David Bowie (UK 2017)

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[press release]
ROYAL MAIL TO HONOUR DAVID BOWIE WITH A SET OF 10 SPECIAL STAMPS

  • Royal Mail will issue a set of 10 Special Stamps as a tribute to one of the most influential music and cultural figures of all time
  • This is the first time Royal Mail has dedicated an entire stamp issue to an individual music artist or cultural figure.
  • Six stamps will feature images of the album covers: Hunky Dory; Aladdin Sane; “Heroes”; Let’s Dance; Earthling and ★ (Black Star).
  • Completing the set, four additional stamps will show Bowie performing live on tours across four decades: The Ziggy Stardust Tour, 1972;  The Stage Tour, 1978;The Serious Moonlight Tour, 1983; and A Reality Tour, 2004.
  • Fans can pre-order the stamps from today by visiting www.royalmail.com/davidbowie
  • The stamps will be on sale from 14 March 2017 at www.royalmail.com/davidbowie and from 7,000 Post Office branches across the UK and by calling 03457 641 641

Royal Mail today [January 25, 2017] revealed it will issue a set of 10 Special Stamps to honour David Bowie – one of the most influential music and cultural figures of all time.

This is the first time Royal Mail has dedicated an entire stamp issue to an individual music artist or cultural figure.

The stamps are issued in the year of what would have been his 70th birthday, and 50 years since his first album release.

Endlessly innovative and pioneering, he is widely regarded as having elevated his music to an art form.

Six of the stamps showcase Bowie’s changing musical styles and personas across the decades and feature images of some of his most admired and defining album covers: Hunky Dory; Aladdin Sane; “Heroes”; Let’s Dance; Earthling and ★. The arc of the vinyl album protrudes from the right hand side of each stamp.

Completing the set, four stamps show Bowie in action performing live on tours across four decades; The Ziggy Stardust Tour, 1972; The Stage Tour, 1978; The Serious Moonlight Tour, 1983; and A Reality Tour, 2004.

The stamps and a range of limited edition souvenirs are available to pre-order from today at www.royalmail.com/davidbowie and will be on sale from 14 March 2017.

Bowie’s 1972 album cover for The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars was featured in the Classic Album Covers stamp set issued in January 2010.

The only other music artists to have been honoured with a dedicated stamp issue are groups; The Beatles (2010) and Pink Floyd (2015).

A year-long poll undertaken by New Musical Express magazine in 2000 canvassed opinion from musicians worldwide as to the most influential artist. The result of this poll placed Bowie at Number One.

Album cover stamps
Hunky Dory, Bowie’s fourth album and released in December 1971. Time magazine chose it as part of their “100 best albums of all time” list in January 2010.

Aladdin Sane, his sixth album and released in April 1973. The album features the iconic photograph by Brian Duffy.

Heroes, his twelfth studio album and released in October 1977. This was the second instalment of his “Berlin Trilogy” recorded with Brian Eno and Tony Visconti. The title track remains one of Bowie’s best known and acclaimed songs.

Let’s Dance, his fifteenth studio album and released in April 1983. Co-produced by Nile Rodgers, and featuring three of his most successful singles Let’s Dance, Modern Love and China Girl. Let’s Dance is Bowie’s best-selling album.

Earthling, his twentieth studio album and released in February 1997. The striking cover art features Bowie in an Alexander McQueen designed Union Flag coat.

Bowie’s 28th and final studio album, released on his 69th birthday – 8 January 2016 – and charting at No.1 in more than 20 countries. Bowie died two days after the release of ★, the album reaffirming his legacy as modern music’s most unrelenting innovator and topping critics’ ‘Best of 2016’ lists.

Live stamps
The Ziggy Stardust Tour, 1972. The tour promoted The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars studio album and took in the UK, North America, and Japan.

The Serious Moonlight Tour, 1983. The tour was designed to support the Let’s Dancealbum and was Bowie’s longest, largest and most successful concert tour.

The Stage Tour, 1978.  Also known as Isolar II – The 1978 World Tour and The Low / “Heroes” World Tour because it was staged to promote the Low and “Heroes” albums

A Reality Tour, 2004.  Staged to promote the Reality album this tour was to be Bowie’s last tour.

Philip Parker, Royal Mail stamp Strategy manager, said: “For five decades David Bowie was at the forefront of contemporary culture, and has influenced successive generations of musicians, artists, designers and writers. Royal Mail’s stamp issue celebrates this unique figure and some of his many celebrated personas.”

The stamps are available from 14 March 2017, at 7,000 Post Office branches across the UK and www.royalmail.com/davidbowie

APS Vacancy: Director of Shows

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The American Philatelic Society reports its Show Manager, Megan Orient, will be leaving following AmeriStamp Stamp Expo (March 3-5, Reno, Nevada) “to be closer to her family.” We understand that that is in Pittsburgh.

Orient was hired by the APS less than two years ago. According to the APS press release in May 2015, “she and her husband are planning to make Centre County, Pennsylvania a long-term home.” APS Headquarters is located in Bellefonte, Pa., the county seat of Centre County.

However, that press release also said she and her husband have a young son. The job description just posted by the APS says the position “requires significant travel, weekend work, and work outside of standard hours.” Typically, the show manager not only goes out to the APS’ twice-annual show locations early and stays after the end of the shows, but also goes to potential venues for first-hand assessments of their suitability.

The Virtual Stamp Club interviewed Orient for a May 2015 radio feature, which you can hear here.

According to that press release, she had both training and experience in convention and event planning. She succeeded Dana Guyer, who left the APS to become executive director of the American Stamp Dealers Association.

Israel’s 2017 Stamp Program

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From Israel Post; subject to change

February

April

  • Memorial Day 2017
  • 50 Years of the Reunification of Jerusalem
  • 50 Years of Settlement in Ramat Hagolan, Jordan Valley, Judea and Samaria
  • Joint Issue with Portugal
  • The Passover Hagadah

June

  • The 20th Maccabiah Games
  • WW1 Centenary – Allenby in Jerusalem
  • Joint issue with Russia
  • Israeli Love Songs

September

  • Festivals 2017
  • 100 Years Since the Balfour Declaration
  • Shimon Peres
  • 100 Years of Habima Theater
  • Joint Issue Croatia

December

  • Philately Day – Snakes
  • Submarines in Israel
  • Ancient Roman Arenas
  • Social integration of people with disabilities

UNESCO World Heritage Sites (Canada 2017)

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Issue date: January 16, 2017

  • Dinosaur Provincial Park
  • Mistaken Point
  • Historic District of Old Québec
  • L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site
  • Red Bay Basque Whaling Station

From Canada Post’s Details magazine:

Don’t miss your last chance to see Canada’s most spectacular UNESCO World Heritage sites – on our stamps, that is.

Crafted by Lara Minja, of Lime Design, these definitive stamps showcase five places in Canada that have special status because of their importance to the common heritage of humanity. Mistaken Point (N.L.), the Historic District of Old Québec (Que.) and L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site (N.L.) make their debut in the series, while Dinosaur Provincial Park (Alta.) and Red Bay Basque Whaling Station (N.L.) enjoy an encore.

Cancelled in a fishing community near Mistaken Point – Canada’s latest UNESCO site – the Official First Day Cover boasts a souvenir sheet with some hidden features in celebration of Canada’s sesqui- centennial. Use black light to explore our tribute to these captivating sites and you’ll find the official Canada 150 logo and text waiting to be discovered. [January 16th press release]
Stamps showcase five UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Earth’s earliest complex large life forms, a Viking settlement and Old Québec’s well-preserved historic district are all celebrated

OTTAWA, Jan. 16, 2017 /CNW/ – Canadians are invited to discover the country’s early historic settlements and to envision the origins of complex organisms on this planet by new stamps depicting UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

“These sites are treasures for Canada and the world – and we hope that these stamps instill pride and arouse a sense of wonder in every Canadian,” says Canada Post President and CEO Deepak Chopra.

Three of the stamps feature sites that are new to the multi-year series, which has celebrated all 18 sites:

Mistaken Point (N.L.), at the southeastern tip of Newfoundland, gives us some sense of what life looked like when organisms began to get larger than microbes and complex. Embedded along this gorgeous coastline are groups of the oldest known fossils of ancient soft-bodied life forms, dating back 560 to 580 million years. These strange multi-celled organisms ranged in size from as small as a fingernail to as long as a metre and had no legs or eyes. They are believed to be the planet’s first large life forms.

The Historic District of Old Québec (Que.), founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain, is still bustling with activity, yet has maintained the integrity of essential historical buildings and spaces over more than four centuries. Fortified with walls, gates and bastions, this is the only colonial city north of Mexico to have preserved its ramparts.

L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site (N.L.), at the tip of Newfoundland’s Great Northern Peninsula, contains timber-framed turf dwellings built by a Norse expedition more than 1,000 years ago. The settlement is the earliest known European presence in North America.

The remaining two stamps bear images of locations that appeared on U.S.-rate stamps issued in 2015:

Dinosaur Provincial Park (Alta.), was declared a World Heritage site for its exceptional fossil specimens of Cretaceous dinosaurs, as well as undisturbed badlands and riverside habitat.

Red Bay Basque Whaling Station (N.L.), on the south coast of Labrador, is the most complete and extensive example of a 16th-century Basque whaling station in North America.

World Heritage Sites are chosen by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which “seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity.”

Designed by Lara Minja of Lime Design, the 24 mm x 20 mm self-adhesive stamps are sold in booklets of 10 and 30. A gummed souvenir sheet of the five stamps, an Official First Day Cover cancelled in Trepassey, NL, and postage-paid postcards of the three new stamp images are also available. Postage-paid postcards for Dinosaur Provincial Park and Red Bay Basque Whaling Station are also available.

Year of the Rooster (Canada 2017)

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These stamps were issued Monday January 9th. Order the stamps and products here.

[press release]
Canada Post welcomes Lunar New Year with stamp issue
Year of the Rooster stamps shine with gold accents

OTTAWA – Canada Post will greet the Year of the Rooster with a two-stamp issue, the ninth in its most recent series honouring the Lunar New Year. A Permanent™ domestic-rate stamp featuring a rooster image, with its chest proudly puffed out, is paired with an international-rate stamp offering a close-cropped profile view of the rooster’s stately face. Both images are created from lines of gold foil.

“Canada Post is proud to celebrate the vibrant and festive occasion that is the Lunar New Year, which is marked by Canadians of Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and other East Asian heritage,” says Canada Post President and CEO Deepak Chopra. “The annual unveiling of this stamp issue has become a much-anticipated event, with the artistry of the series praised by both collectors and mailers.”

Designed by Paprika, a firm in Montréal, the stamps include several features:

  • The pane of 25 domestic-rate stamps includes four Chinese blessings, presented in calligraphy by Albert Ng.
  • While all 2017 stamps include elements that point to Canada’s sesquicentennial, this issue’s reference is two-fold. “Canada 150” appears dropped out of the tagging that surrounds the stamps, an effect visible only under a black light. However, on the uncut press sheet and pane of 25 domestic stamps, a gold foil sesquicentennial logo is visible to the naked eye.
  • The international-rate official first day cover (OFDC), which also features a traditional Chinese blessing, is unsealed to enable the Chinese New Year tradition of giving money in a red envelope.

The Year of the Rooster arrives on January 28, 2017, and runs until February 15, 2018. Those born under this sign are honest, courageous and confident. Marked for success, they achieve their goals through a combination of wit, charm and hard work.

Both the domestic and international rate stamps are self-adhesive and measure 32 mm x 32 mm. The domestic stamp is available in booklets of 10 and panes of 25, and the international stamp in booklets of 10. The issue also includes a gummed souvenir sheet of both stamps, a gummed transitional souvenir sheet featuring both the 2016 Year of the Monkey and 2017 Year of the Rooster international stamps, an uncut press sheet and Official First Day Covers for both stamp denominations. [press release]
Canada Post To Unveil the Year of the Rooster stamps

VANCOUVER, Jan. 6, 2017 /CNW/ – Canada Post invites you to greet the Year of the Rooster a little early with the unveiling of a two-stamp issue, the ninth in its most recent series honouring the Lunar New Year, on Monday, January 9 at the Vancouver Main Post Office.

WHAT: Unveiling of the Year of the Rooster stamps

WHO:

  • Acting Consul General KONG Weiwei – People’s Republic of China
  • Acting Mayor Raymond Louie – City of Vancouver
  • Greg Kabatoff, Director, Retails Sales Area West – Canada Post
  • Three Degrees, Designers of the Year of the Rooster coins

WHERE: Vancouver Main Post Office
495 West Georgia Street (Corner of West Georgia and Richards Street)
• Meter and parkade parking is available on Richards Street

WHEN: Monday, January 9, 11 a.m.

New U.S. FDC Servicing Addresses

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Effective with the first issue of 2017 (Lunar New Year: Year of the Rooster), there are new addresses for submitting first day covers for servicing. For non-dealers and any submissions without USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services work orders, the format is
New FDC mail-in address for non-dealers:

FDOI-[name of issue]
Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900

If a particular type of cancel is desired, such as the Digital Color Postmark (DCP), that should be indicated in the address for fast processing, as such:
New FDC mail-in address for non-dealers:

FDOI-[name of issue] DCP
Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900

Dealers with work orders should use this address:

USPS SFS Cancellation Services – Dealer Processing
8300 NE Underground Drive, Pillar 210
Kansas City, MO 64144-9998

The major differences are no name of the issue, “Pillar 210” rather than “Suite 300;” and the ZIP extension.

Collectors and dealers alike who have questions may contact Celia Rodriguez, the Customer Service Specialist for Cancellation Services, at the Pillar 210 address, ☎ {816} 545-1345, or ✉ e-mail Celia.Rodriguez@usps.gov

(Celia is shown here hard at work at the USPS cancellations booth at World Stamp Show-New York 2016.)

Another Long-Lost Jenny Invert Found

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[press release]
The Philatelic Foundation Authenticates Another Long Lost Jenny Invert

A representative of an auction firm recently brought a Jenny Invert to the Philatelic Foundation’s New York offices for authentication on behalf of a consignor. The Philatelic Foundation is widely regarded in the hobby of stamp collecting for its expertise in authenticating this iconic United States air mail rarity. Over the last 70 years, the PF has issued Certificates of Authenticity for 85 of the 100 stamps from the original error sheet of the “upside down airplane stamp,” including all six of the existing blocks of four.

The stamp was hand-delivered to The Foundation by Leslie S. Hindman, the owner and principal of Chicago’s Leslie Hindman Auctioneers. Ms. Hindman recounted that the Jenny Invert had been stored for many years in a safe deposit box together with a number of other rare U.S. and foreign stamps and that the family of the original owner had decided to sell the stamps at auction.

The Foundation’s staff immediately began the expertization process led by Curator Lewis Kaufman and Executive Director Larry Lyons. Based on its extensive electronic and photographic records of this rarity, the PF was able to certify that the Jenny Invert was genuine and came from position 79 in the sheet of 100, one of only two positions which have not been seen in the market place since the stamp was issued almost 100 years ago.

In April 2016, The Philatelic Foundation authenticated another long lost Jenny Invert, which it determined to have once been part of the Ethel McCoy block of four that was stolen in 1955. That stamp was turned over to federal authorities and, following negotiations with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York, the American Philatelic Society was recognized at its lawful owner and was given possession of the stamp at NY2016.

Servicing Your Own Canadian FDCs

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by Lloyd A. de Vries

Although Canada Post produces its own cachets, such as the one shown on the right, it is possible for individuals to submit their own covers.

However, there are some notable differences from how the U.S. Postal Service services customers’ own FDCs.

On the left is shown a Dragon Card produced by me for the same issue and submitted to Canada Post for servicing.

Like the USPS, Canada Post gives collectors (servicers) a 60-day grace period, and sufficient postage must be affixed to meet current mailing rates. If the FDCs are being returned in another envelope, that means the first-class domestic rate. If the FDCs are being mailed individually, then the current rates prevail.

All FDCs for servicing, however, are submitted to the FDC canceling unit at The National Philatelic Center, 1-133 Church Street, Antigonish, NS B2G 2R8, not to the first-day cities.

There is a charge for all cancellations: 15 cents if the stamp or stamps are already affixed, 20 cents if the stamp or stamps need to be affixed (plus the cost of the stamps), and Canada Post will even supply an uncacheted envelope, for 25 cents plus the price of the stamps. Several sizes of envelopes are available, too.

Canada Post will not cancel covers that “bear foreign postage or previous cancellations.” That means no combination FDCs with another country’s stamps, such as the 1999 U.S. Star Trek stamp (Sc. 3188e). Earlier Canadian stamps are acceptable for combos.

However, a dual-canceled U.S./Canada FDC is possible, if the Canadian stamps and cancel are applied first. That was easy with several months between the Star Trek stamps. Some planning is required, however, if the U.S. stamp is issued first or on the same day.

Canada strongly prefers that its stamps be in the traditional upper right corner, but is flexible.

Canada Post produces its own cacheted FDCs, and they are quite attractive. Amateur cachetmakers intending their FDCs for sale will be competing against professionals. Also, the “OFDC,” as they’re called, often have cancellation varieties that are not available to private servicers. The gold postmark for No. 2 Construction Battalion was only available on the official FDC, shown in the illustration. These OFDCs are produced and serviced by another unit of Canada Post.

There is no minimum number that must be submitted, and no difference in procedures between dealers and individuals. All orders must be paid by credit card, which takes care of currency conversion. Currently, the Canadian dollar is around 80 percent of the U.S. dollar.

Some U.S. Postal Rates Rise Jan. 22, 2017

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Call it the “stealth rate hike.” With little fanfare, The cost to mail a letter within the U.S. is going up two cents on January 22, 2017, just as the U.S. Postal Service requested in October. The Postal Regulatory Commission allowed the increase without action or announcement because it fell within the rate of inflation.

Not all consumer rates, however, are going up. The additional-ounce charge will remain at 21¢. So will the “nonmachineable surcharge,” the fee for odd-shaped pieces of mail, such as greeting cards.The postcard rate will remain 34¢. The international one-ounce rate will still be $1.15.

The base price for a “flat” (large envelope that is flexible enough to bend more than a half inch and less than three-quarters of an inch thick) goes up four cents, to 98¢, but, again, the additional ounce is 21¢.

First-class parcels (not bendable or thicker than 3/4 of an inch or both) are both more complicated and less. Four ounces or less are now $2.67. Additional ounces in parcels go from 19¢ to 18¢, so five-ounce parcel is now $2.85 and a six-ounce one is $3.03, both more than before January 22nd. A seven-ounce parcel (or anything between 6.1 and 7.0 ounces) is the same before and after the rate change, $3.21, and above that weight, prices are actually cheaper under the new structure.

Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express (previously called “Express Mail” and still called that by most customers and clerks) are considered commercial shipping products in competition with companies like United Parcel Service and Federal Express, and so don’t require PRC approval or adherence to inflation rates.

The base price for Priority Mail (a flat-rate envelope) will go up 20¢ to $6.65. The basic flat-rate Express Mail rate will be $23.75.

Britain’s 2017 Commemorative Stamps

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[press release and other sources] [updated January 29th]
Royal Mail Reveals Its Special Stamp Programme For 2017

  • Royal Mail’s Special Stamp programme commemorates anniversaries and celebrates events relevant to UK heritage and life
  • Windsor Castle, the world’s oldest and largest occupied castle and an official residence of HM The Queen, will be celebrated with a set of 10 stamps launched in February
  • The 1989 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, Desert ‘Dessie’ Orchid is included in Racehorse Legends. The stamp set features original artwork of eight champion horses achieving their greatest wins on UK race courses over six decades
  • One of the most influential music and cultural figures of all time, David Bowie, will be honored with 10 stamps in March
  • The Wren, the most common UK breeding bird, is included in the Songbirds issue – featuring 10 beautiful birds that herald spring and summer.

Royal Mail’s 2017 Special Stamp programme is set to showcase the “Best of British” in a range of subjects from some of the greatest racehorses from the past six decades to beautiful birds that herald spring and summer in the UK.

Windsor Castle, the oldest inhabited castle in world and an official residence of HM The Queen, is celebrated with iconic views of both the interior and exterior of the castle. Featured in the set is an image of the world-famous Round Tower that has dominated the Berkshire skyline for over 800 years.

Racehorse Legends will feature eight champion horses that achieved their greatest wins on UK race courses over the last six decades. The stamp issue features original artwork commissioned by Royal Mail of four flat racers and four national hunt horses captured in action during the course of their iconic wins. Included in the stamp issue is Desert ‘Dessie’ Orchid winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1989.

The Songbirds issue in May will present 10 beautiful birds that herald spring and summer in the UK.

2017 Special Stamp Programme:

January 17:
February 5:
February 15:
February 15:
March 14:
April 6:
May 4:
June 5:
June 20:
July 13:
July 31:
August 22:
September 13:
September 14:
November 7:		 Ancient Britain
65th Anniversary of Accession of Queen Elizabeth
Windsor Castle
Post & Go: Royal Mail Heritage – Mail By Rail
David Bowie
Racehorse Legends
Songbirds
The Machin Definitive Anniversary
Windmills and Watermills
Landmark Buildings
First World War: 1917
Classic Toys
Post and Go: Royal Mail Heritage – Mail by Air
Ladybird Books
Christmas