards, proof-like items, sheetlets and booklets and so on. Most of the items are said to be ‘rare’ or issued in very limited numbers and they cost a lot of money to obtain them.

  The stamps usually feature important subjects or have the appearance of being definitives but I find them to be dubious and I am highly suspicious that these represent just another ploy by Stamperija to boost its profits by producing what look like serious items of a more sophisticated quality than the multiple thematic miniature sheets which it normally produces and sells and thereby appealing to, or at least confusing, serious new issue collectors who may believe that they really do look like they were produced for genuine mail usage in the territories whose names are printed on them. 

  Of course, I may be wrong but at this stage I don’t think so. It has to be significant that the countries identified in the stamps are all Stamperija clients apart from occasional issues such as the highly expensive and limited edition COVID-19 set put out for South Sudan which was sold in that country for use on mail as reported by the South Sudan study group.

  Until I see convincing evidence that these items are on active sale in Sierra Leone post offices for use by ordinary mail senders I shall continue to conclude that they are products emanating from Stamperija and will certainly not dream of spending any money on them.












Commonwealth countries and territories whose postal services are not known to have issued, or have had issued on their behalf, any legitimate postage stamps so far during 2023.

Two previous entities have been removed from the list - Mozambique which has no functioning postal service and therefore has no need of postage stamps and Rarotonga in the Cook Islands because it is not a real political entity and rarely has products released with its name printed on them. Any products inscribed Rarotonga will be counted with the products simply inscribed Cook Islands. Mozambique was excluded last year though part of the service seems to have been still functioning (though not too any great great degree and probably not ordinary mail services) but the service legally should have been fully wound up by December 2022. Any products emanating from Mozambique’s former ‘philatelic agent’, Stamperija, are clearly nonsensical in the absence of a postal service.

The year began therefore with 88 Commonwealth philatelic entities making up the list.

By the end of January, the following had not yet had any 2023 new issues produced by them or in their name -

Aitutaki Cook Islands

Alderney Bailiwick of Guernsey

Anguilla 

Antigua and Barbuda 

Ascension Island 

Australian Antarctic Territory

Barbados 

Belize 

Bermuda 

Botswana 

British Indian Ocean Territory 

Brunei Darussalam 

Cameroon 

Cayman Islands 

Cocos (Keeling) Islands Australia

Cook Islands 

Cyprus 

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus 

Dominica 

eSwatini

Falkland Islands 

Fiji

Gabon 

The Gambia 

Ghana 

Gibraltar

Grenada Carriacou And Petite Martinique 

Guyana

Jamaica 

Kenya

Kiribati 

Lesotho 

Malawi 

Maldives

Malta

Mauritius 

Montserrat 

Namibia 

Nauru 

Nevis 

New Zealand 

Nigeria 

Niuafo’ou Tonga

Papua New Guinea 

Penrhyn Cook Islands

Pitcairn Islands 

Ross Dependency 

Rwanda 

St Helena 

St Kitts 

Saint Lucia

St Vincent And The Grenadines 

Samoa 

Seychelles 

Solomon Islands 

South Africa 

South Georgia And The South Sandwich Islands 

Sri Lanka 

Togo

Tokelau 

Tonga 

Trinidad And Tobago 

Tristan Da Cunha 

Turks And Caicos Islands

Uganda 

United Republic of Tanzania 

Vanuatu 

Zambia 


These philatelic entities began 2023 in the listing but are known to have issued stamps during January - 

Australia 

Bahamas 

Bangladesh 

British Antarctic Territory 

British Virgin Islands 

Canada

Christmas Island Australia 

Grenada 

Guernsey 

India 

Isle Of Man 

Jersey

Malaysia

Norfolk Island Australia 

Pakistan 

Singapore 

Tuvalu 

United Kingdom 


  Hence at the end of January, 69 of the 88 Commonwealth philatelic entities are not known to have issued or had issued on their behalf any legitimate postage stamps so far in 2023.





Saturday, 28 January 2023

2240. 🇮🇳 India Commemorates Indian National Army Fighter.


New Issues.

🇮🇳 India Post

26 January 2023 - Commemoration of Major Durga Mall (soldier in Indian National Army during Second World War) - 1 stamp. Rating:- ***.


🇱🇹 Stamperija (notorious Lithuania-based manufacturer and purveyor of paraphilatelic items under contract from various postal services to produce saleable items in their name. There is little or no evidence that such products are on sale in the ordinary post offices of contracted countries for use on ordinary mail).

🇸🇱 Products inscribed ‘Sierra Leone’ -

Stated ‘date of issue’ - 9 October 2022 - Miscellaneous subjects featured on a total of 42 miniature sheets. I do not normally note that these products have been released on to the market for purchase by uninformed or gullible buyers but here mention two ‘issues’ related to the British family since the products are worth noting as representing the end of an era and the start of another. It’s interesting to know about the products but purchase is not recommended. Rating:- 0.

Commemoration of the late Queen Elizabeth II - 3 miniature sheets 

Succession of King Charles III.







  Also put on sale in the same batch of products as the above royalty-themed items were 3 miniature sheets inscribed with the name of Sierra Leone which commemorated the Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham (with some events taking place in Coventry, Sandwell, Leamington Spa [Warwickshire] and London). 

  The supreme crassness of the products Stamperija puts on sale is highlighted by the miniature sheet which is described as showing ‘Leamington Lift Bridge’ which is in fact located in Edinburgh in Scotland and not Royal Leamington Spa, several hundred miles away, where the lawn bowls events were held. The triathlon event was held in Sutton Park in Royal Sutton Coldfield, a suburb of Birmingham, but the single stamp contained in the miniature sheet shows a rather obscure alley way which could be just about anywhere. True the part of the miniature sheer showing the Coventry Stadium is correct but the border of the 3 ‘stamp’miniature sheet claims to depict ‘Warwick Castle built by William The Conqueror in 1068’ (it doesn’t - the illustration is of a church and not Warwick Castle). One of the ‘stamps’ depicts an aerial view of New Street Railway Station in Birmingham and another depicts the canal system at Brindley Place. 

  While certain catalogues continue to list this trash and while there are still those who think they are worth spending their money on the stuff, then Stamperija will continue to churn out the rubbish, laughing all the way to the bank.





Thursday, 26 January 2023

2239. 🇯🇪 Jersey From The Air, Again.

 



New issues.

🇯🇪 Jersey Post -

28 January 2023 - Jersey from the air, second issue - 8 stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing all 8 stamps. Designed by Marc Le Cornu of BAM Perspectives and lithographed by Cartor. Rating:- *.






🇧🇩 Bangladesh Post -

25 January 2023 - 32nd Asia-Pacific and 11th National Scout Jamboree held from 19 to 27 January 2023 at Mouchak in Gazipur. Rating:- ****.



🇮🇳 India Post -

January 2023 - 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Egypt, joint issue - 2 stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing the 2 stamps. Rating:- ****.





 My Stamp, personalised stamps with attached labels and issued in sheetlets of 12 and sold at a premium.

2022 - 25th anniversary of Schwabe India - 1 stamp.



2022 - 175th anniversary of the founding of the Lawrence School, Sanawar - 1 stamp.



2022 - Mission Radiology - 1 stamp.


🇵🇰 Pakistan Post

24 January 2023 - 40th anniversary of the Wafaqi Motasib (Federal Ombudsman of Pakistan), Islamabad. Designed by Mughiz Khan and lithographed by National Security Printing Company, Karachi and perforated 13. Rating:- **.