HISTORY Stamps st
On the 1 January 1886 the Colonial Government of Gibraltar assumed control of its Postal Services. As an interim measure, Bermuda plates were overprinted with ‘Gibraltar’ using different colours. These were replaced by Gibraltar’s own design in December of that same year. Gibraltar's stamps were used with peseta values from 1889 to 1898 since trade was carried out in this currency. Stamp designs were rather stereotyped until 1931 when, at the Governor’s request, Captain Garrood, Gibraltar’s Crown Surveyor and Engineer, produced the first pictorial Definitive. The first commemorative issue was in 1935. The release of such issues were confined up to 1966 to Crown Agents 'Omnibus' issues and marked events of international interest. Since 1966 subjects of a predominantly local flavour have been chosen though international events are also featured. Today Gibraltar continues to adopt a conservative stamp issuing policy thus maintaining its high reputation amongst the philatelic fraternity. Current stamp issues range from seven to eight commemorative issues a year
together with a change of definitive issue every five or six years.
Coins All of Gibraltar’s coins have been struck by the Pobjoy Mint in Sutton, Surrey since 1988. Before this time, only Sterling coins were in circulation. In 1991, the Government introduced three legal tender ECU coins. Limited edition coins can be purchased at the General Post Office on Main Street.
Neanderthal Man But for a quirk of fate Neanderthal Man - the best known of the primitives - may well have been called Gibraltar Man as it was in a cave in Gibraltar that the first remains of Homo Neanderthalensis was found. Neanderthal Man lived in the caves around Gibraltar between 120,000 and 60,000 years ago. It was in Forbes’ Quarry Cave at the northern end of Gibraltar in 1848 that an almost entire female skull was found.The significance of this find was not realised until 16 years later when Fuhlrott discovered another skull in the Neanderthal Valley near Düsseldorf in Germany. It was only later, after
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