2840. 🎄Happy Christmas!

 

🎄 Happy Christmas!

New issues -

🇲🇲 Myanmar Post  -

21 December 2025 - Centenary of Mandalay University - 1 miniature sheet containing a single stamp. Lithographed. Rating:- ***.

🇧🇩 Bangladesh Post -

15 December 2025 - Great Victory Day - 1 stamp. Lithographed by Government Printer, Gazipur. Rating:- **.

🇮🇳 India Post -

22 December 2025 - Medicinal plants - 1 miniature sheet containing 5 different stamps. 

22 December 2025 - Centenary of the Association of Indian Universities - 1 stamp. Rating:- **.

2755. Canada Recalls Its Experience Of Internment.

 

New issues - 

🇧🇩 Bangladesh Post -

17 May 2025 - World Telecommunication and Information Society Day - 1 stamp. Rating:- ***.

4 July 2025 - Dhakapex 2025 Philatelic Exhibition - 2 half sheetlets of ‘Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh’ stamps making a total of 20 stamps all overprinted ‘Dhakapex 2025’. Rating:- ***.

🇦🇺 Australia Post -

21 July 2025 - ‘Moana 2 Stamp Collection’. A pack costing $40 which contains a miniature sheet containing 4 identical ‘Flowers’ and 2 panes each containing 9 different My stamps. Rating:- 0.

24 June 2025 - Moana 2 stamp pack sold for $17 and containing 9 different My Stamps. Lithographed. Rating:- 0.

12 August 2025 Superman stamp pack containing a pane of 9 different My stamps and sold for $19. Rating:- 0.

5 August 2025 - Birth bicentenary of Ferdinand von Mueller, botanist - 2 gummed stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing both stamps. Designed by Jason Watts and lithographed by RA Printing and perforated 14 x 14.5. Rating:- ***.

12 August 2025 - 150th Birth anniversary of Margaret Preston, Australian artist - 3 stamps. Designed by Jo Muré and lithographed by Southern Impact and perforated 14.5. Rating:- ***.

🇦🇺 Issues inscribed Australian Antarctic Territory -

26 August 2025 - Antarctic krill - 4 stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing all 4 stamps. Designed by Andrew Hogg Design from illustrations by Anita Xhafer and lithographed by Southern Impact and perforated 14.5 x 14. Rating:- ***.

🇦🇪 Emirates Post (postal service of the United Arab Emirates) -

17 July 2025 - Year of Community - 1 miniature sheet containing 5 different stamps. Lithographed. Rating:- ***.

🇨🇦 Canada Post -

17 July 2025 - ‘Internment camps on Canadian soil’ - 1 self-adhesive stamp sold in booklets of 6 identical stamps. Designed by Underline Studio and lithographed by Colour Innovations. Rating:- **.

🇮🇳 India Post -

17 July 2025 - Centenary of Mysore Medical College and Research Centre - 1 stamp. Rating:- ***.

2710. 🇨🇦 Canada Post Foundation 2025 Stamp.

 

New issues -

🇨🇦 Canada Post -

28 April 2025 - Canada Post Community Foundation - 1 self-adhesive stamp from booklets of 10 costing $13.40c. Designed by Paprika from art by Anne-Julie Dudemaine and lithographed by Colour Innovations. Rating:-**.

Australia Post -

22 April 2025 - Disney’s ‘Princess Cinderella’ - Stamp pack containing a pane of 9 different My Stamps plus a pane of 12 valueless labels. Sold for $17 (total face value $13.50). This product is freely available from the Australia Post internet site and can be used to prepay postage and therefore, though sold at a premium, the stamps included in it should be considered to be an Australia Post new issue. Rating:- 0.

2705. 🇻🇦 Death Of Pope Francis. Many Stamp Issues Expected.

 

🇻🇦 The Vatican announced the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday morning, 21 April 2025. The 88 year old pontiff had previously been hospitalised for a severe case of pneumonia but on Sunday appeared before thousands of Roman Catholics in St Peter’s Square in Vatican City to make an appearance and to give a shortened blessing to the faithful. He was dead less than twenty fours later. 

  Pope Francis was the first non-European Pope to be elected to the post since the Syrian-born Gregory III who died in 741 and he was the first pope to come from the Americas and the southern hemisphere. He was elected to be pope on 13 March 2013 and since then numerous stamp issues featuring him were released particularly by the Intergovernmental Philatelic Corporation with the names of its various client countries printed on them though the subject of the issues rarely had any direct relevance to the countries in whose names they were issued. Most of the IGPC issues had less to do with honouring the Pope and more to do with making a fast buck.

  We must expect that a large number of stamps commemorating the late Pontiff will be released in the coming months from entities such as IGPC and the notorious Stamperija as they attempt to cash in on the memory of Francis and doubtless there will be even more depicting his successor, once chosen. A papal death and election are always a business opportunity for the less scrupulous producers of philatelic products.

Some previous philatelic products which featured Pope Francis -

New issues -

🇱🇹 Stamperija -

🇹🇬 Issues inscribed Togolese Republic -

I do not usually report Stamperija products but as these are the first items of 2025 to purport to emanate from Togo, I mention them with illustrations to remind us all of the cynicism and bad taste of this particular ‘agency’ - 

1 April 2025 - Miscellaneous subjects - 13 miniature sheets or sheetlets containing varying numbers of ‘stamps’. Produced in perforate and imperforate forms. Two miniature sheets (one of 4 stamps and the other containing a single stamp) on the subject of the war in Ukraine giving the impression that the government of Togo supports the Ukrainian fight against the Russian invaders and 11 sheets depicting scenes from vintage Walt Disney cartoons - 8 showing the character Mickey Mouse and three depicting scenes from the Danse Macabre (skeleton dance). All very tasteless and exploitative. 

It is worth noting that while these stamps give the impression of Togolese support for Ukraine, at the UN General Assembly meeting held on 24 February 2025, the Togolese delegation failed to support a Ukrainian motion calling for peace and highlighting the role of Russia as the aggressor and instead Togo abstained on the vote (which was better than the United States which supported Putin and voted against the motion). There’s no point in issuing stamps suggesting support for a cause if that support does not actually exist.

Rating - 0 - Avoid.