2390.🇰🇳 St Kitts GPO Announces $100 Value To Commemorate 40 Years Of Independence.

 

New issues.

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka Post -

27 October 2023 - 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with France - 2 stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Lithographed. Rating:- ****.

🇰🇳 St Kitts General Post Office -

?19 September 2023 - 40th anniversary of Independence - 4 stamps. It was announced on 12 September 2023 that a set of 4 stamps was to be released to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Independence which fell on 19 September. The announcement advised that the GPO was “to unveil a series of commemorative designs to observe St Kitts and Nevis 40th Independence anniversary celebration”. The stamps were described but no illustrations were provided - 10c design to feature a collage of the Federation’s 5 national heroes, the 30c “to showcase an image of Independence Square, the $30 will highlight the Berkeley Memorial and the $100 (equivalent to about £30 sterling) is to feature the statue of Sir Robert Bradshaw, the country’s first National Hero.

Since this announcement was made there has been no confirmation in the news media that this set has actually been issued and no illustrations have been provided.

🇰🇪 Postal Corporation of Kenya -

2023 - 60th anniversary of Independence (12 December 2023), State Visit of King Charles III and Queen Camilla to Kenya (31 October - 3 November 2023, the King’s first visit to a Commonwealth country since his succession to the throne). No stamp issues for these notable event and anniversary have yet been announced but while it is unlikely that the royal visit will be accompanied by a stamp issue, there is a reasonable chance of a stamp issue to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the granting of Independence to Kenya.

🇸🇬 Singapore Post -

22 November 2023 - Horoscope signs, Part III - 4 stamps and 2 ‘Collectors sheets’ (identical but one perforated and the other imperforate). Designed by Lim An-king and lithographed with ‘rainbow silver foil’ on miniature sheets by Brebner Print. Perforated 14. Rating:- **.

15 November 2023 - ‘Bird Paradise’. Further details and illustrations awaited.

December 2023 - ‘The Purple Parade’ (“a unifying national platform to promote awareness and celebrate abilities of Persons with Disabilities”). Further details and illustrations awaited.

5 January 2024 - Chinese New Year, Year of the Dragon - 2 gummed stamps, I self-adhesive stamp from booklets of 10, I miniature sheet containing 2 tête bêche pairs, 1 machine-vended stamp, 1 ‘Collectors sheet’ sold in a pack and 1 My Stamp sheetlet containing in a pack 6 stamps (3 x 2 different designs) with attached labels sold in a pack and a further pack made up of two sheetlets, the first lozenge shaped and containing 2 stamps and the second containing 14 stamps (7 x 2 different designs) with attached labels. Designed by Lim An-ling (stamps) and Andy Koh (Collectors sheet) and lithographed by Brebner Print (stamps) and Enschedé (Collectors sheet with additional laser die-cutting and gold hot stamping). Perforated 14.5. Rating:- ****.

22 November 2023 - My Stamp sheetlet, ‘The stories of our post offices’ - 1 sheetlet containing 10 identical stamps with attached labels. 

9 October 2023 - Machine vended stamps, 160th anniversary of Singapore postal services. Locations - sold at GPO Singpost Centre (S796) and Suntec City Post Office (S059).

2389. 🇰🇼 Kuwait Commemorates Centenary Of Its First Stamp.

 

New issues.

🇰🇼 Kuwait Post -

October 2023 - Centenary of the first stamp to be issued with the name of Kuwait printed on it - 1 stamp. Lithographed. Perforated 14 Rating:- *****.

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka Post -

22 October 2023 - National Meelad Un Nabi - 1 stamp. Lithographed. Rating:- ***.

27 October 2023 - 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with France - 2 stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Further details and illustrations awaited.

🇮🇳 India Post - 

21 October 2023 - 125th anniversary of the Scindia School (see Blog 2286).This single stamp issue was accompanied by a miniature sheet containing a single stamp.

27 October 2023 - Commemoration of Arvind N Mafatial, industrialist and philanthropist - 1 stamp. Rating:- ***.

2023 - My Post stamps, personalised stamps usually issued in sheetlets of 12 with attached labels and sold at a premium.

2023 - Indian railways, 135th anniversary of the South eastern railway - 1 stamp with attached label.

🇨🇦 Canada Post -

30 October 2023 - Commemoration of Willie O’Ree, the first black (ice) hockey player in the National Hockey League - 1 self-adhesive stamp sold in booklets of 6. Designed by Underline from an illustration by Mike McQuade and lithographed. Rating:- ***.

Commonwealth countries and territories whose postal administrations are not known to have issued, or had issued on their behalf, any legitimate postage stamps during 2023 up until the end of October.

Anguilla

Belize 

British Indian Ocean Territory 

Brunei Darussalam 

Cameroon 

Dominica 

eSwatini

Gabon

Kenya

Malawi 

Maldives 

Montserrat 

Nauru

Nevis

Niue

Rwanda

St Kitts 

Saint Lucia 

Samoa 

Seychelles 

Solomon Islands 

South Africa 

Tokelau 

Trinidad And Tobago 

Turks And Caicos Islands 

Vanuatu 

Zambia

Therefore at the end of October, 27 Commonwealth philatelic entities are not yet known to have issued, or have had issued on their behalf, any legitimate postage stamps during 2023. This represents 30.7% of the existing philatelic entities (down from 31.8% at the end of September 2023) and compares with the figure of 24.7% at the end of October 2022. However there are still a number of issues from some countries about which we may not yet be aware such as the proposed Eastern Caribbean Bank 40th anniversary minibus in which St Kitts, Nevis, Saint Lucia and Montserrat may have participated; the PAPU Tower African omnibus - may Kenya have participated in that joint issue? - and issues from British Overseas territories including Anguilla, Turks And Caicos Islands and Montserrat linked to the succession of King Charles III. 

2388. 🇯🇪 Jersey’s Coronation And Christmas Stamps.

 

New issues.

🇯🇪 Jersey Post -

20 November 2023 - Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla - 6 stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing a single stamp. Designed by Martin Mörck and lithographed by Cartor. Rating:- ****.

11 November 2023 - Christmas, “What does Christmas mean to you?” - 8 self-adhesive stamps. Designed by various Jersey artists (Will Bertram, Dean Porter, Glen Fox, Erin Brown, Louise Ramsay, Rosemary Blackmore, Gabriella Street and Lauren Radley) and lithographed by Cartor. Rating:- **.

New issue stamp programmes 2024.

🇬🇬 Guernsey Post -

Further to the list of the first proposed issues of 2024 (see Blog 2277), Guernsey Post has now published a more complete list to the end of the year. One is tempted to comment that the excessive release of new issues will continue and that the individual issues will very much be ‘more of the same’ though equally there are commemorations of some worthwhile anniversaries of local relevance included in the list:- 

  

The end of Pobjoy Stamps.

🇸🇭🇧🇸🇬🇧🇻🇬🇫🇰🇬🇸🇸🇭 The Pobjoy Mint and Coin-producing business, and along with it Pobjoy Stamps, will close at the end of the year and cease to publicise and distribute the stamps of Ascension, British Antarctic Territory, Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and Tristan Da Cunha. This information recently became available in numismatic magazines and is mentioned in a tweet (X) from Linn’s Stamp News and a short article in that publication. The closure of the business will coincide with the retirement of Taya Pobjoy, the managing director of Pobjoy. Linn’s reports that Angela Warner, Pobjoy Coins and Stamps administrator, has stated that, “It is my understanding that each individual territory is now making arrangements for future sales and they will be able to share that news once everything has been finalised”.

  Hopefully this will not mean the end of the various territories’ wonderful recent record of producing high quality, well designed, reasonably priced, non-exploitative, locally relevant new issues that has been the case in the past one or two decades as the design and production of their stamps has been in the hands of the excellent Creative Direction which has used Pobjoy for marketing and distribution of the philatelic products.

  Thanks to Ian Billings of Norvic Stamps for drawing my attention to this interesting and important development in the new issue field.

2387. 🇭🇰 Hong Kong New Issue Stamp Programme January to June 2024.

 

New issues.

🇹🇷 Postal service of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus - 

25 October 2023 - Endemic plants of Cyprus - 2 stamps issued in sheetlets of 8. Designed by GK Sönmezer and lithographed by Devlet Basimevi. Rating:- ****.

New issue stamp programmes 2024 -

🇭🇰 Hong Kong Post -

5 January - Chinese New Year, Year of the Dragon - 4 stamps, 1 miniature sheet, 1 ‘laser cut paper art stamp sheetlet, 2 Heartwarming stamps from ‘mini-panes’, 1 ‘Gold and silver’ stamp sheetlet (end of Year of the Rabbit and beginning of the Year of the Dragon), 2 ‘Gold & silver’ sheetlets, each containing 12 different stamps on the subject of the Lunar new year animals. Designed by Wong Chun-hong. Rating:- ****.

15 February - Anti-corruption in Hong Kong - 6 stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing a single stamp. Designed by Hikoko Ito. Rating:- ****.

18 April - Hong Kong museums collection - ‘Selected tea ware from China and the world’ - 6 stamps and 2 miniature sheets, each containing a single stamp. Designed by Gary Tong. Rating:- *****.

9 May - Intangible cultural history, the Cheung Chau Jiao festival - 4 stamps and 2 miniature sheets each containing a single stamp. Designed by Carl Chung Chi Ming. Rating:- *****.

20 June - ‘Declared monuments of Hong Kong’, second series - 6 stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Designed by Eric Chang. Rating:- ***.