2238. 🇬🇬 Guernsey Post And Go Issue Features Visiting Cruise Ships.

New issues.

🇬🇬 Guernsey Post -

15 February 2023 - Post and Go, Cruise ships which visit Guernsey - strip of 6 self-adhesive stamps. Designed by Andrew Robinson and lithographed by Cartor with value and location identifier printed in thermography by a Royal Mail series II machine (kiosk GG02 situated at Envoy House & GG04). Rating- ****.

🇸🇬 Singapore Post - 

6 January 2023 - Machine-vended stamp, Chinese New Year, Year of the Rabbit - 1 stamp. Rating:- ***.

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

19 January 2023 - 50th anniversary of Diplomatic relations with Egypt - 1 miniature sheet containing a single stamp. Rating:- ***.

New issue programmes 2023.

New issue collectors enjoy speculating about possible future stamp issues. One popular subject commemorated on postage stamps by a large number of countries is that of significant anniversaries of the granting of their independence. Those Commonwealth countries or former British territories which celebrate such an anniversary during 2023 are listed below and some may be expected to release postage stamps to commemorate these anniversaries - 

4 January - 🇲🇲 Myanmar (formerly Burma) - 75th anniversary - issued 1 stamp (see Blog 2229).

31 January - 🇳🇷 Nauru - 55th anniversary 

4 February - 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) - 75th anniversary 

12 March - 🇲🇺 Mauritius - 55th anniversary 

7 July - 🇸🇧 Solomon Islands - 45th anniversary 

10 July - 🇧🇸 Bahamas - 50th anniversary 

30 August 🇹🇬 Togo - 65th anniversary of autonomy within the French Union (full independence achieved on 27 April 1960)

16 September - 🇲🇾 Malaysia - 60th anniversary of the establishment of the state combining the former Federation of Malaya, Sabah (formerly North Borneo), Singapore and Sarawak

19 September - 🇰🇳 St Kitts And Nevis - 40th anniversary 

6 September - 🇸🇿 eSwatini (formerly Swaziland) - 55th anniversary 

1 October - 🇹🇻 Tuvalu - 45th anniversary

 3 November - 🇩🇲 Dominica - 45th anniversary 

12 December - 🇰🇪 Kenya - 60th anniversary 

2237. 🇬🇧 Penguin Chick Stars On British Antarctic Territory Postcard Stamp.

 

New issues.

🇬🇧 British Antarctic Territory postal service -

Early 2023 (date to be confirmed) - Postcard rate stamp with 2023 imprint and CIIIR cypher, Emperor penguin chick - 1 stamp. Designed from a photograph by Sue Flood 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 issue.

🇫🇯 Fiji Post -

28 December 2022 - Chinese New Year, Year of the Rabbit - 4 stamps (42c, $1.20, $3 and $10). Rating:- ***.

🇲🇾 Pos Malaysia -

19 January 2023 - Chinese New Year, Year of the Rabbit, Se temku personalised stamps - 1 sheetlet containing 5 different stamps (2 of each stamp).)

🇶🇦 Qatar Post -

3 January 2023 - Health and safety in the workplace - 4 stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing the 4 stamps. Rating:- ***.

New issue programmes 2023.

🇲🇾 Pos Malaysia -

It is intended that the first two issues of the year will be -

14 February - Pets, Year of the Rabbit

22 March - Malay sultanate coins

2236. Are these Somaliland postage stamps?

 

Somaliland.

As detailed originally in the Blog published on 10 July 2010, Somaliland was established as a British protectorate in 1884. On 26 June 1960 the British granted independence to its former protectorate and Somaliland became a sovereign state. On 1 July 1960, its larger neighbour, Italian Somaliland, was also granted independence becoming the republic of Somalia and Somaliland merged with Somalia to become a single sovereign state and gave up its own sovereignty in doing so. 

  Following the overthrow of the dictator of Somalia, Siad Barre, in July 1991 a state of anarchy spread across the country. Civil war had already broken out in May 1998 between the armed forces of the then central government of President Barre and the fighters of the Somali National Movement (SNM) of the former Somaliland. On 18 May 1991 Somaliland was declared to once more be a sovereign republic separate from the collapsing state of Somalia. It has maintained its independence from the troubled Somalia ever since and has sought to obtain international recognition of its de facto independent status but has so far failed to obtain recognition of it as a sovereign state from any foreign countries. The Somaliland government has held to the line that it is a thriving democratic state with a history separate from that of Somalia and it has been a sovereign state in its own right during its previous history.

  For decades after the one sided declaration of independence Somaliland had no functioning postal service. In recent years however it has set up a service within the country (see Blog 1683) and in the last few months has set up a postcode system in the capital Hargeisa to enable home deliveries to carried out more efficiently.

  Becasuse there was no postal system there was no valid reason for there to be any postage stamps. Postage stamps are of course not just useful as receipts for the prepayment of postage but also as one means of underlining a country’s sovereignty. It has been said that there are two items that a sovereign state needs to affirm its sovereignty - a national flag and national postage stamps. For most of its existence  trying to obtain international recognition, Somaliland has not had one of those prerequisites - stamps with its name printed on them.

  Now it is possible - though I might be completely wrong about this - that Somaliland does indeed have its own postage stamps, perhaps necessitated at last by the developments of recent years in establishing a national postal service. On its Facebook page, Somaliland Postal Service includes in an illustration repeated several times on the site a picture of what may possibly be 4 postage stamps (see illustration at the head of this piece). Unfortunately the text in the various segments of the illustration is all in Somali without a translation so I do not understand it. I can not find any further illustrations or news of an issue of postage stamps elsewhere.

  Certainly the illustrations are very suggestive of them being postage stamps - the illustrations are poor quality but the main features of the designs include a pictorial element (a camel, a large pot, men (perhaps farmers) with another large vessel and. Cattle. The items appear to have monetary values printed on them (in, I presume, Somaliland shillins) and clearly bear the name ‘SOMALILAND’ in capital letters as well, I think, in Arabic.

  If anyone who reads this piece is able to read Somali then a translation of the text above the four stamps would be greatly appreciated. Google translates “Samaynta tigidhada boosta” as “making tickets post” (“boosta” is “post” and “tigidhada” is ticket so I guess that post tickets are postage stamps which is consistent with the illustrated items being Somaliland’s first postage stamps. 

This is the entire post as it appears on Facebook - 

As can be seen the illustration of the possible stamps is only a small part of the item which seems to inform readers of the activities of Somaliland Postal Service. As far as I can see the item has appeared seven times on the Facebook page, the first occasion being 3 April 2021 and so if these are indeed postage stamps we might assume that they were first issued about two years ago.

So that’s something to look out for.

Post scriptum - following Stewie1980’s comment in the comments section I tracked down the photograph he mentions of the 10000 shillin stamp (if it is a stamp) which appeared in a post on the Somaliland Postal Service Facebook page dated 21 April 2022. It certainly makes this particular item much easier to assess. It looks as though it is imperforate and possibly self-adhesive. Very interesting. It appears that 10000 shillins converts to £14.69p (but see Stewie1980’s comment below). Note that the ‘stamp’ with the samedesign featured in the previous illustration is a 15000 shillin value. The stamp is dated ‘2020’ which I assume was the year of issue and this also seems to be the case with the other values though the illustration is more indistinct. Thanks to Stewie1980 for this very helpful input.

The French company, Busch Collectibles, is selling sheets of ‘stamps’ from two Commonwealth countries - Guyana and Dominica - which commemorate the late Queen Elizabeth II by depicting a portrait by Matej Gabris of The Queen as a young woman. The company states that these items are exclusive to the company and by the look of them I think they have been produced as Personalised stamps rather than being official products of the two respective postal services. They are quite attractive items though the portrait looks to me rather like a cross between the late Princess Margaret and Elizabeth Taylor rather than The Queen herself.  Each sheet contains 12 identical ‘stamps’ and are sold for €20 per sheet.

2235. 🇲🇲 Myanmar Endemic Birds Stamps 2022-23.

 

New issues.

🇲🇲 Myanmar Post - 

2022-23 - Endemic birds of Myanmar - 9 stamps issued separately. The first four of the series have been reported in previous Blogs and the remaining five issues are now illustrated above and below. Release dates of the remaining issues are awaited. Rating:- *****.

Released so far - 

9 October 2022 - White throated babbler.(see Blog 2178)

23 November 2022 - Hooded treepie (see Blog 2203)

2 December 2022 - Jerdon’s minivet (see Blog 2205)

5 January 2023 - Burmese bushlark (see Blog 2229)

Future issues, dates awaited - not necessarily to be released in the order as listed here:-

2023 - Burmese prinia (illustrated at the head of this piece)

2023 - Ayeyarwady bulbul

2023 - White-browed nuthatch

2023 - Burmese collared dove 

2023 - Burmese tit

🇬🇬 Guernsey Post -

15 February 2023 - Post and Go, cruise ships which visit Guernsey - 6 stamps. A picture of one of the stamps has been tweeted by Guernsey Post. Further details awaited.

15 February 2023 - Centenary of Rotary in Guernsey - 6 stamps. Further details awaited. Rating:- ***.

Issue inscribed ‘Alderney Bailiwick of Guernsey’ -

15 February 2023 - 150th anniversary of the publication of Jules Verne’s novel Around The World In Eighty Days - 6 stamps (illustrated in Blog 2232) and 1 miniature sheet containing a single stamp (now illustrated below). Designed by Keith Robinson.

New issue programmes for 2023 -

🇯🇪 Jersey Post -

5 January 2023 - Chinese New Year, Year of the Rabbit - 1 stamp and 1 single stamp miniature. Already issued. See Blog 2229.

28 January - Jersey from the air (part 2)

16 February - Post and Go, Jersey farm animals

21 March - Traditional markets

1 April - The history of Jersey’s emergency services

6 April - Post and Go, Jersey arms

21April - Commemoration of the late Queen Elizabeth II 

9 May - EUROPA - ‘Peace, The highest value of humanity’

2234. 🇳🇿 New Zealand Post Commemorates Writer Katherine Mansfield.

 

New issues.

🇳🇿 New Zealand Post -

1 February 2023 - Centenary of the death of Katherine Mansfield, New Zealand author - 4 stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing the 4 stamps. Designed by Caitlin McArthur of NZ Post and lithographed by Southern Colour Print and perforated 15. Rating:- ***.

New issue programmes 2023 

🇸🇬 Singapore Post -

6 January - Chinese new year, Year of the rabbit - already detailed, see Blog 2228

21 March - Horoscope I

April - Anniversaries 

July - Horoscope II

August - National Day

November - Jurong Lake Gardens 

November - Horoscope III.

2233. 🇸🇭🇬🇧🇫🇰🇬🇸🇸🇭 Excellent South Atlantic Omnibus Tribute To The Late Queen.

 

New issues.

🇸🇭🇬🇧🇫🇰🇬🇸🇸🇭 Postal services of Ascension Island, British Antarctic Territory, Falkland Islands, South Georgia And The South Sandwich Islands, Tristan Da Cunha -

15 February 2023 - Commemoration of the late Queen Elizabeth II - 2 stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing the 2 stamps from each territory. Designed by Bee Design and lithographed by Cartor and perforated 13 x 13.5. Production coordinated by Creative Direction. Rating:- *****.

Thanks to Angela Warner of Pobjoy Stamps for information about these issues.