As announced by Australia Post:
| Date 8 January 17 January 22 January 5 February 12 February 26 February 5 March 11 March 16 April 30 April 7 May 14 May |
Jurisdiction Christmas IslandNorfolk Island |
Subject (# of stamps) Year of the Pig (2) Australian Legends 2019 (5) Pitcairn Settlement (2) Moments to Treasure (8) Robin Boyd (1) Welcome Stranger (1) Aussie Animals (4) Sustainable Fishing (3) Anzac Day (2) Indigenous Languages (1) Flightless Birds (3) Native Bees (4) |
Updated February 12th:
February – Leonardo da Vinci[earlier press release]
FROM BIRDS OF PREY TO D-DAY:
ROYAL MAIL’S 2019 SPECIAL STAMP CALENDAR REVEALED
Royal Mail has announced a preview of its 2019 Special Stamp programme.
Showcasing the “Best of British” the programme features a range of subjects: from a celebration of the UK’s Birds of Prey to the 75thanniversary of the D-Day landings.
2019 marks the bicentenaries of the birth of both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. She is the second longest reigning monarch in British history. Six stamps will chart her life in period paintings, from childhood and marriage to Prince Albert, to marking her long reign.
The accompanying stamps in the mini-sheet will pay tribute to her husband, Prince Albert.
The 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings will be marked by a set of 11 Special Stamps. The stamp issue will be a timely commemoration of all those who participated and will use images from the day itself.
The images in the Birds of Prey stamp issue have all been photographed especially for Royal Mail by photographer, Tim Flach. The birds featured all breed in the UK and are captured in characteristic poses of flight or in close up to show their features.
Species include: the Red Kite; the Sparrowhawk; the Merlin; the Golden Eagle and the Kestrel.
The British Engineering stamp issue is a celebration of UK excellence in engineering over the past 50 years and conveys the wide range of engineering disciplines where the UK continues to make its mark.
Other stamp issues to be released during 2019 include: Curious Customs; Forests; and Royal Navy Ships.
Less than four months after American Philatelic Society executive director named Martin Miller as part of his “senior leadership team,” responsible for all “content” (editorial matters) at the USA’s largest stamp collecting organization, Miller has decided to leave, and a replacement has been named. The APS press release, with a correction to the number of years Kellner has been an APS member: It will be 47 years on January 1, 2019:
APS Welcomes New Leadership in Content Management
Today the American Philatelic Society named Mark A. Kellner as Chief Content Officer replacing Martin Miller. Miller, who joined the APS staff in October 2017, will be taking a new position closer to his home in South Carolina.
Kellner, who recently became a Life Member of the APS, first joined the Society in 1972 and his collecting interests include United States, Great Britain, Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man and Israel. After attending Boston University’s College of Communications, Kellner began a journalism career including philatelic and non-philatelic newspapers.
Mark was an enterprise reporter for the Deseret News in Salt Lake City, and a 24-year contributor and columnist to The Washington Times. He also wrote a tech column on handheld computing for the Los Angeles Times, and earlier was a reporter at the Times Leader in Wilkes- Barre, Pennsylvania.
“Mark’s career as a journalist, editor, and author remind us how diverse and talented the APS membership can be,” said APS Executive Director Scott English. “With the experience that Mark brings to the team, we will be able to bring exciting content to the APS membership both in print and online.”
Kellner’s career included serving as Editor-in-Chief for PC Portables, News and Industry Editor for MISWeek, editor of the Adventist News Network, and News Editor for Adventist Review and Adventist World magazines. He has also authored three books, including WordPerfect 3.5 for Macs for Dummies® and God on the Internet.
“It’s the privilege of a lifetime to serve the American Philatelic Society and its members,” Mark said. “I look forward to developing and enhancing content for the website and keeping The American Philatelist and Philatelic Literature Review at the top of the field.”
Kellner will join the APS staff on January 7, 2019.
About Mark
A Life Member of the American Philatelic Society who first joined nearly 47 years ago, Mark A. Kellner has collected stamps for many years. His interests include stamps from the United States, Great Britain, Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man and Israel.
Mark began his journalism career by contributing a stamp column to the Queens Tribune in New York City, owned by another collector, Gary Ackerman, who later served 15 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. He also wrote for Linn’s Stamp News and spent several years as Stamp Collector’s Washington, D.C., correspondent. During that time, he was the first to report plans by then-Postmaster General Anthony M. Frank to release a commemorative honoring Elvis Presley, which was released in January 1993.
Along with his philatelic writing, Mark’s been a newspaper reporter and columnist in New York City; Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Salt Lake City, Utah. His most notable connections were with The Washington Times, where he was a contributor for 24 years, and the Deseret News in Salt Lake City, where he was an enterprise reporter.
Mark also served as Editor-in-Chief of PC Portables magazine, as well as News and Industry Editor for MISWeek, and as a staff writer for Federal Computer Week, Government Computer News, and Unix Today. He’s the author of WordPerfect 3.5 for Macs for Dummies® and God on the Internet.
For 11 years, Mark served at the world headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Silver Spring, Maryland, first as editor of the movement’s Adventist News Network news service and then as News Editor for Adventist Review and Adventist World magazines.
The Kellners currently reside in Salt Lake City, along with Jacques Kellner, Mark’s father, who introduced Mark to stamp collecting, a lifelong pursuit for both men.
“We do expect to move,” the New York City native tells The Virtual Stamp Club. His immediate predecessor, Martin Miller, spent one week a month working from home in South Carolina. Miller’s predecessor, Jay Bigalke, spent three weeks a month working from home and one in Bellefonte. Executive director Scott English has expressed a preference for someone working in-house full-time.
This version was announced by the USPS on December 19, and will be issued January 27th without a ceremony, but with a Kansas City postmark. A sheet version of this design was issued February 18, 2017.
Says the USPS, “The stamp features eight graphic top hats in Uncle Sam’s signature style, with red and white vertical stripes above a blue band with a white star and a gray brim. Beneath each hat is an oval shape representing a face, each in a different shade, meant to suggest the ethnic and racial diversity of the United States. Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamp. The words “ADDITIONAL OUNCE” on this stamp indicate its usage value.”
The latest information on this issue will appear below the large illustration. The Scott catalogue number is 5341.
December 19th: The stamp will be issued in coils of 100.
December 21st: On January 27, 2019, in Kansas City, MO, the U.S. Postal Service will issue the Uncle Sam’s Hat (Non-denominated additional ounce rate) stamp in one design (with new format), in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) coil of 100 stamps (Item 746900). The stamp will go on sale nationwide January 27, 2019, and must not be sold or cancelled before the first-day-of-issue.
Availability to Post Offices: Item 746900 Uncle Sam’s Hat Non-denominated Additional Ounce Rate, PSA Coil of 100 Stamps: Stamp Fulfillment Services will not make an automatic push distribution to Post Offices.
How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. Each cover must have sufficient postage to meet First-Class Mail requirements. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office or at The Postal Store website at usps.com/shop. They must affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:
FDOI – Uncle Sam’s Hat Stamp
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900
After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by May 27, 2019.
Updated January 9th:
Technical Specifications:
Issue: Uncle Sam’s Hat Stamp
Item Number: 746900
Denomination & Type of Issue: Non-denominated Additional Ounce Rate
Format: Coil of 100 (1 design)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: January 27, 2019, Kansas City, MO 64108
Art Director: Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA
Designer: Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA
Typographer: Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA
Modeler: Sandra Lane/Michelle Finn
Manufacturing Process: Offset, Microprint
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America
Press Type: Alprinta 74
Stamps per Coil: 100
Print Quantity: 100,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Phosphor Tagged Paper, Overall
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Processed at: Banknote Corporation of America
Colors: Pantone 7687, Pantone 7621, Cool Gray 7, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
Stamp Orientation: Vertical
Image Area (w x h): 0.73 x 0.84 in./18.542 x 21.336 mm
Stamp Size (w x h): 0.87 x 0.98 in./22.098 x 24.892 mm
Plate Size: 744 stamps per revolution
Plate Numbers: “B” followed by seven (7) single digits
Coil Number Frequency: Plate number every 31st stamp
The only first-day cancellation for this issue is the “FIRST DAY OF ISSUE” four-bar.
This issue was not initially announced by the USPS, but was confirmed December 20th in response to a query from The Virtual Stamp Club. The illustration below is a mock-up.
The most recent information will appear after the large illustration and the introductory description from the USPS. The Scott catalogue number is U698.
Celebrating the desolate beauty of the Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia) and its distinct desert environment, this Priority Mail stamp depicts a common scene throughout much of the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts. Using the bold colors of the sun’s reflection off the trees, rocks, and other shrubby vegetation, artist Dan Cosgrove illuminates the desert scene in warm, golden hues. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamp.
Updated January 17th:
Only the pictorial postmark will be available. The DCP reportedly does not work well on the envelope stock: 
The B&W Pictorial measures 2.98″x1.21″.
Here are the product numbers:
press release
Canadians in Flight, Vancouver’s Asahi baseball team and Canada’s first Black letter carrier are among highlights of the 2019 stamp program
Covered bridges,endangered turtles and sweet desserts also celebrated
OTTAWA – Aviation trailblazers, Japanese-Canadian athletes who triumphed on the ball diamond but were interned during the Second World War, and the 150th anniversary of the Red River Resistance are all on next year’s stamps.
Canada Post will issue these new stamps in 2019:
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II appears on a new definitive stamp.
Black History Month delivers the story of Albert Jackson, Canada’s first Black letter carrier.
Just in time for spring weddings, gorgeous gardenias will grace our annual flower stamps.
Next up to bat will be the poignant story of Vancouver’s Asahi baseball team – athletes whose on-field victories did not shield them from off-the-field racismor from internment during wartime.
Celebrating the heights of courage and ingenuity, our Canadians in Flight issue will honour Canadians and aircraft that made their mark on aviation,including First World War ace William George Barker, VC, and the pioneering Lazair ultralight plane.
Our Sweet Canada issue serves up a tantalizing taste of Canada’s regional desserts.
Stamps featuring two endangered turtles, native to Canada, will arrive on World Turtle Day; four native bears will also appear on stamps.
Five stamps featuring vintage covered bridges will carry us back in time.
We will mark the1 50th anniversaries of the Red River Resistance and the joining of the Métis Nation to the Canadian federation.
Back for a repeat performance are the following issues:
From Far and Wide continues its road trip through some of Canada’s most picturesque spots, including Tombstone Territorial Park (Yukon), Mahone Bay (Nova Scotia), the Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve (Quebec) and Iceberg Alley, near Ferryland (Newfoundland and Labrador).
Lunar New Year celebrates people born in the Year of the Pig.
A new Canada Post Community Foundation stamp will give Canadians a way to help youth.
You can dress up your mail for the holidays with our Shiny and Bright stamps or send a more traditional message with stamps depicting the Nativity story. In addition, commemorative envelopes will mark the 150th anniversaries of the Fusiliers Mont-Royal, the Fusiliers du St-Laurent and The Princess Louise Fusiliers.
Many stamp topics chosen by the Stamp Advisory Committee are the result of suggestions from the public or organizations to honour a significant person, milestone or event. We welcome ideas for the 2020 program and beyond.
[press release, translated using Google Translate]
The Hague, December 10, 2018 – This Sunday was the day: the first episode of a new TV season “Heel Holland Bakt” at broadcaster MAX. During the broadcast of RTL Late Night on 7 December, jury member Janny van der Heijden was surprised with special stamps on the occasion of the start of the 6th season.
Passionate amateur bakers
In the popular TV series “Heel Holland Bakt”, André van Duin, Jannyvan der Heijden and Robèrt Beckhoven go in search of the Netherlands’ mosttalented home baker. In 8 broadcasts, 10 passionate amateur bakers compete forhonor. Ultimately, there is only one winner, namely the one who, according tothe professional jury, best controls all baking disciplines.
From meringue to cheesecake
To celebrate the start of the 6th season PostNL has issued a “Heel HollandBakt” mail set. The post set consists of 5 maxi cards and a stamp sheetwith 5 different stamps. On the cards and on the stamps are colorful picturesof popular cakes and pastries: a meringue with currants and blueberries, acherry chocolate cake, an apple pie in rose form, a foam cake with raspberries,blackberries and blueberries and a cheesecake with figs. The stamp sheetletcontains a large photo of the entire jury of “Heel Holland Bakt.”
‘Fantastic’
Janny van der Heijden received the stamp sheet Friday in RTL Late Night.”Wow, I had not seen them yet. What have they become beautiful, fantastic!”
Availability
The postset “Heel Holland Bakt” consists of 5 maxi cards and a stampsheet with 5 different personal stamps with the value indication Nederland 1,intended for mail up to and including 20 grams with a destination within theNetherlands. The mail set costs 8.95 and can be ordered via www.postnl.nl/HeelhollandBakt since 7 December. The mail set can also be ordered by telephone at CollectClub’s customer service on telephone number 088 – 868 99 00. The period ofvalidity is undetermined.
American Philatelic Society executive director Scott English has signed a contract renewal, through August 2021. (English is shown at right at a first-day ceremony in 2016.)
Even though his initial contract was not set to expire until August of 2019, the APS Board of Directors offered him a two-year extension, with the new terms effective December 1, 2018. English tells The Virtual Stamp Club he signed the offer last week.
“It’s been an honor and privilege to serve the members of the APS and we’ve made significant progress over the past three years,” he said in an email. “I work with a great team in Bellefonte and we have a Board that has invested in a strong future. We’ve reduced the debt, started our modernization plan, united the hobby, and delivered member services more efficiently.
“We have some exciting plans for the next few years, including online education, increasing traffic at our stamp shows, growing our grassroots, and building an international audience through promotion of Chicago 2021.”
The latter edition of StampShow, in 2021, will be held at the same time and in the same venue as the American Numismatic Association’s annual show (Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, IL, August 10-14, 2021). Staging APS StampShow in conjunction with ANA’s World’s Fair of Money has been a goal of APS leaders for many years.
5331 (50¢) Christmas – Madonna and Child
a. Convertible booklet pane of 20
5332 (50¢) Christmas – Head of Santa Claus
5333 (50¢) Christmas – Santa Claus and Wreath
5334 (50¢) Christmas – Santa Claus and Book
5335 (50¢) Christmas – Santa Claus and Card
a. Block of 4, #5332-5335
b. Convertible booklet pane of 20, 5 each #5332-5335
5336 (50¢) Christmas – Santa Claus and Book Souvenir Sheet
5337 (50¢) Kwanzaa
5338 (50¢) Hanukkah
A U.S. Treasury Department task force, ordered by President Trump, is proposing an overhaul to the U.S. Postal Service, including (and perhaps in particular) how it prices packages delivered by e-commerce companies like Amazon.
The task force says the USPS should price mailing these packages “with profitability in mind.”
The president has, in turn, criticized Amazon for treating the USPS as its “delivery boy.”
Keep in mind that Amazon is owned by Jeff Bezos, who now also owns the Washington Post. That newspaper is often critical of President Trump. However, the administration denies it is targeting Amazon.
The report does not call for privatizing the Postal Service.
Politico’s story can be found here. The New York Times has the Associated Press story as well as its own, titled “Trump Said Amazon Was Scamming the Post Office. His Administration Disagrees.” CNN characterizes it as “White House backs off privatizing the Postal Service.” FoxNews.com apparently did not run the story.
Here is the Treasury Department’s press release:
Washington – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today released the Task Force report on the United States Postal System. The report, United States Postal System: A 
Sustainable Path Forward, provides a series of recommendations to overhaul the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) business model in order to return it to sustainability without shifting additional costs to taxpayers.
“The USPS is on an unsustainable financial path which poses significant financial risk to American taxpayers,” said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “President Trump tasked us with conducting a thorough evaluation of the USPS, and today’s report contains achievable recommendations that fulfill the President’s goal of placing the USPS on a path to sustainability, while protecting taxpayers from undue financial burdens and providing them with necessary mail services.”
Between fiscal year (FY) 2007 and FY 2018, the USPS experienced net losses totaling $69 billion. The USPS is forecast to lose tens of billions of dollars over the next decade. The USPS’s business model—including its governance, product pricing, cost allocation, and labor practices—must be updated in light of its current operating realities.
On April 12, 2018, President Trump issued the Executive Order on the Task Force on the United States Postal System. The Executive Order established a Task Force on the United States Postal System, chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury and including the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. The Task Force was directed to evaluate the operations and finances of the USPS and to develop recommendations for administrative and legislative reforms that will enable the USPS to create a sustainable business model.
The Task Force’s recommendations include, but are not limited to:
The Task Force’s full analysis and complete list of recommendations can be found in the full report.
