15 minute read
Stamps in the News : Margo Campbell
Stamps in the News - Globally!
Here comes the sun in Canada
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Reported at https://newsinfo.inquirer.net
In 28 cities across the country, a fleet of 37 delivery vehicles — splashed with a big yellow sun and an image of a traditional red, white and blue Canada Post truck riding a rainbow across a multi-coloured landscape emblazoned with the words “Thanks/ Merci”—have hit the road to bring cheer.
“I thought, what’s fun and happy and is going to connect with people,” to ease the melancholy and despair felt by many over the past year, said the artist responsible, Andrew Lewis.
“I know people have been going bananas isolated at home without their usual social connections.”
“From a design standpoint, to convince a corporation like Canada Post to do this with one of their vehicles is a triumph,” he said. “No postal service in the world has done this in terms of this degree of playfulness and such a screwy idea.”
The final design was submitted last September and trucks started rolling out in December.
The idea was born out of a proposed stamp intended by the postal service “to express gratitude and appreciation” to its 64,000 workers for dealing with a massive surge in parcel volumes during the pandemic.
Canada Post reached out to Lewis—one of the world’s top poster artists—to design the stamp. The assignment quickly expanded to include a pin for employees to wear, and then a gift box for the pin.
“As a joke,” Lewis said, he also submitted a mock-up of a Canada Post delivery truck painted with his psychedelic design. To his surprise, executives “went crazy for it,” he said.
Going postal in Chennai
Reported at https://www.newindianexpress.com
Local philatelists and history buffs were recently treated to a special tour through Chennai to trace the city’s fascinating postal history
The postal history of Chennai can be traced back to a little over three centuries ago when in 1712, Governor Harrison started a Company Postal Service to carry mails to Bengal.
During the colonial era, the mails used to be carried by dak runners, who brought important news from places far and wide. With time, they were replaced by other messengers; soon several receiving post offices were set up and the city’s postal service not only expanded into a systemic structure — with postal rules, laws and authority in place — but also became closely tied to the city’s complex political history and cultural fabric.
Compiled by Margo Campbell
Chennai GPO on Beach Road
The tour started at the GPO on Beach Road, a 130-year-old, red-painted Indo-Saracenic building, with a majestic 125-feet edifice glistening under the morning sun. Constructed by British architect Robert Chisholm, the structure formatively featured Kerala roof-influenced crowns that were primarily influenced by his building assignments in Travancore.
After a quick tour of the structure, the group headed to the Anna Road Head Post OfficePhilatelic Bureau on Anna Salai, located about eight kilometres from the GPO. The quaint, red-white heritage building, formerly an electric theatre and the first cinema house of south India, was bought by the Posts and Telegraphs Department in the 1900s.
“When we talk about preservation and conservation of heritage buildings, a main aspect is to not put them into disuse. So, after the electric theatre was shut down, and later when there was a petition to raze it down. The agitations among the heritage community were vital in developing Anna Road Head Post Office and restoring it into the now thriving philately bureau,” said the heritage architect leading the tour. The trail was laced with tidbits on cancellations, special postal covers, stamps and swaps by post crosser and professor T Jaisakthivel from the University of Madras and Mohana from the Bureau. “It’s been our aim to make people more aware of philately and postal services and we have continued our work through the pandemic, through virtual webinars. Once we tide through the pandemic, we hope to conduct more offline sessions,” added Mohana.
Smashed avocados in Australia
Reported at https://www.farmweekly.com.au
Farmers want Australia Post to abandon plans to outlaw the sending of some foods through the post.
Stamps in the News - Globally!
For some farm businesses, the move to online trade during pandemic restrictions has been a lifesaver.
Australia Post will stop the trade from June 30.
“It will kill our business overnight with no explanation why they need to do it,” a marketing coordinator with avocado-producer, Toohey Farms in north Queensland, said.
Farmers have been sending satchels of 3-5 kilograms direct to customers and retailers with their avocados, bananas or even garlic among some of the produce to be impacted.
An online petition has already gained more than 11,500 signatures asking Australia Post to reverse the decision.
For its part, Australia Post says there are “complex food safety requirements” which differ across states and territories.
“Australia Post will discontinue the carriage of certain foods destined for consumption across the delivery network from 30 June 2021 for a small number of customers,” a spokesman said.
“The carriage of perishable food requirements differ by state and include complex requirements on vehicle type (cold or ambient), site and vehicle registration, licence maintenance, staff training and audit requirements.”
Australia Post has not detailed which “certain foods” are to be banned.
During the COVID-19 restrictions, Toohey Farming sent 1680 avocado orders to customers through the post.
“Our product does not require refrigeration and we adhere to all quarantine laws,” a farm spokesman said.
Toohey Farming has successfully moved to online trading and had upgraded equipment and sheds to transition from bulk sales to online orders.
“It is going to take a massive chunk out of our business ... one which we spent a great deal of time and money building last year,” she said.
“A substantial number of our client are rural and remote customers who will struggle to access farm gate orders any other way as there is no carrier prepared to step into the gap.”
Diamonds are forever – what about stamps?
Reported at https://fingerlakes1.com
With all of the issues surrounding the U.S. Postal Service- there are concerns about whether forever stamps will continue to be sufficient forever.
Officials with the Post Office say something has to change, and while they aren’t entirely sure what that means yet- there’s a good chance that it will impact those ‘forever’ stamps.
“The Forever Stamp will be valid for mailing any future 1-ounce single-piece First-Class Mail
Compiled by Margo Campbell
letter, no matter what the price may be at the time of mailing — without the addition of extra postage,” according to the USPS rules.
That said, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, said that the executive leadership team has been working to address the last several months to fix the financial issues the USPS faces.
“Our executive leadership team has been working on developing a comprehensive 10year strategy to address the serious but solvable challenges of the Postal Service that commits to six and seven days a week delivery service to every address in the nation as a vital public service,” he told reporters.
Hawking stamps in Singapore
Reported at https://www.channelnewsasia.com
SingPost has unveiled a set of stamps commemorating Singapore’s hawker culture which is included on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The four stamps depict typical hawker centre scenes including hawkers preparing food and beverages, people dining at a hawker centre, common hawker dishes, as well as popular hawker centres around the country.
“Singaporeans are incredibly familiar with the hawker culture, as it forms an integral part of life in Singapore,” SingPost said in a media release.
“A melting pot and natural meeting point for residents across all walks of life, people gather at hawker centres to dine and bond over a diverse variety of local dishes.
“Singapore’s famed hawker dishes originated from the food cultures of different immigrant groups, and have over time evolved to become the distinctive local dishes loved by residents and tourists alike.”
The UNESCO inscription on Dec 16 2020 – a first for the country – placed Singapore’s hawker culture alongside cultural practices and expressions of humanity such as French cuisine, Thai massage and yoga.
Hawking stamps in Australia
Reported at https://www.abc.net.au
Two brothers from Pakistan who are accused of forging $3 million dollars’ worth of counterfeit stamps while on student visas have been granted bail.
Obaid Khan, 21, and Shaheryer Khan, 22, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court where they are facing a string of deception charges.
The brothers each face five charges including possessing, selling and distributing counterfeit stamps, and dealing in the proceeds of crime.
The court heard that the men, who are studying at La Trobe University, were arrested after a raid at their home in Brunswick East led to the discovery of dozens of boxes of counterfeit stamps.
They were released on bail with strict conditions, including that they surrender their passports, report daily to a police station and not leave Australia.
“I find that time on remand may exceed a sentence,” the magistrate said.
The court heard that Australia Post last year tipped-off detectives after discovering counterfeit stamps were allegedly being sold on e-commerce websites, including eBay.
Stamps in the News - Globally!
It kicked off a major investigation which found that the stamps were allegedly being sent from a Brunswick post office.
Police said the Khan brothers were arrested at their home in Brunswick East, where detectives found 36 boxes of fake stamps and a number of other items including the Rolex watch.
The court heard that police believed the men were allegedly carrying out the instructions of their older brother, who lives overseas and who investigators accused of leading the operation.
The brothers will return to court in June.
Turkey hawkish over Kurdish stamp
Reported at https://www.dailysabah.com
A commemorative stamp issued by the Kurdistan Regional Government administration shows parts of Turkish territory as ‘Greater Kurdistan’ according to the Turkish Government.
The stamps were issued on the occasion of Pope Francis’ visit to the administration.
In a statement, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said some KRG administrators have exploited the Pope’s visit as a means to expose their “raw dreams” targeting the territorial integrity of neighbouring countries.
“This map is a grave mistake and an utter disrespect towards Turkey,” a presidential spokesperson said.
Warning the autonomous region’s government of a “harsh response” by Turkey, he said that the issue must be dealt with as soon as possible.
“Our consul-general immediately got in touch with KRG authorities and they told us that the map was not ‘legally binding.’ The KRG should immediately correct this,” he added.
The map used in the commemorative stamp included over 10 Turkish provinces as part of “Greater Kurdistan.”
In 2017, the KRG was involved in a similar controversy during a referendum, as then-President used banners containing maps that showed 27 eastern Turkish provinces as part of “Greater Kurdistan.” After severe criticism, the administration
Compiled by Margo Campbell
issued statements saying that they respect Turkey’s territorial integrity.
Mother of all maps celebrated in the Philippines
Reported at https://www.manilatimes.net
The Philippine Postal Corporation has launched the “Murillo Velarde 1734 Map,” regarded as the “Mother of All Philippine Maps” in celebration of the 500th anniversary of Christianisation of the Philippines and its role on the first circumnavigation of the world by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and the victory of Lapu-Lapu in the Battle of Mactan.
“The launching of the ‘Murillo Velarde 1734 Map’ postage stamps is symbolic and historic for the country,” the Postmaster General said.
Believed to be the “holy grail” of Philippine cartography, the 1734 Murillo Velarde map shows the entire Philippine archipelago in such detail that it is regarded as the first ever scientific map of the Philippines.
The map was named after the Spanish Jesuit friar Pedro Murillo Velarde who vividly described the detailed territory of our country nearly 300 years ago.
“The postage stamp hopes to rekindle the sense of patriotism among our young people, develop their geographic awareness leading to a better understanding of our history and culture,” PHLPost said in a statement.
The stamp is the largest souvenir sheet, produced so far by the Philippine Postal Corporation – 200 mm x 220 mm with 12 stamps on both sides, each stamp with a corresponding denomination. It is printed using offset lithography, with special perforation and Intaglio as embellishments.
Gibraltar goes non-fungible
Reported at https://decrypt.co
Gibraltar’s new stamp will be issued alongside a non-fungible token—but it’s not the first stamp to be released as an NFT.
Crypto startup, Coinsilium is working with the Gibraltar Philatelic Bureau to issue an NFT series of stamps.
Publicly listed, UK-based blockchain venture operator Coinsilium this week unveiled plans for Gibraltar’s new stamp series, which will be issued alongside NFT collectibles on May 17, with each
Stamps in the News - Globally!
having a unique cryptographic value.
“Our aim is to tap into the growing demand from both the philatelic and NFT community and give enthusiasts a meaningful collectible that can truly bring this stamp collecting into the digital world,” said Coinsilium CEO.
A total of 50,000 stamps will be issued and represented by 100,000 NFTs. It’s unclear how the two NFTs representing each stamp will be differentiated.
The NFTs will be minted with varying levels of scarcity “as individual constituents making up a collectible set, including a selection of extremely limited ‘super rare’ NFTs designed with enhanced value characteristics.”
Gibraltar is not the first to target stamp collectors with NFTs; in June 2019, Austria issued 150,000 “crypto-collectible” stamps, on the Ethereum blockchain—the first time a government had launched a non-fungible token.
Austria’s NFT issue of stamps was designed in a landscape format, with the postage stamp components on the left (so that it can be used as a postage stamp) and the crypto credentials on the right, beneath a scratch ticket-style covering.
The idea of having stamps of different designs joined together when printed is not new and is known as se-tenant in philately, the study of stamps.
Royal Mail upgrades second class
Reported at https://www.walesonline.co.uk
Royal Mail is adding bar codes to millions of second class stamps as part of a trial it says is poised to pave the way for innovative customer services and benefits in the future.
The initial pilot will see new-look bar codes appear on around 20 million second class stamps supplied to UK businesses.
Bar codes could be linked to a service relevant to customers.
The first barcoded stamps will be sold online to businesses from March via Viking Direct and the Royal Mail shop.
A spokesman said: “This initiative will see Royal Mail become one of the first postal authorities in the world to add unique barcodes to stamps.” “By doing this, we are looking to transform the humble stamp so that we can offer our customers even more convenient, new services in the future.”
Glen Stephens Rarity Offers
For 20 years, my ’Stamp Rarity Page’ has been a “must visit” place for many collectors and dealers, globally - tinyurl.com/GlenRare Large clear photos, and lots of detail, and FIXED NETT PRICES. “Philatelic Porn” as one client jokingly described it as! No 20% “Buyer Fees” to add on top etc. All credit cards accepted - even Amex, and with NO insulting extra fees to you either! Each month I’ll add here, a couple of items from that page, for the possible interest of readers. Choice material, and special collection offers etc, from all over the globe. Material on that page often sells FAST - within hours of being listed up, and it changes often - weekly mostly, so do bookmark this page, and check often - tinyurl.com/GlenRare
Australia 1959 3/- Waratah Flower presentation Die Proof:
Most attractive imperforate Die Proof, in the issued colour, mounted in a sunken frame, and a superb looking piece as you can see. Only nine die proofs were ever prepared, and issued to a few VIP’s. One of which is in the Queen’s Royal Collection and another is in the Australia Post Archive collection etc. Others went to The Governor General of Australia, The Postmaster General, Director-General of the PMG, and so on. ACSC, 372DP(1), $A2,500. A superb buy, of a mega rare piece, yet at under HALF Cat - $A1,200 (Stock 693LQ)
Ceylon 1937 Coronation Stamps, 2.70 Rupees in AirMail booklet, *COMPLETE* Book of 30:
A very rare beast. Been in Scotland most of its life - thank goodness, hence the lovely condition. These large size books, with covers made of very coarse, cheap lightweight card or thick paper, are rare in any condition and tear, bend or damage and scuff super readily. Even incomplete and damaged books, or just empty covers are hardly ever seen. Has 3 COMPLETE MUH panes of 10 of the large 9c Green KGVI Coronation airmail value, plus all the many pages of waxed interleaving, and the complete pane of airmail labels, and postage rates at back etc. 100% ORIGINAL staple, which is not even rusted or corroded, after 84 years. Anything residing in that country for 5 or 10 years, is generally totally ruined by the high humidity. Clean and attractive as you can see. SG #SB16, £1,300 = $A2,600. Literally been unchanged in SG value for over a decade and due for a big hike when they do look at Ceylon next! $A995 (Stock 782KW)
Italy 1950 Holy Year set, in marginal MUH blocks of 4, SG Cat £676+ for just $A375!
A scarce set in a single set, and in blocks 4 rarely seen. A key post-war set, and now over 70 years old. Well centred, matched top marginal MUH set of 2 blocks, only the top value is scanned here above. And being marginal blocks, cannot be regummed of course. SG #746-747, fresh MUH, Cat £676=$A1,350, and blocks are a premium on top, for Italian issues. (2 Blocks) $A375 (Stock 482GB) ALSO have the Italy 1949 Art Exhibition set 4, in MUH blocks of 4, SG Cat £520+ for $A275! (Stock 482GT)
Order via: tinyurl.com/GlenOrder All Cards accepted with ZERO fee - even Amex! Bank Deposit fine, or Money Orders.
