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Friday 11 October 2019

1109) World Post Day Limited Edition of 500 Commemorative Covers, Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory (BOT): Special Cover issue date: 09.10.2019:

1109) World Post Day Limited Edition of 500  Commemorative Covers, Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory (BOT): Special Cover issue date: 09.10.2019:

The Gibraltar Philatelic Bureau has issued a Limited Edition Commemorative Cover on 09.10.2019 to mark the 50th Anniversary of World Post Day.

About World Post Day:

World Post Day is celebrated each year on October 9th,  the anniversary of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), which started in Switzerland.

The UPU was the start of the global communications revolution, introducing the ability to write to others all over the world.

The World Postal Day started in 1969. Since then, countries all over the world  take part in celebrations to highlight the importance of postal service. The UPU organises an international letter writing competition for young people.

Postal Systems have been in operation for many centuries, when people sent letters to each other. These were delivered on foot or on horseback by special messengers. In India the messengers were called "harkaras".

From the 1600s, the first national postage systems began to take shape in many countries. These were more organised and people could use them.

Slowly, countries agreed to exchange mail internationally. By the late 1800s, there was a global postal service, but it was slow and complicated.

In 1874, the setting up of the UPU opened the way for efficient postal service which is in existence today.

In 1948, the UPU became an agency of the United Nations.

October 9th was first declared World Post Day at the 1969 UPU Congress in Tokyo, Japan. The proposal was submitted by Shri Anand Mohan Narula, a member of the Indian delegation. Since then, World Post Day is celebrated all over the world to highlight the importance of the postal services.

The chief purpose and ways in which World Post Day is celebrated all over the world on 09.10 every year:

The purpose of the World Post Day is to create awareness of the role of the postal sector in people's and businesses' everyday lives and its contribution to the social and economic development of countries. The celebration encourages member countries to undertake programme activities aimed at generating a broader awareness of their Post's role and activities among the public and media on a national scale.

Every year more than 150 countries celebrate World Post Day in a variety of ways. In some countries, World Post Day is observed as a working holiday. Many Posts use the event to introduce or promote new postal products and services. Some Posts also use Worl Post Day to reward their employees for good service.

In many countries, philatelic exhibitions are organised and new stamps and date cancellation marks are used. Other activities include the display of World Post Day posters in post offices and other public places, open days at post offices, mail centres and postal museums, the holding of conferences, seminars and workshops, as well as, cultural, sport and other recreational activities. Many postal administrations issue special souvenirs sich as T-shirts and badges.

The Commemorative stamps/Limited edition Commemorative Cover:


The First Day Cover (FDC) shows free standing pillar boxes, which are located all over Gibraltar and showcase a pillar box from every reign - Queen Victoria, King Edward VII, King George V,King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II.

Such pillar boxes are found in the United Kingdom, Australia, Cyprus, India, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, the Republic of Ireland, Malta, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Mandatory Palestine, Bahrain, Dubai, Kuwait, Morocco et al. Such boxes have been in use since 1852. Mail could also be deposited in lamp boxes or wall boxes which are attached to a post or set in a wall.

This Postal Cover is titled - "Gibraltar, 50th Anniversary of World Post Day - Limited edition Commemorative Cover". The Cover is limited to only 500 editions and is sold on a first come first served basis. Each cover is individually hand-numbered. The number "53" on this First Day Cover image is for illustration purposes only and each of the 500 Covers will be hand-numbered from 1 to 500.

The First Day Cover (FDC) is placed here against a  wall mounted letter-box.

The technical specifications of this Limited Edition FDC are:

Stamps/Cover issue date: 09.10.2019

Issuer: Gibraltar Post

Illustration/Photography: Stephen Perera

Design: Stephen Perera

Process: Offset

Colours: 4 colours

Stamp values: 22p, 64p, 70p, 80p 2 Pounds.

Posted on 07.11.2019:

Today both Sumita and I visited the State Bank of India, Pune Main Branch to submit our Life Certificates, to draw our pensions, which are required to be submitted during November every year. 

As we had reached the area about one hour early, we visited the Head Post Office, Pune, where we came upon this quaint old letter box, which we had somehow missed seeing earlier.

A sign board next to the letter box read:

" Letters posted in this historical letter box will have special stamp cancellation of Pune HO".

I bought a Rs.5/- envelope, which I addressed to Sumita and promptly posted it at our address. Once the letter arrives, I will post it here:

The historical letter box outside the Pune Post Office

The Sign Board indicating that letters posted in this letter box will be cancelled with a special stamp cancellation.

The quaint old-fashioned entrance to the Pune Head Post Office.









Links to some other interesting posts from the British Isles and British Overseas Territories/Dependencies:
Central Bank of Ireland issues:


1) Jonathan Swift: 350th Birth Anniversary 15 Euro Silver Proof coin features his most famous work "Gulliver's Travels" : Coin issued on 30.11.2017

2) Ireland: Women's right to Vote - 100th Year Anniversary : A Silver 15 Euro Proof Collector Coin issued by the Central Bank of Ireland on 27.11.2018

3) Irish Myths & Legends: 1) The Children of Lir;2) Cu Chulain; 3) The Omniscient Salmon of Knowledge; 4) Werewolves of Ossory; 5) The Brown Bull of Cooley and Deirdre of the Sorrows: An Annual Mint Set from the Central Bank of Ireland, recreates/celebrates Irish Folk Tales (Issue date: 30.04.2018)

4) Centenary of the "First Trans-Atlantic Aviation", Ireland: A 15 Euro Silver Proof Coin issued by the central Bank of Ireland and minted by the Royal Dutch Mint: Coin issue date: 10.07.2019

Northern Ireland Bank issues:

1) Northern Ireland Polymer Bank Issues: Danske Bank (10 Pounds Polymer Banknotes), Bank of Ireland (5 & 10 Pound Polymer Banknotes) to go into circulation in 2020/21

6) Jane Austen: features on the second circulating Polymer Banknote of 10 Pounds denomination to be released on 14.09.2017

Inspirations from Scottish History (Clydesdale Bank Banknotes): 

1) The Legend of King Bruce & the Spider on Banknotes
  
2) Commemorating Sir William Arrol and his creation the Forth Rail Bridge by issues of Britain's first ever 5 Pound Polymer Banknote

Banknotes from Bank of Scotland:



British Crown Dependencies:

1) Specimen Banknotes from the States of Jersey

2) Coinage and Currency from the States of Jersey

3) Currency & Coinage of the Bailiwick of Guernsey

4) Currency & Coinage of Gibraltar : An Overseas Territory of Great Britain

5) Coinage of Gibraltar: (A British Overseas Territory): An Uncirculated Decimal Coin Collection Set minted by the Tower Mint, UK in 2010
  
6) The Isle of Man: An Uncirculated Decimal Coin Collection Set minted by Pobjoy Mint, UK in 2015

7) The Centenary of the ill-fated Titanic (15.04.1912 - 15.04.2012): An Alderney Five Pound Coin Commemorating the Maritime Legend

8) "Man of Steel": A Superman Movie: A set of stamps brought out in 2013 by Jersey post, the States of Jersey, commemorating Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill who played Superman in the Movie

9) Coins & Currency of Bermuda

10) The Bailiwick of Jersey - Presently circulating coinage - Pounds and Pence 

11) St. Helena & Ascension Islands: An Uncirculated Coin Set from 2003 

12) The Legend of the "HMAV Bounty" is interwoven with the heritage of the Pitcairn Islands: An uncirculated coin set from Pitcairn Islands in 2009 depicting the icons/relics of the Bounty minted by the New Zealand Mint

13) Currency of the Falkland Islands: A British Overseas Territory (BOT) Pounds & Pence

14) Falkland Islands Penguins: 50 Pence Coin Series: The first Coin in the Series of four coins: the Rock-Hopper Penguin 


15) Falkland Islands Penguins: 50 Pence Coin Series: The Gentoo Penguin:Second Coin in the series of four coins issued on 20.06.2017 

19) The Isle of Man: A British Crown Dependency (BCD) Coinage: A newly introduced Collector's circulation Currency Coinage Collector's set received from the Tower Mint, London, UK issued in April 2017

20) Pegasus: British Virgin Islands: A gold Bullion Coin of $100 issued by Pobjoy Mint on belalf of British Virgin Islands in July 2018

21) "The Hydra": British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT): A Silver Double Crown (4 Pounds), 2 Oz High Relief Coin with Antique Finish: Third Coin in the Series titled "Mythical Creatures" issued by Pobjoy Mint, UK on behalf of BIOT on 07.08.2018

22) "Medusa The Gorgon": British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT): A Silver Double Crown (4 Pounds), 2 Oz High relief Coin with antique Finish: Fourth Coin in the series titled "Mythical Creatures" issued by Pobjoy Mint UK on behalf of BIOT in 09/2018



25) South Atlantic Fauna Coins from Ascension Island and South Georgia and Sandwich Islands, British Overseas Territories (BOT): (Part II): A 1 Pound Titanium Coin & a 1 Pound Uncirculated Coin variant, feature the Queen Triggerfish, issued on behalf of Ascension Island (2019) minted by the Pobjoy Mint, UK

26) Ernest Shackleton, Antarctic Explorer: South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands: A 2 Pounds Coin minted by Pobjoy Mint, UK, brought out on 26.02.2019 on behalf of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands in two variants - Silver and Cupro-nickel

27) Concorde, a Stamp set from Gibraltar, A British Overseas Territory (BOT): 50th Anniversary of the first Supersonic Passenger Carrying Airplane, jointly built by France and Great Britain: Stamp set issue date: 20.04.2019

28) Tristan da Cunha (BOT): A Wedgwood "Three Graces" Jasperware 5 Pound Coin: minted in 2018

29) 75th Anniversary of D-Day Landings: (The Battle of Normandy): i) A Gibraltar Philatelic Bureau Stamp set of 4 stamps issued on 08.03.2019: ii) A Limited edition D-Day joint Commemorative issue by British Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territory - Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man and Gibraltar on 06.06.2019

30) Manannan, the First King of Isle of Man or Mann: A Silver 5 Pounds Coin brought out by the Isle of Man in collaboration with Coin Invest Trust (CIT) and minted by B.H. Mayer's Kunstprageanstalt, Munich

31) 200th Anniversary of John Keats' "Odes to a ....", Alderney Island: A set of six Postage stamps issued by Guernsey Post which brings out stamps on behalf of Alderney Island - 1) Ode on a Grecian Urn,(48p) 2) Ode on Indolence (65p), 3) Ode on Melancholy (66p), 4) Ode to a Nightingale (80p), 5) Ode to Psyche (90p), 6) Ode to Autumn (98 p): Stamp Set issue date: 24.07.2019

32) Isle of Mann: Celebrating the 200th Birth Anniversary of the Birth of Herman Melville, the author of the classic Moby Dick: A six Stamp Set issued on 22.07.2019


Famous Battles
1) Bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo and Napoleon's Exile to St. Helena: (Part I): A One Crown Commemorative coin issued by the Ascension Island (minted by Pobjoy Mint UK) 
2) Bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo and Napoleon's Exile to st. Helena: (Part II) 1) A 5 GBP Coin issued by the Royal Mint UK. 2) A"Drie Landen Zilverset" ( ot the "Three Lands Silver set") containing coins issued by the Royal Dutch Mint including coins of Netherlands, Belgium and UK

3) Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain by issuing a 50 Pence coin by the Royal Mint UK

Gold Coins:
  
1) Gold Sovereigns issued in 2013 & 2014 by MMTC-PAMP in India under licence from the Royal Mint, UK, carrying the "I" Mint Mark

2) Gold Half-Sovereigns minted by MMTC-PAMP in India in 2014 under licence from the Royal Mint UK bearing the "I" Mint Mark 

Silver Coins:

1) A 20 Pound Silver coin minted for the first timr by the royal Mint UK: reverse design carries the famous St. George slaying the dragon design found on Gold Sovereigns 

British India Coinage:

 1) East India Company Quarter Anna Copper Coin which is one of the first issues under the Coinage Act 1835

2) Victoria Coinage: When she was Queen and afterwards Empress

3) Edward VII: King & Emperor  Coinage

4) George V King Emperor Coinage

5) George VI: The last of the British India Emperors Coinage 

Other British Royalty: 

1) Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Celebrations (1952-2012): A Five Pound Commemorative coin issued by the Royal Mint, UK

2) Commemorating Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation in 1953: A Five Pound Coin minted by the Royal Mint UK in 2013, depicting the Imperial State Crown

3) The Royal Coat of Arms of the UK: Great British 2012 Coin Set (Uncirculated) issued by the Royal Mint UK

4) Prince George's Christening Ceremony celebrated with coins issued by the Royal Mint UK in 2013

5) The British Empire:  A Case of Numismatic "Segregation": (Guest Post by Rahul Kumar)

6) 1) The Portrait Collection: Various Portraits of Queen Elizabeth II on Coinage 2) The Fourth & Final Circulating coinage of the Portrait designed by Ian Rank-Broadley and the First Edition of the portrait of the Queen made by Jody Clark

 British Coinage:

1) The contribution of the Great British One-Pound coins in keeping alive the historical legends/emblems/heritage of the UK (1983 onwards)

2) Transformation of a Five shilling Coin (Crown) into the UK Twenty-five Pence & then the Five Pound Coin


4) The 350th Anniversary of the Guinea: A Two Pound Coin issued by the Royal Mint UK celebrating the milestone




 Commemorative British Coinage:

 1) Commemorating the Bicentenary of Charles Dickens: A Two pound coin celebrating his literary contributions during the Victorian Era

 2) Commemorating 50 Years of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) - presently called the World Wide Fund for Nature by issue of a Fifty Pence coin by the Royal Mint, UK

3) Coins commemorating London Olympics & Paralympics (2012)

4) Commemorating 150 Years of the London Underground : Two pound Coins minted by the Royal Mint UK, showing the "Roundel" logo and a train emerging from a tunnel 

5) Commemorating the 100th Birth anniversary of Christopher Ironside with his " Royal Arms" design on a 50 Pence coin issued by the Royal Mint, UK 




Links: Postage Stamps: 


41 comments:

  1. On my update on the visit to Pune Head Post Office on 07.11.2019, the following comments have been recorded:
    Rajan Trikha has commented:
    "Watching with interest your post on receiving special stamp cancellation envelope".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trikha sahab, even I am waiting quite eagerly.

      Delete
  2. Raj Kumar Srivastava has commented:
    "Nice idea 🌺"

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ashok Borate has commented:
    "Wah!!"

    ReplyDelete
  4. Choudhary Roy S has commented:
    "You have a spl n different vision..
    One incidence, perhaps year or two before you narrated,
    Somewhere, in a car journey you lost the path,Somewhere, in a car journey you lost the path,
    And a fairy in clouds guided you..
    This is true, and as per my analysis, you have some good spiritual power..
    Which SHOULD be improved..
    You can achieve something in life, with a little effort..👍"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for your insightful comment/observation. The letter box just caught my eye and then many other people noticed it too and got interested. I just go with the flow and the elements help me. Nevertheless, I will meditate on your meaningful words. Thanks.👍

      Delete
    2. Santosh Khanna has commented:
      "During one visit you have done two jobs 😀"

      Delete
    3. Khanna sahab, I was just utilising the extra time we had on our hands. The letter box caught my eye by chance.

      Delete
  5. Radhika Trikha has commented:
    "Well reading all your post, makes me realised we have come so forward leaving behind our roots. All these are our childhood memories which even I wish to recollect and share with my daughter as she is growing up."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wonderfully said, Radhika. We do need to reconnect somewhat with things we enjoyed doing when we were young. I once asked a young boy what games did he play. He talked only about video games and he didn't play any other games like cricket or football. There was another interaction with a little girl who when told by her mother that I had a good collection of stamps, told me that she had not seen a stamp in her whole life. I thought that either I was outdated or there was something wrong with the way the present generations are growing up.

      Delete
  6. Pushkin Sinha has commented:
    "Great...…"

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ajeet Shukla has commented:
    "Impressive."

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ritu Tibarewal Roy has commented:
    "Wow uncle! Looking forward to see the pics of the posted letter and special stamp cancellation!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Ritu. Waiting eagerly for the special stamped envelope to come. I have been to the GPO Philately section several times, but never saw this letter box, which must have been there all along.

      Delete
  9. Vikram Bhatnagar has commented:
    "Must be a cast iron letter box I presume and, nicely painted and maintained to boot!
    The entrance surely is a pretty sight! 👌😊 Nice post!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Vikram. I had done this post on quaint old post offices from Gibraltar and happened to notice this one for the first time. I guess, it may have got painted only recently so I couldn't but help noticing it.😀

      Delete
  10. Satyajit Pratap has commented:
    "Awsum !!"

    ReplyDelete
  11. Chandrakant Singh has commented:
    "The Post Facade itself is so beautiful & well preserved!
    The Post box is also well preserved. Well on the notice board it is mentioned to be 'historic'. What would be the history?
    The bygone days! Letters used to be the medium of expression of our feelings,emotions! Wherever we went we used to first search the Post Box. How much eagerly did we use to awaite the letters! 'Dakiya'
    We will await the arrival of special dak!
    Letters have became part of history, literature!
    Last year, my grand daughter had a lesson on post office. We had great difficulty in explaining her the concept & system. Fortunately in every Airforce Station there is a P.O. So it became easier for me to take her there,show & explain. Of course the Post box has changed shape at most of the POs."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Singh sahab. Very well explained/narrated.

      Delete
  12. Surendra Pandey has commented:
    "Oh' Nice!!"

    ReplyDelete
  13. Vinod Khurana has commented:
    "Impressive."

    ReplyDelete
  14. Abhai Rupainwar has commented:
    "A noble idea to friends ,relative to knew importance of post ,which was special to everyone in past days.I remember that when there was a stamp realaese that we go to GPO Lucknow to purchase 'First day cover with special stamp of cancellation also ,you have open old school days .I really admire your noble ideas in which the most memorable is 'a small baby bird in your room' really remarkable"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Abhai for the beautiful words, which take us back in time to the days of Philately was a well known hobby. I too used to go to GPO, Lucknow and had collected quite a few stamps when I was in Lucknow University.

      Delete
  15. Girish Kumar Bhumri has commented:
    "Nice."

    ReplyDelete
  16. Dinesh Sharma has commented:
    "Wow really!!"

    ReplyDelete
  17. Mita Banerjee has commented:
    "What sharp eyes you have Rajeev !!!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The letter box seems to have been painted anew for Mahatma Gandhi's birthday celebrations and one couldn't miss it, Mitaji.

      Delete
    2. Mita Banerjee has further commented:
      "Actually painted or unpainted...it's too big to miss... but then that's why and where you stand out 👌👌⭐️"

      Delete
    3. Thanks for the encouraging words, Mitaji.

      Delete