[press release]
Australia Post pays tribute to one giant leap for mankind
Issue date: July 16, 2019
Fifty years since the first manned Moon landing, Australia Post is releasing a commemorative stamp issue to mark one of the 20th century’s defining moments. On 20 July 1969, Neil Armstrong famously took some of the biggest steps for mankind, and with it, etched himself and the occasion into world history.
Australia Post Philatelic Manager Michael Zsolt said the stamp release celebrates the magnitude of the occasion but also Australia’s small but significant part in it.
“The stamps celebrate the historical Apollo 11 mission through a global and local lens, to appeal to history buffs, the general public and collectors alike. It notes the role Australia played in telecasting the historic event to television sets over the world.”
Designed by Gary Domoney of Visua, a Melbourne-based visual communication and brand strategy agency, the four $1 domestic base rate stamps feature:
$1 Lunar module Eagle: The Apollo 11 mission comprised three spacecraft: the command module Columbia, a service module, and the lunar module Eagle. The Eagle 
was used for descent to the lunar surface and served as a base while the astronauts were on the Moon.
$1 Parkes radio telescope, NSW: With a diameter of 64 metres the CSIRO Parkes radio telescope located in central-west New South Wales is one of the largest single-dish telescopes in the southern hemisphere dedicated to astronomy. Officially opened in 1961, it was one of two Australian stations to receive the signal from the Apollo 11 spacecraft when the Moon was hidden from Earthís Northern Hemisphere.
$1 First Moon walk: Around seven hours after landing on the Moon, Armstrong prepared to plant the first human foot on another world. 
With around 600 million people watching on television, he climbed down the ladder and proclaimed: “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”
$1 Telecast via Honeysuckle Creek, ACT: The first nine minutes of the telecast, including the moments when Armstrong first set foot on the Moon, were transmitted from NASAís Honeysuckle Creek tracking station, near Canberra. The 26 metre dish opened in 1967 for the purpose of supporting the Apollo program.
Products associated with this issue include first day cover, stamp pack, maxicard set, booklet collection, 
medallion cover, and four booklets of 10 x $1 self-adhesive stamps.
The 50-year anniversary Moon landing commemorative stamp issue is available from 16 July at participating Post Offices, via mail order on 1800 331 794 and online at auspost.com.au/stamps [direct link to this issue], while stocks last.
The show is being held July 26-28 at the Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel (9801 Natural Bridge Road in St. Louis). The FDCs will be at the booth of Weisz Stamps & Covers. Proprietor Doug Weisz [right] is assisting the H.R. Harmer auction firm with getting Eldon Mohler’s vast collection of cacheted first day covers ready for sale. Some of the material will be sold at a series of auctions beginning in the fall, but Weisz will have nearly two hundred boxes of covers from the collection at his booth at Americover 2019.
5378 (55¢) Transcontinental Railroad, 150th Anniv. – Jupiter Locomotive
5381 Wild and Scenic Rivers pane of 12
5382 (55¢) Art of Ellsworth Kelly – Yellow White
LONGUEUIL, QUE. – Canada Post today issued two commemorative stamps celebrating the 50th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 mission that landed humans on the moon for the first time – and the Canadians who helped make it possible.
Jim Chamberlin was a leading figure in aircraft design in Canada before moving to the U.S. in 1959 to work for NASA. He became head of engineering for Project Mercury, the first human spaceflight program for the United States, and project manager and chief designer for the Gemini spacecraft that preceded Apollo. He helped determine the type of spacecraft that would transport the Apollo 11 astronauts and was one of the first at NASA to recognize that flying directly to the moon wasn’t the best option. Instead, Chamberlin favoured having a smaller landing module travel to lunar orbit attached to the main spacecraft, then descend to the moon’s surface and later reconnect with the main spacecraft. This approach, known as lunar orbit rendezvous, became fundamental to the Apollo program.
nada’s top aircraft engineers before being hired by NASA in 1959, Owen Maynard went on to head the Systems Engineering Division for the Apollo spacecraft program – effectively making him the chief engineer. He sketched early designs of the main Apollo command module and is credited as the person at NASA most responsible for the design of the lunar lander. He also served as Chief of the Mission Operations Division and was responsible for planning the sequence of missions that led to Apollo 11. Like Chamberlin, Maynard also played an important role in determining the safest way to reach and land on the moon.
The first legs to stand on the moon didn’t belong to Neil Armstrong – they were from Héroux Machine Parts Limited of Longueuil, Quebec. Now known as Héroux-Devtek, the company manufactured the spider-like landing gear legs on the lunar module to NASA’s specifications. The legs were also part of the launch platform that let Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin lift off from the moon and reconnect with the main command module. Those legs remain on the moon at the Apollo 11 landing site, in an area known as the Sea of Tranquility.
[en Francais]
Australia Post is releasing a commemorative stamp to celebrate 50 years of the principle of equal pay for equal work in Australia.
es, the estimated impact of the rate increases on the average Canadian household would be well under a dollar a year, and the total increase for small businesses that use stamps would be estimated at about $6 a year. Canadians can avoid the increase by purchasing Permanent stamps at the current rate in advance, if the changes are approved for next January.
The American Topical Association has named Jennifer L. Miller of Greer, SC, as its executive director. An avid topical collector and ATA member, she is well-known in the hobby.
Camden, NY. In May 2019, Mystic Stamp Company purchased ArtCraft’s complete inventory – over 5 million covers – after the company announced it was closing its doors. ArtCraft had been sending out Fleetwood First Day Covers since they stopped printing their own in 2015, so it’s only fitting Mystic – owner of Fleetwood – pick up ArtCraft’s inventory, too. This inventory includes historic covers from ArtCraft’s earliest days (1939) to 2015. Known for their exquisite detail, ArtCraft’s steel-engraving-style cachets have always been popular with collectors.
In the press release, Mystic president Don Sundman said, “My family has been collecting and selling covers for over 85 years, beginning with my father, Maynard, in the 1930s. [One of his covers, from 1935, is shown on the left.] At Mystic, we know what First Day Cover collectors want, and we design our cachets accordingly. Going forward, ArtCraft customers can expect to see the same high-quality First Day Covers they’ve been receiving since 2015.”
However, when Washington Stamp Exchange stopped producing new ArtCraft designs, WSE purchased unserviced Fleetwood cachets from Mystic, serviced them, and sold them to its subscription customers.
