New issues.
🇻🇺 Vanuatu Post -
15 March 2017 - 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vanuatu and The People’s Republic of China - 1 miniature sheet containing 8 stamps (4 se-tenant pairs). The local press in Vanuatu publicised this issue in 2017 (see Blog 1038) but only showed the stamps as a se-tenant pair on a first day cover. Subsequently the issue was never featured on the Vanuatu Post philatelic sales website and I have never seen it offered for sale - until now (and only after years of searching). The issue was apparently released as a miniature sheet containing 4 se-tenant pairs and I recently found it being offered for sale by a dealer in China. I have placed an order for it but whether I ever see it remains to be seen. It is likely I think, that despite the froth of the joint Chinese-Vanuatu press conference and publicity, it was never issued in Vanuatu but did find its way to at least one dealer in China and has now appeared on the market if you search hard enough for it though it may have been on sale there for a long time without me ever finding it. Regardless, even if it is an issue that was never sold in Vanuatu it is interesting and if nothing else, I am glad to have solved the mystery surrounding it and to have confirmed that it really exists. Judging by the number of the sheet at the bottom right there were probably 10000 of these items so somewhere someone is sitting on a large number of these items unless they have been destroyed since 2017.
🇱🇹
Stamperija (products inscribed
Sierra Leone) -
25 March (thematic subjects) - 5 May (Ukraine-related subjects) 2022 - Stamperija has now recommenced releasing products with the name of Sierra Leone printed on them in considerable numbers and distastefully is attempting to cash in particularly on the war in Ukraine and the suffering of the Ukrainian people. The Delcampe internet auction site currently has a number of ‘dealers’ offering these products for sale. The usual sheetlets continue to include 4 ‘stamps’ but there are now 2 single stamp miniature sheets instead of one. The Ukraine-released products include sheets of multiple ‘stamps’.
New products featured this week include 1 sheetlet containing 4 different stamps plus 2 single stamp miniature sheets, one each on the themes of Mushrooms and Owls, Bats, Domestic cats, Domestic dogs, Minerals, Mushrooms and Insects, Fossils, Orchids and Shells (a total of 32 stamps and 18 miniature sheets) and then there are also 2 miniature sheets (3 stamps and a single stamp) for the Year of The Tiger, 2 miniature sheets (3 stamps and single stamp) on the subject of the late Pope John Paul II’s visit to Ukraine, 2 miniature sheets (4 stamps and a single stamp) on the subject of Pope Francis praying for Ukraine, 2 miniature sheets (4 stamps and a single stamp) depicting Ukrainian and Russian military aircraft, 4 miniature sheets (2 x 4 stamps and 2 x a single stamp) on the subject of ‘Heroic firefighters of Ukraine, 1 sheetlet of 8 different stamps titled ‘Scout movement solidarity and support for Ukraine’, 1 sheetlet containing 16 different stamps titled ‘Rotary responds to Ukraine Crisis, 1 previously issued single stamp miniature sheet on the subject of the Centenary of the Independence of the Baltic states with an overprint of Slava Ukraini! applied to it and finally, bizarrely, a single stamp miniature sheet commemorating the 75th birthday of the film actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
I suspect few of, or none of, these products will ever be sold over an ordinary post office counter in Sierra Leone itself. As always, caveat emptor.
I do not illustrate any of these contemptible products here and will not describe any future Stamperija products inscribed Sierra Leone in this Blog unless they are of interest due to their particularly outrageous and cynical nature. It’s sad that Sierra Leone has once more allowed its name to be used on these vile products.
