1599. 🇵🇰 Pakistan “Stands With Kashmir”.

Recent and upcoming issues:-

🇵🇰 Pakistan postal service - 5 February 2020 - Kashmir Solidarity Day - 1 stamp. One of the great present flash points of potential serious conflict is Kashmir where the two Commonwealth states of India and Pakistan continue to confront each other over the status of the territory. Both sides over the years have issued stamps related to their disagreements about Kashmir and both frequently issue stamps with a military theme which tie in with this confrontation. This is the latest stamp from one of the two sides which relates to the tensions in Kashmir. Designed by Khalid Nawaz and lithographed by National Security Printing Company Karachi and perforated 13. An interesting issue. Rating:- ****. (PA20.2).

🇮🇲 Isle Of Man Post Office - 26 February 2020 - Exploration of the moon and space - 8 stamps. Designed by Glazier Design and lithographed by Lowe Martin and perforated 14. Rating:- 0.
  See also Blog 1596. Irrelevant subject. (XIOM20.5 -12)

🇬🇮 Royal Gibraltar Post Office - 5 February 2020 - Post and Go stamps, Chinese New Year, Year of the Rat - various postal rate values. Rating:- 0. Irrelevant subject. (XGIBPG20.1)

🇬🇧 Royal Mail - Booklets

10 March 2019 - London 2020 Stamp Exhibition - 1 retail counter booklet sold for £4.60p containing 6 x 1st stamps (2 x Penny Black, 2 x Penny Red, 2 x Twopenny Blue). Self-adhesive. (RMCB20.2)

Collectable:-

11 February 2020 - ‘Visions of the Universe 200th anniversary of the Royal Astronomical Society’ - Prestige booklet with highly limited public availability sold for £16.10p. Four panes. Two panes contain commemorative stamps from Visions of The Universe issue (panes 1 and 3),  one pane contains Machin Head definitives (2 x 5p and 2 x 10p) and Regional stamps  (4 x 1st, one each for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) and 1 stamp-sized label (pane 2) and one pane contains 8 Machin Head definitives (2 x 1p, 4 x 2p and 2 x £1.35 plus one stamp-sized label). (XRMPB20.1)

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka Post - 3 February 2020 - World Wetlands Day - 10 stamps and 1 sheetlet containing all 10 stamps. Rating:- ****. (SLP20.1 - 11)

Stamps are now numbered. An ‘X’ at the start of a number implies that for reasons such as excessive issuing including high face value and persistently large numbers of issues or irrelevance of subject matter such numbered issues would not be added to my personal collection. It goes without saying that I would not include the issues of the postal services of Commonwealth territories which use Stamperija as the producer and issuer of their philatelic items - currently, Sierra Leone, Maldives and Mozambique -  in my collection and such issues are not mentioned in this Blog unless there is good reason to believe that there is a possibility that they may be sold at local post offices for use on ordinary mail.

1598. 🇳🇦 Namibia Features Birds And Squirrels On 2020 Stamps.

🇳🇦 NamPost, the postal service of Namibia, has revealed its new issue programme for 2020 and has revealed many of the wonderful designs for its upcoming stamps all by Helge Denker. There are 4 issues, 3 of which feature different types of Namibian birds and the fourth set features some of the country’s species of squirrels. Of the many Commonwealth countries whose postal administrations continue to issue postage stamps Namibia is one of the very best. I give all 4 issues five stars.

20 February 2010 - Squirrels of Namibia - 3 stamps. Designed by Helge Denker. Rating:- *****.

2 April - Woodpeckers of Namibia - 5 stamps. Designed by Helge Denker. Rating:- *****.

18 June 2020 - Batises of Namibia - 2 stamps. Designed by Helge Denker. Rating:- *****.

20 August 2020 - Kites of Namibia - 2 stamps. Designed by Helge Denker. Rating:- *****.

🇲🇾 Pos Malaysia issued 3 stamps and 1 miniature sheet on 6 February 2019 as the second part of its Calligraphy series, the first part of which was issued in 2016. This beautiful issue is on the subject of Peace, Prosperity and Happiness. Rating:- *****.

🇻🇬 The Government of British Virgin Islands released a set of 6 stamps on 22 January 2020 with a total face value of US$1000. But collectors of postage stamps need not enter a state of extreme anxiety at this news because the stamps in question are not Postage stamps, which of course is what most of we stamp collectors put in our collections, but Revenue stamps which are collected by far fewer people. There is no indication that these stamps are valid for postage.

  The excellent designs featuring the BVI coat of arms and the territory’s national bird, the Mourning Dove, were designed by Bee Design and were lithographed by Cartor and are perforated 13.5 x 13. I would love to see these designs used for the territory’s ordinary postage stamps which would hopefully have much lower face values.

  Not for my postage stamp collection of course but interesting to know about and attractive to look at.

  Thanks to Juliet Warner of Pobjoy Stamps for supplying information about this issue.

1597. 🇲🇻 Maldives Rejoins The Commonwealth.

Highest value of first set, 1906

🇲🇻 Maldives was readmitted to membership of The Commonwealth on 1 February 2020. The total membership of the organisation now stands again at 54 countries.
  Maldives left The Commonwealth on 13 October 2016 after the then President Abdulla Yameen complained that The Commonwealth was treating the country unfairly after Yameen’s government was given 6 months to address concerns about the treatment and detention of opposition leaders, its meddling with the Judiciary and its undermining of democratic institutions. Subsequently Yameen was defeated in a general election by Ibrahim Solih in 2018 and the new president indicated his government’s wish for the republic to rejoin The Commonwealth. President Solih’s decision to seek Maldives’ return to full Commonwealth has now been made reality.
  This is not necessarily good news for Commonwealth stamp collectors as the vast majority of the Maldives’ postal administration’s stamp issues are currently handled by its philatelic agents, the notorious Stamperija, and it means that The Commonwealth now has 3 members which allow their philatelic reputations to be dragged through the mud by continuing to have contracts with Stamperija (the others being Mozambique and Sierra Leone). Needless to say, unless this situation changes very few of the returning member’s new postage stamps will be finding their way into my Commonwealth collection, certainly as long as Stamperija is allowed to continue to produce new issues for Maldives..
  Nevertheless, welcome back Maldives. It is interesting to note that Maldives rejoined The Commonwealth just one hour after the United Kingdom left the European Union.

Not a native animal obviously, issued 2019.

1596. 🇬🇧 Spectacular Royal Mail New Issue Notes British Astronomical Discoveries.

🇬🇧 Depicted here now are much better quality illustrations of the stamps from the Royal Mail Visions of the Universe set of 8 stamps to be released on 11 February 2020 than were included in Blog 1583 where I first mentioned this issue. The 2 panes of definitive and regional stamps from the Prestige booklet are illustrated in Blog 1591. The issue commemorates the Bicentenary of the Royal Astronomical Society and notes important British astronomical discoveries.. The issue was designed by True North and lithographed by International Security Printers and is perforated 14. A colourful and well-designed set commemorating a notable British anniversary and notable British achievements. Rating:- *****.

🇫🇯 Illustrated below are two of the set of 4 stamps issued by Post Fiji on 17 January 2020 to commemorate Chinese New Year, Year of the Rat. As rats go these are pretty inoffensive looking. The Year of the Rat has got off to a very unpropitious start due to thousands of people in China and elsewhere being affected by the Coronavirus outbreak. I wonder if this dreadful opening of the year will affect people’s wishes to buy the vast numbers of stamps issued by Commonwealth and other countries (in many of which there is no population of any great number to which the lunar new festivities have any significance) which commemorate this inauspicious new year. And if sales are poor as a result will so many postal authorities issue stamps for the 2021 lunar new year?

🇬🇧 I gave up collecting Royal Mail Smilers stamps 10 years ago and don’t feel that anything worthwhile is missing from my collection. On the other hand there are still some enthusiasts for these frequently overpriced items and so I’m sure they will welcome the Generic sheet which Royal Mail plans to issue to commemorate London 2020 International Stamp Exhibition to take place in May. The sheet contains 20 ‘Hello’ stamps with attached labels depicting aspects of the postal service in London over the decades. Rating:- 0.

🇮🇲 Isle Of Man Post Office plans to issue a miniature sheet reproducing the designs of 11 previously issued stamps on 26 February 2020 to commemorate previous United States exploration of the moon and in space in general. Cost £10.63. Ho hum. Rating:- 0. 

  🇬🇬 Guernsey Post will issue 6 new Post and Go stamps on 12 February 2020 on the subject of local fishing vessels. This excellent new set was designed by Robin Carter and printed digitally by Walsall Security Printers. Local theme, excellent art, what else could a collector want? Rating:- *****.