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Update June 2024

by Richard Zimmermann

On June 6, 2024, Belarus and Russia celebrated the 225th birthday of Alexander S. Pushkin (1799-1837) with a stamp each. The stamps are different, hence this issue being considered as parallel [P20240606], and represent the Russian poet and some scenes of his main works (e.g., Eugene Onegin). Belarus issued 40,000 stamps in miniature sheets of 5, Russia produced 18,000 miniature sheets of 8 stamps, i.e., 144,000 stamps.

Four countries, Italy, San Marino, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and the Vatican State, came together on June 15, 2024 to celebrate the 160th anniversary of the Italian Red Cross. All stamps are identical and became available as miniature sheets of 4 stamps printed at respectively 150,000, 40,000, 35,000 and 55,000 samples.

The designs of the stamps related to the 100th anniversary of the Johor-Singapore Causeway were presented as early as May 28, 2024, but were officially released on June 28, 2024. Malaysia and Singapore released each four stamps with the same designs. Malaysia produced strips of 4 se-tenant stamps in a miniature sheet of 5 strips. Singapore produced isolated stamps in 4 miniature sheets of 10 stamps each.

Update May 2024

by Richard Zimmermann

While the month of April 2024 remained relatively quiet in terms of new joint issues (Israel-Romania on April 17 and Italy San marino on April 20), the month of May saw some interesting releases which are now listed below.

May 9, 2024: This is the official date of this year’s PostEurop issue. The topic is related to ‘Underwater fauna and flora’. A large number of countries issued their stamp(s) on the anniversary date of May 9, but as the design and dates of issue are remaining within the hands of each postal administration, similarly to previous years, the 2024 issue is not considered as joint, on the contrary to last year. This series is just reported in the catalogue for information for collectors of Europa / Europa CEPT / PostEurop stamps. So far, 57 countries have already released their stamp(s) or have announced their participation. Information is missing only for Albania, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine [N20240509].

May 21, 2024: Morocco and Romania celebrate cultural relations between both countries through a pair of identical stamps related to folk art. This is a twin issue [T1] representing traditional costumes and ceramic or porcelain objects from the regions of Vâlcea and Horezu (Romania), or from Fez (Morocco) [T20240521].

May 21, 2024: The 150th anniversary of the birthday of Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937) is celebrated by the Vatican State and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM) through a twin issue representing the Italian inventor in front of dedicated equipment. Unfortunately, as the UPU does not recognize SMOM a an official postal administration, this issue remains described in the catalogue, but under the heading non-approved/twin issue [N/T1] [N20240521]. Each individual collector to decide if he/she wants to keep this issue in his/her collection.

May 26, 2024: The accession of Frederic X to the Danish throne is celebrated through joint souvenir sheets issued by Denmark, Faroe Islands and Greenland. Due to the direct link between these three postal administrations, this joint issue is considered as a Territorial twin issue [TD] and will be referenced as [D20240526]. The identical souvenir sheets with one stamp showing the portrait of King Frederic X were issued at the date of the anniversary of the King (born on May 26, 1968). King Frederic X is officially reigning since January 14, 2024.

May 31, 2024: as a last minute issue, we were informed that China PR and Malaysia have issued a joint pair of stamps at the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between both countries (Source: Adam Paish, UK). The stamps represent two local large trees (Pine and Merbau/malaka teak) from both countries.

The potential Mongolia – Switzerland joint issue expected at the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between both countries resulted in a souvenir sheet issued unilaterally by Mongolia on May 20, 2024 (see https://montsame.mn/en/read/344262), so, not a joint issue.

The Tunisia – Russia joint issue initially scheduled for May 24, 2024 (Art – Painter Roubtzoff) is now postponed to September 9, 2024 (Russian philatelic program).

We are still missing information about the Indian stamps linked to the already announced Israel Purim souvenir sheet that was supposed to be released on May 7, 2024.

The catalogue Part 1 and Part 15 have been updated accordingly.

Vespa Fan Club

by Richard Zimmermann

Vespa is an Italian brand of scooters and mopeds manufactured by Piaggio. The name means “wasp” in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of Pontedera, Italy to a full line of scooters and one of seven companies today owned by Piaggio.

In 2024, San Marino and Italy celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Vespa Club d’Italia (created 1949), the largest Italian association that promotes Vespa riding in its many forms : sporting, tourist, cultural, recreational. Both stamps, with different designs, were issued on April 20, 2024. In the San Marino stamp, the Vespa license plates refer to the day of issue, respectively “20.04” and “2024”. This is very unusual to discover the exact date of issue printed directly on the stamp. Italian stamps were issued in panes of 45, while San Marino issued a miniature sheet of 4 stamps (First information provided by Enzo Cafaro, Italy).

Hora dance

by Richard Zimmermann

On April 17, 2024, Israel and Romania celebrated their 75 years of uninterrupted diplomatic relationship through a joint issue representing dancers. The Hora Dance is a type of circle dance originating in Romania and surrounding  communities and culturally adopted by Europeans minorities. The Israeli Hora Dance, born in Romania, played a foundational Role in modern Israeli Folk Dancing. The Dancers on the stamps are dressed in  clothes colored as same as the national flags. Images are just mirroring in the stamp from the other country defining this twin issue as [T3] and not [T1]. On the Romanian stamp appear the flags of the two countries and on tabs as well, while on the Israeli stamps the flags appear on the stamp tab only (first information about this new issue provided by Dov Lask, Israel).

Israel issued stamps in miniature sheets of 15 stamps with 5 of them bearing tabs. Romania issued stamps in panes of 32 (only 7,296 stamps, so 228 panes) and miniature sheets of 6 stamps with 2 tabs (only 4,260 stamps, i.e., 710 miniature sheets and a maximum of 1,420 stamps with tabs). Officially, Romania post created also 211 numbered mixed souvenir sheets with stamps from both countries, but of course more will be available as private production of mixed first day covers remains possible. However, each time Romania is recently involved in a joint issue, the number of combined products remains very limited.

Update March 2024

by Richard Zimmermann

Several new information reached us during this month. Next to the two official twin issues released during the month of March (Hungary – Luxembourg March 12, 2023, and Angola – Cape Verde – Portugal March 28, 2024) and described in specific pages, one has to take account of the following news:

  • from Enzo Cafaro (Italy): several news about future issues involving Italy, e.g., on April 18, 2024 with San Marino (Vespa fan Club), on June 15, 2024, with San Marino, SMOM and Vatican (Red Cross 160th anniversary), and on January 25, 2025, with Slovenia (Gorizia and Nova Gorizia, European Capital of Culture). Regarding this last issue, the Italian stamp scheduled to be released on April 28, 2024, and related to the Fall of Gorizia wall, will not involve Slovenia and will remain unilateral. Also, in the 2024 philatelic program, a joint issue between Belarus and the Vatican is under preparation.
  • from Kenneth Sequeira (Singapore): Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan will issue joint stamps related to UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, telling tradition of Nasreddin Hodja anecdotes. Exact date of issue is unknown, but the stamps should be released during Quarter IV, 2024.
  • From Jürgen Luebke (Germany): It seems that Greenland and the Faeroe Islands (may be also Denmark) will issue respectively on May 24 and on May 27, 2024, identical souvenir sheets created by Martin Mörck at the occasion of accession of Frederic X to the Danish thron. At least, in the official documents from the Faeroe Islands, this item is described as a joint issue. Information about the participation of Denmark is still awaited.
  • From Robert Schrijvers (Mongolia): Robert found the following official statement “Swiss development agency is cooperating with the Mongolian Post Company’s Mark Office to create a joint stamp within the framework of the 60th anniversary of Mongolian–Switzerland diplomatic relations. The joint stamp will be introduced to the public in May this year.” Joint issues involving Mongolia are very rare, so more information is needed at this stage, in particular from the Swiss side.

The first 2024 UPU 150th anniversary stamps with common design have been seen. Azerbaijan released a souvenir sheet including two stamps with the common design on February 1, 2024 (size 122×83 mm, printing run 4,000). This souvenir sheet is also available as non-perforated. The full series of stamps related to this issue will be described under [T20241009] as most of the stamps will be released around October 9, 2024.

The catalogue pages have been updated accordingly (Volume 1 and Volume 15).

Hungary – Luxembourg

by Richard Zimmermann

100 years of diplomatic relationship between Hungary and Luxembourg were celebrated on March 12, 2024 with a joint souvenir sheet. These commemorative items feature two paintings by Mihály Munkácsy (1844-1900), one of Hungary, Dusty Country Road II (after 1874), and another of Luxembourg, Grazing Cattle Herd (1882), in recognition of the fact that the world-famous artist is one of the closest cultural ties between the two countries. Munkácsy’s wife was Cecile Papier from Luxembourg, with whom he lived near the Belgian border at Château de Colpach in Luxembourg. 

Carnation Revolution

by Richard Zimmermann

The Carnation Revolution, called in Portuguese Revolução dos Cravos, also known as the 25 April (Portuguese: 25 de Abril), was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo government on April 25, 1974 in Lisbon. It marked the beginning of a democratic life in Portugal and at the same time did put an end to the Portuguese colonial war.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of this important day, Portugal, associated to Angola and Cape Verde, released a joint issue on March 28, 2024, representing the symbol of this peaceful revolution, a carnation flower, and obviously entitled “25 ABRIL”. Each country issued two identical stamps. The Portuguese postal administration offers also a folder containing the 6 joint stamps, mint, a dedicated Portuguese miniature sheet with 6 different stamps, the two Portuguese stamps and the souvenir sheet, mint, issued at the occasion of the 40th anniversary in 2014 (price € 15.00).

RNLI Anniversary

by Richard Zimmermann

From Adam Paish (UK): six commemorative stamps (and assorted ‘extras’) from the postal administrations of each of the United Kingdom’s Crown Dependencies (Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man) celebrate during the year 2024 the Bicentenary of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). All have similar designs, and a common portrait of Sir William Hillary (1771–1847), who established the RNLI in 1824, adorns the top value of each set. The Isle of Man released its stamps on January 4, 2024. Jersey and Guernsey have announced March 4, 2024 for their issues. UK Royal Mail has ignored the RNLI anniversary. As Guernsey, Isle of Man and Jersey are three fully independent postal entities, these stamps must be considered as part of a twin joint issue [T1].

Unfortunately, the three postal entities issued a lot of by-products. Next to the 6 stamps per country available in miniature sheets of 10 stamps, first day covers and CTO products, there are also Prestige booklets that were produced, not even speaking about presentation packs, isolated sheetlets, and products including specific coins. By adding just the face value of the 18 stamps, the price of the three first day covers and the three prestige booklets, total amount reaches £144, and more than £360 if miniature sheets are included. Joint issue collectors are recommended to limit their purchase to the three common stamps, total value £10.28.

All other stamps represent rescue ships used on the different islands: Guernsey, B, 65p, St Peter Port Station, RNLB ‘Spirit of Guernsey’; C, 88p, St Peter Port Station, Gold Medal rescue to the ship ‘Bonita’; D, £1.20, Alderney Station, RNLB ‘Roy Barker’; E, £1.74, St Peter Station, RNLB ‘Arthur Lionel’; F, £2.08, St Peter Port Station, RNLB ‘John Lockett’; Isle of Man, G, 1st, Port St Mary Station, RNLB ‘Gough Ritchie II’; H, £1.00, Peel Station, ‘B-536’; I, £1.50, Port Erin Station, RNLB ‘Muriel and Leslie’; J, £1.75, Ramsey Station, RNLB ‘Two sisters’; K, £2.00, Douglas Station, RNLB ‘Marine Engineer’; Jersey, L, 60p, St Catherine ‘s Station, RNLB ‘Eric W Wilson’; M, 98p, St Helier Station, RNLB ‘George Sullivan’; N, 98p, Jersey lifeguarded beaches, Le Braye Beach; O, £1.65, St Helier Station, RNLB ‘Howard D‘; P, £2.15, St Helier Station, Gold medal rescue to the yacht ‘Fanny‘.

Update February 2024

by Richard Zimmermann

Several new information have been reported over the month of February 2024, some of them even contradicting previously announced issues:

The first and most intriguing is related to the India – Israel joint issue initially scheduled for issue on February 13, 2024. From Uri Barlev (Israel), we learned that everything was prepared by Israel Post Philatelic Service, including printing and cancelling FDCs for release on that date. For some mysterious reason, there was a dispute between Israel and India postal services concerning the date of issue. India Post announced that the issue date would be in the third week of March. Hence, Israel Post withdrew the issue and recalled all distributed material. The Israeli material will be distributed on a new issue date, apparently May 7, 2024, and it is not clear yet if new FDCs will be prepared or the precancelled February ones will be used. No additional information is available from the Indian side.

The April 25th 1974 event was the overthrow of the Estado Novo government in Portugal.  It led to the independence of Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and Sao Tome and Principe.  All those countries could have been part of the joint issue announced by Portugal. Very recently, it was confirmed that only Angola and Cape Verde will join Portugal in this new issue scheduled for April 2024. Exact date is not known yet, but it could indeed be the anniversary date of April 25, 2024.

Stefan Kepic, Slovakia discovered an additional 2022 October 9 World Post Day stamp with identical design issued by Guatemala on February 28, 2023 in miniature sheets of 10 stamps (now reported under [T20221009]).

Ehsan Mehmood (Pakistan) reported information about products linking Belarus and Pakistan celebrating the 30th anniversary of their relationship. Pakistan issued a stamp on February 3, 2024 while Belarus issued a postal stationery (cover) on March 1, 2024 with first day cancellation on March 4, 2024. Designs are different and there is no hint from both postal administrations that these products have been created jointly. Therefore and unfortunately we cannot recognize them as joint.

During the year 2023, PostEurop celebrated its 30th anniversary. Some countries had issued during the year stamps using an identical logo provided by PostEurop. Information was collected about such issues but we had to come to the conclusion that the countries having celebrated with stamps this anniversary have not done it in a coordinated way and therefore all these stamps cannot be considered as joint. For those still interested in these stamps, here is a list of countries having participated during the year 2023: Azerbaijan (July 10), Bulgaria (September 12), the Faroe Islands (October 23, logo on a stamp showing waterlilies), Kazakhstan (November 20), Moldova (May 20) and Serbia (September 5). The Isle of Man (July 5) added this logo on a their 2023 Europa stamp, while Poland (December 1) and Romania (August 31) have both issued a postal stationary. This list may not be complete and any additional information is welcome.

Villa Madama Agreement

by Richard Zimmermann

At the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Villa Madama agreement between Italy and the Vatican State, both postal administrations issued on February 13, 2024 an identical stamp. This agreement, also known as the New Concordat, was a political agreement signed on 18 February 1984 with the aim of updating the contents of the Concordat signed, within the framework of the Lateran Pacts of 1929, between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy. The stamp represents the place where the agreement was signed (the Villa Madama), the signatures of the Vatican Secretary of State Agostino Casaroli (1914-1998) and of the Italian Prime Minister Bettino Craxi (1934-2000) and both coats of arms of involved states. Vatican issued stamps in sheetlets of 10 stamps [2×5] and official mixed first day covers became also available.

Morocco – Oman 2024

by Richard Zimmermann

On February 13, 2024, Barid Al-Maghrib and Oman Post launched in Muscat, on the sidelines of the Postal Leaders Forum, a joint issue of a souvenir sheet of two postage stamps celebrating deep fraternal ties and history common cultural which unites the Kingdom of Morocco and the Sultanate of Oman.
The designs highlight the first place where the sun rises in the Arab world in the Sultanate of Oman and the last place where the sun sets in the Kingdom of Morocco. The Oman design shows the main gate of the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, the historic Sohar Ship, the sunrise view at Ras Al Hadd, as well as the ancient Sohar Castle and the Royal Opera House Muscat. The Moroccan design includes, in addition to the Al-Khair Mosque located in the locality of El Guergrat, which represents the last sunset viewpoint in Morocco, the exquisite architectural style, evident in the models of Moroccan doors.

Morocco issued 5,000 pairs of stamps and 3,000 souvenir sheets, while Morocco issued 10,000 pairs of stamps and as many souvenir sheets. The stamps are produced in miniature sheets of 4 pairs of stamps [2px2]. Details of this information was provided first by Ali Ahmed Med Achour (Algeria).

January 2024 News

by Richard Zimmermann

Several friends provided interesting information over the past weeks:

Kenneth Sequeira (Singapore) discovered an item based on an older Indonesia souvenir sheet, originally part of the Indonesia – Thailand joint issue from May 5, 2016, overprinted at the occasion of the Philatelic Exhibition “Thailand 2023”, that took place between November 27 and December 2, 2023. This is not part of a joint issue, but as material from a previous joint issue was used, the item needs to be described under this heading [T20160505].

The 60th anniversary of the relationship between Tunisia and The People’s Republic of China was celebrated by Tunisia with a dedicated stamp showing a panda with a text in both Chinese and Arabic characters. Unfortunately China did not issue any counterpart philatelic material and this unilateral stamp will not be reported in the catalogue (information received from Med Achour Ali Ahmed, Algeria).

During its 44th session in Cairo (Egypt) on January 11, 2024, the Permanent Arab Postal Commission decided to issue by Arab member countries a postage stamp in solidarity with Gaza. A commission was set up to discuss its design. No release date has been brought forward (information received from Med Achour Ali Ahmed, Algeria).

The UPU has launched the campaign of its 150th anniversary, announcing a possibility for all voluntary postal administrations to participate on October 9, 2024 with a common stamp. The suggestion is to use the logo of the anniversary which has been shown at the end of last year. So far, more than 20 countries have confirmed their participation, but eventually about 200 countries could participate. As this issue is created upon a kind of central invitation, not printed centrally and as there is some freedom to adapt the logo, but with the suggestion to release them at the same date, this issue has to be considered as a true twin issue. It looks like a future omnibus series. There will be hundreds of products available and it could be understandable that some collectors will not consider integrating these stamps in their collection. The design of the proposed common stamp became available.

Enzo Cafaro, Italy, found information about the next India – Israel joint issue dedicated to Purim Festival to be released on February 13, 2024 and he could already provide the design.

All catalogue volumes have been updated and are available on line. The list of additional issues expected to be released during the year 2024 has been integrated in the catalogue Volume 15.