Waikoa Island 2015 Stamp Jubilee

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Comment by Bruce Grenville on July 17, 2016 at 12:45pm

WAIKOA ISLAND STAMP JUBILEE

 

The Waikoa Island Post Office will issue a new series of stamps to celebrate the 50^th anniversary
of the first stamps of the island, announced the Governor, Dr Sverre Hanssen, today.          

The four stamps feature photos of some classic and rare early stamps of Waikoa Island. These are:

 

       35 tanos …    The 1965 2¢ definitive; The 1976 50¢ Anti-Nuclear Bomb stamp.

 

       70 tanos …    The 1970 12¢ Lenin Birth Centenary; The 1976 50¢ Anti-Nuclear Bomb stamp.

 

1.70 reis …   The 1972 6¢ International Anti-SST League conference in Mevu; The 1976 1¢ Anti-
Nuclear Bomb stamp.

 

       2.35 reis …   The 1965 10¢ definitive;  The 1976 9¢ Anti-Nuclear Bomb stamp.

 

 

Date of issue is 23^rd September 2015.  The stamps have been printed in full colour and perforated
12 gauge, by Chan Hui Shudian Printing SA, Minaue. The stamps are issued in miniature sheet
format comprising two sets of stamps, at Rs 10.20 per sheet. Attractive first day covers bearing
the set are Rs 6.

ABOUT THE STAMPS SHOWN:

The 1965 definitive issue: This comprised 6 values, attractively printed in several colours on white
gummed and perforated paper. The stamps show the island crest: a shield with a star and a ship prow.

The 1976 Anti-Nuclear Bomb issue: This comprised three values, and was an omnibus issue with Mevu, Occussi-Ambeno, and some other lands also issuing similar stamps. The issue was prompted by France doing atmospheric nuclear testing near Tahiti, with radiation fallout affecting Waikoa Island and the rest of the Pacific.

The 1970 Lenin Centenary issue: Many lands celebrated the centenary of the birth of renowned theoretician and statesman Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870 – 1924) with commemorative stamps, coins, and movies. The Waikoa Island set has the overprint in embossed gold; the only time such an expensive process has been used for Waikoa Island stamps.

The 1972 International Anti-SST League issue: The IAL was an environmental organisation, founded by Mevu statesmen, opposing the concept of supersonic transport aircraft such as the Concorde. The 1972 Waikoa Island stamps celebrating the first IAL world assembly were on sale for only one day before a telegram was received from Mevu (the ruling country) ordering the issue withdrawn.  Unsold stamps were destroyed.  The top value, the 30¢, is the rarest Waikoa Island stamp of all time; only 6 were sold.

Collectors and others requiring stamps may order via the Waikoa Philatelic Agency, P.O. Box 3189, Auckland 1140, New Zealand.