1705. 🇳🇿 New Zealand Issue Will Feature World War II Paintings.

  🇳🇿 New Zealand Post will issue an excellent set of 4 stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing all 4 stamps on 5 August 2020 depicting paintings by the New Zealand artist Peter McIntyre painted during his experiences in Crete and North Africa during the Second World War. This issue ties in with the 75th anniversary of the end of The Second World War and was designed by Nicky Dyer and lithographed by Southern Colour Print and perforated 14.5. Rating:- *****.

🇿🇼 Depicted below are better illustrations of the set of 4 stamps and 1 miniature sheet issued by Zim Post, the postal service of Zimbabwe, than were shown in Blog 1695 where the set commemorating the Centenary of aviation in Zimbabwe released on 5 March 2020 was first mentioned.

 🇬🇧 My local postbox which dates back to the reign of King Edward VII (1901-1910) has been given a new role in its long and dutiful life. It has been designated as a Priority Postbox which means that it is a postbox from which completed COVID-19 test kit specimens are to be collected. The new role is indicated to the public who usually use it for posting their ordinary mail by a strip of tape reading ‘PRIORITY POSTBOX’ being applied to it. The Royal Mail website explains the use of the postboxes and how the customer may identify them - there are 4 different types of tape in use, a different one for each country of The United Kingdom.

Northern Ireland and Scotland

Wales and England

Addendum - reply to Brian Warren’s comment.

  Thank you Brian. The illustrations of the Irish stamps you mention (in a later Blog) are from the An Post special stamps site where the items are being offered for sale. Best wishes. WK.

1704. 🇭🇰 Hong Kong To Commemorate Martial Arts Actor.

🇭🇰 It does look as though the Hong Kong Post new issue programme has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as its philatelic website seems to suggest that its next new issue will not appear until 27 November 2020 when a set of 6 stamps and 2 miniature sheets (one containing a single $10 stamp and the other ‘enhanced’ sheet containing a single $20 stamp) will be released on the subject, ‘Bruce Lee’s legacy in the martial arts world’.

  The site also depicts the set of 4 stamps which was planned to commemorate the Tokyo Olympic Games due to have been held in Japan this summer but postponed until 2021. The date of issue will be “announced in due course”.

🇬🇬 Guernsey Post has indicated that it intends to issue 2 sets of stamps, one inscribed Guernsey and the other inscribed Alderney, on the subject of the battle against COVID-19 on 19 August 2020. In total there will be 12 stamps (8 labelled Guernsey and the remainder labelled Alderney) and “all monies raised will go to local charities”. The designs are based on the work of local schoolchildren. Some of the designs are quite successful and charming. Rating:- ***.

Alderney -

Guernsey -

1703. 🇮🇪 At Last, Ireland’s 2020 Europa Stamp.

🇮🇪 Delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic the Europa issue from An Post, the postal service of the Republic Of Ireland was eventually issued on 16 July 2020 in the form of a two stamp set with the designs related to this year’s theme for the omnibus series of ‘Ancient postal routes’. The stamps, designed by Red&Grey from an illustration by Orlagh Murphy, depict an early medieval Irish monk writing a letter as well as depicting another monk sitting in a coracle with a boatsman on the way, I assume, to deliver the communication and the second depicts a monk on horseback riding to a convent where he is delivering a letter to a nun with a greyhound-like dog racing to greet him. They are delightful illustrations and very pleasing stamps. The issue was lithographed by Enschedé and perforated 13.5 x 14. Rating:- ****.

🇵🇰 Pakistan Post issued a single stamp on 11 July 2020 to commemorate World Population Day 2020. The stamp design was supplied “by the customer” (whoever that was) and lithographed by National Security Printing Company, Karachi and perforated 13. Rating:- ***.

🇰🇪 The Joint Stamps internet site mentions that Posta Kenya may participate in the COVID-19 omnibus issue which was featured in Blog 1697 but no details of the issue from there are yet available.

🇬🇧 I now have 2 more Royal Mail Machin Head definitives with M20L codes in my collection.They are:- 

Self-adhesive counter stamps from ordinary sheets 

M20L MAIL - 10p value.

Gummed stamps from Prestige booklets 

M20L MPIL - 1p value from Queen Prestige booklet. The pane contains 8 stamps and 1 stamp-sized label at the centre of the pane. The 8 stamps are 4 x 1st Class identical definitive-sized stamps depicting the veteran popular music group, Queen, and 4 x 1p definitives positioned so that they occupy the four corners of the pane. To obtain an example of the 1p stamp for a specialist collection of Machin Head stamps the collector must therefore pay £19.10p (191,000% of the face value of the definitive stamp) or more sensibly buy an example from a dealer at a reasonable mark-up price who will be paying £19.10p for 4 x 1p stamps (just 47, 778% of the face value of the 4 x 1p stamps though of course if the dealer also sells commemoratives those items in the booklet can also be sold or otherwise used for postage).

  The 1p definitive with attached Queen stamp is the only item I shall buy from the vastly expensive Queen issue apart from the counter booklet containing 4 x 1st Class Definitives (code M20L MCIL) plus 2 of the commemorative stamps as it seems to me Royal Mail’s new issue programme is excessive beyond words and I shall likewise boycott the tiresome Palace Of Westminster issue and the quite unnecessary Sherlock issue which commemorates an infrequently broadcast television programme that is just 10 years old (though I admit I shall again buy the counter booklet of 6 stamps - but that only).

Addendum Reply to comment by Gene/DJCMH (below). Thank you. I have corrected the text above to avoid confusion. How I overlooked the second stamp, I do not know but thanks for pointing out the error. Best wishes, WK.

1702. 🇫🇰 Falklands Commemorates 50 Years Of Philatelic Study Group.

🇫🇰 More new issue news from the postal service of the Falkland Islands as it reveals that it intends to issue a set of 4 ‘stamp on stamp’ stamps on 7 September 2020 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Falkland Islands Philatelic Study Group. This is a splendid set designed by Bee Design from photographs taken by Nick Bonner, Tansy Bishop, FI Museum and National Trust and Stefan Heijtz and the issue was lithographed by Cartor and perforated 13.5. Rating:- *****.
  Thanks to Juliet Warner of Pobjoy Stamps for information about this issue.

🇵🇬 Regrettably Post PNG, the postal service of Papua New Guinea, has announced that it plans to release a grand total of 17 new issues, including the four already announced, during 2020. Details of five of the remaining 13 issues have been revealed but 17 issues in one year is plainly excessive and indefensible. The one good point is that Post PNG rarely releases as many issues as it plans so we must hope that that is the case again.

July 2020 - Bilums of Papua New Guinea
July 2020 - Freshwater crocodiles
July 2020 - Birds of Paradise
August 2020 - Products made in Papua New Guinea
August 2020 - Traditional war shields.

🇮🇳 Comments on Stamp Boards indicate that India Post will release a miniature sheet containing 4 different stamps (and, I’d have thought, 4 individual stamps) on 25 July 2020 to commemorate the frontline workers in the struggle against COVID-19.

🇰🇮 As reported in Blog 1663 the postal service of Kiribati has previously announced that it would issue a set of stamps in June 2020 on the subject of ‘Solar energy, Harnessing the power of the sun’. I have not yet seen anything to confirm that such an issue has been released recently but it is worth noting that a Presidential election recently took place in Kiribati in which the incumbent President, Taneti Maamau, was re-elected and he had, during the course of his time in of office, broken the country’s ties with Taiwan and established diplomatic relations with The People’s Republic Of China. Kiribati is strategically important to China as it attempts to expand its power base in the Pacific Ocean area as the islands of Kiribati are spread across an enormous area of sea and influence over such a wide area is clearly of great benefit to The People’s Republic. Why do I mention this here? Well, The People’s Republic is very active in producing and donating to its client countries, sets of stamps which celebrate the close relationship of the two respective countries particularly on significant anniversaries of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two and so we should look out at some stage in the future for such an issue appearing from Kiribati.

President Maamau with the Chinese Foreign Minister

🇧🇿 The excellent website, Birds of the world on postage stamps, compiled devotedly by Chris Gibbins, has pointed out that the new definitive series from the Belize postal service which features birds was not issued in April 2020 as previously stated (Blog 1686) and indeed has not yet been released at all. The Belize postal service is quoted as stating that “As soon as they are (issued) we will put up the images”. The latest edition of Stanley Gibbons Stamp Monthly includes the set in its the Catalogue supplement with a date of issue of 29 April so I assume that the catalogue editor will need to review this information.

1701. 🇫🇰 Penguins On Stamps And Coins From Falkland Islands.

🇫🇰 My favourite philatelic producer is Creative Directions whose products are distributed and promoted by Pobjoy Stamps. The quality of the products from the frequently superb designs to the printed final product is not bettered by any Commonwealth philatelic producer. The designs are usually straightforward, comprehensible, attractive, interesting and relevant in subject matter and a sheer pleasure to add to one’s collection. And once again I find myself purring with pleasure at the latest set revealed by Pobjoy which is for the Falkland Islands postal service. The set of 5 stamps depicts local penguins and matches them up with coins (minted by Pobjoy Mint) which were released by the Falkland Islands government in 2018 and depicting the same birds. The set, immaculately designed by Andrew Robinson, will be issued on 10 August 2020 and was lithographed by Cartor and is perforated 13.5. This set is a real joy. Rating:- ****** (yes, six stars!).

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

🇲🇾 The next issue from Pos Malaysia will be released on 18 August 2020 and will be on the subject of Rukun Negara (National principles). The issue will be made up of 5 stamps, all of the same design, and 1 miniature sheet. A not terribly interesting issue. Rating:- **. Two of the values are depicted below:-

  🇬🇧 Buckingham Covers which produces very attractive first day covers of Royal Mail stamps now have their latest covers depicted on line which will be issued on 30 July 2020. The covers bear the new issue which depicts The Palace of Westminster otherwise known as The Houses of Parliament. I suppose this has been an interesting time in the history of Parliament but there seems no good reason to release this set of 6 stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing another 4 different stamps other than to slake Royal Mail’s thirst for stamp collectors’ money. It’s interesting that Royal Mail should slip out this dull London-centric fayre when members of Parliament are trying to focus more attention on the country which exists outside of the capital. Rating:- *.

 I now illustrate below another 2020-coded Royal Mail Machin Head definitive reprint which I have just obtained. This is the self-adhesive 2nd Class domestic rate value from booklets of 12 with the code M20L MTIL. See also Blogs 1695, 1696 and 1699.

  The counter 10p value stamp with code M20L MAIL is now also being offered for sale on an internet auction site. These new editions of Royal Mail’s truly eternal, classic definitive series seem to be presently appearing thick and fast.