2606. 🇬🇧🇫🇰🇬🇸 South Atlantic Endurance Issues At Last.

 

New Issues -

British South Atlantic and Antarctic Territories -

5 November 2024 - Joint issue to commemorate the discovery of the wreck Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance. Designed by Abé Design using photographs taken by Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust and National Geographic and Scott Polar Research Institute, Lithographed by Cartor and perforated 13.5. Production coordinated by Creative Direction. Rating:- *****.

🇬🇧 Postal service of British Antarctic Territory - 2 staamos and 1 miniature sheet containing a single stamp.

🇫🇰 Postal service of the Falkland Islands - 2 stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing a single.

🇬🇸 Postal service of South Georgia And The South Sandwich Islands - 2 stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing a single stamp.

  Thanks to Isle of Man stamps and Coins for information about these issues.

  Information about these issues was delayed until the day of issue at the request of the copyright holders of the images featured in the designs.

2500. 🇮🇪 Beautiful Irish Bees Feature On New Issue.

 

New issues -

🇮🇪 An Post - postal service of the Irish Republic -

16 May 2024 - Native Irish bees - 4 self-adhesive stamps printed in sheets of 20 and 1 gummed miniature sheet. Designed by Design HQ from art by Shavorn Doherty and lithographed by Enschedé. Rating:- *****.

🇮🇲 Isle Of Man Post Office -

28 May 2024 - Aviation anniversaries (Centenary of Imperial Airways, Centenary of the Fleet Air Arm, 75th anniversary of the English Electric Canberra; 75th anniversary of the De Haviland.Comet, 75th anniversary of the Avro Shackleton and 60th anniversary of the Red Arrows) - 6 stamps. Designed by Glazier Design and Brian Riddle (the IOM PO website does not use the term “designed by” but instead informs the reader that the stamps “were crafted with meticulous attention to detail” and lithographed by bpost and perforated 11.5. Total face value - £11.39. Rating:- * (for the meticulous crafting!).

🇴🇲 Oman Post -

6 March 2024 - First anniversary of the inauguration of the Royal Academy of Management - 1 stamp issued in sheetlets of 8 and 1 miniature sheet containing a single stamp. Lithographed. Rating:- *****.

2439. 🇬🇧 As Storms Hit Britain Royal Mail Celebrates Weather Forecasting.

 

New issues 

🇬🇧 Royal Mail -

1 February 2024 - Weather Forecasting, 170th anniversary of the Met Office (Meteorological Office) -  8 stamps (4 se-tenant pairs - 2 x 2nd, 2 x 1st, 2 x £2 and 2 x £2.20). Designed by Hat-trick design and lithographed by Cartor. Perforated  14.5 x 14. Rating:- *****.

  This is an excellent set and as well as the basic anniversary, even if it is not, perhaps, the most significant (170th) it also includes commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the first appearance by a woman presenter of the weather forecast on British television; a tie-in with the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the D Day landings; a commemoration of the British Terra Nova Expedition in Antarctica and a stamp featuring a Space theme (which is unusual on British stamps if one excludes science fiction stamps relating to space).

2259. 🇬🇧🇫🇰 🇬🇸 South Atlantic Territories Commemorate Discovery of Shackleton’s Endurance.

 

New issues.

🇬🇧🇫🇰🇬🇸 Postal services of British Antarctic Territory, Falkland Islands and South Georgia And The South Sandwich Islands -

27/ March 2023 - Discovery of the wreck of Ernest Shackleton’s ship, The Endurance - 2 stamps and 1 miniature sheet for each territory. Designed by Bee Design from photographs of Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust, National Geographic and Scott Polar Research Institute. Lithographed by Cartor and perforated 14 x 13.5. Production coordinated by Creative Direction. Thanks to Angela Warner of Pobjoy Stamps for information about this issue. Rating:- ****.

Emirates Post (postal service of United Arab Emirates) - 

🇦🇪 26 February 2023 - World Padel Tour - 1 miniature sheet containing 2 different stamps. Rating:- ****.

2169. 🇹🇨 New Issues From Tristan Da Cunha Depict Cousteau And Birds.

 

New issues.

🇹🇨 Tristan Da Cunha postal service - 

3 October 2022 - ‘The legacy of Jacques Cousteau’ (25th anniversary of the maritime explorer’s death) 4 stamps. Designed by Andrew Robinson and lithographed by Cartor and perforated 13.5. Production coordinated by Creative Direction. Rating:- *****.

Thanks to Angela Warner of Pobjoy Stamps for information about this and the following issue.

6 October 2022 - Vagrant species, third issue - 4 stamps. Designed by Andrew Robinson and lithographed by Cartor and perforated 13.5. Rating:- *****.

1866. 🇮🇪 Ireland’s Antarctic Explorers.

 

An Post, the postal service of The Republic of Ireland issued an interesting set of 4 self-adhesive stamps on 15 April 2021 titled Ice men, featuring Irishmen who have been involved in historic Antarctic exploration. This fine issue was designed by Zinc Design using illustrations produced by David Rooney and was lithographed by Enschedé. Rating:- ****.

🇸🇬 The set of 4 stamps to be issued on 23 April 2021 by Singapore Post depicting tetra fish and described as ‘high values’ will be accompanied by an excellent ‘Collectors’ sheet’ containing the 4 stamps. It is pleasingly colourful and original and was designed by Leo Teck Chong. Rating:- *****.

🇨🇰 On the subject of fish, I came across an article published in Linn’s Stamp News on 6 October 2020 which highlighted a mystery stamp of which 3 used specimens (postmarks all unreadable) had been found over a period of years always in kiloware. The stamp, a 15c value from the 1992 - 94 definitive series surcharged 10c, was otherwise unknown and Linn’s Stamp News was not able to find out any more information about it; none of the major catalogue editors had reported its existence, the postal authorities of Cook Islands were unable to give any information about it and the present agent for Cook Islands stamps, Philatelic Collector Inc., following some enquiries, was also unable to enlighten the writer of the article any more about the stamp. Does anyone else have any information about this item? 

  

On the surface of it, the very low face value of 10c makes it highly unlikely that this was an item worth forging and it’s hard to believe that the need for postage stamps  in Cook Islands was so great that a forgery intended for use on mail would have been worthwhile as very little money would have been saved by using it for postage rather than using a genuine stamp (besides, surcharging a 15c stamp 10c represents the loss of 5c which is hardly sensible). Surely it must represent a local response to an acute shortage of 10c values which were needed for some reason or another.

    A new definitive series depicting butterflies was introduced in 1997-98 so one might expect any shortages of a value after that date would result in one of those values being surcharged but of course there may have been a surplus of the fish stamps available for surcharging. However, we must remember that Linn’s Stamp News reports that the Cook Islands Post Office told it that has no record of these surcharges having been produced.

  

  Fascinating. Fake or unrecorded genuine surcharge produced to meet the needs of an acute 10c value shortage? With often unreported examples of surcharges and overprints emerging in the last few years from various territories I have the feeling that this is a real stamp and someone will know the answer to the questions of why and when it was issued.

1633. 🇮🇲 Isle Of Man To Commemorate The Voyage Of The Mayflower.

  🇮🇲 Isle Of Man Post Office will issue an excellent set of 6 stamps on 22 April 2020 to commemorate the Quatercentenary of the voyage of the Mayflower which conveyed the Pilgrim Fathers to North America. It can be claimed that this set is a relevant subject for the island to commemorate as among the settlers was a Manxman, Myles Standish. The issue was designed by Glazier Design and lithographed by Lowe Martin and perforated 13. Rating:- *****.

  The Isle Of Man Post Office commemorated Captain Miles Standish in an issue released in 1986 which was tied to the Chicago International Philatelic Exhibition of that year. 

  It appears that Royal Mail is not intending to issue any stamps this year to commemorate this highly significant anniversary in British and American history, preferring instead to try to squeeze money out of collectors and Star Trek enthusiasts by issuing a set of stamps featuring the American television series. Perhaps Royal Mail believes that the two countries’ modern links are best illustrated by the ‘Starship Enterprise’ rather than the pioneer ship ‘The Mayflower’.

  It is fair to point out that the British postal service has commemorated the voyage of The Mayflower on 2 previous occasions - as one of a set General Anniversaries stamps issued in 1970 (350th anniversary) and in a set of 4 ‘Millenium - The Settlers’ Tale’ stamps issued in 1999.

 The Isle Of Man Post Office previously commemorated Captain Myles Standish with a set of 2 stamps and a miniature sheet containing 2 of the stamps which was tied to the Ameripex 1986 International Philatelic Exhibition held in Chicago that year. The 12p value featured his home in Isle Of Man, Ellanbane.

🇳🇿 The fifth issue of CAL (custom advertising labels) stamps produced to sell to benefit the ill fated NZ 2020 Stamp exhibition are now available from the exhibition website. The issue takes the form of a booklet of 10 self-adhesive stamps (1 each of 6 different stamps and 2 each of the other two) which have all been released previously in gummed format. An interesting souvenir, with postal validity, of the exhibition which was forced to close before its intended end because of the introduction of the New Zealand government’s measures to combat the spread of Coronavirus.