Hong Kong celebrate Creative Industries

A new set of stamps is to be issued in Hong Kong on 21st July celebrating the creativity and innovation employed to such impressive effect by the country's workforce.

The four stamps which have been designed by Arde Lam will go on display at the General, Tsim Sha Tsui, Tsuen Wan and Sha Tin Central Post Offices from 30th June with preorders available.

The four designs focus upon a different creative industry and are as follows:

$1.40: Advertising, architecture and design
$2.40: Digital entertainment, publishing, software and computing
$3.00: Film , video, music, television and radio
$5.00: Art, antiques and crafts and performing arts.

GIBBONSSTAMPMONTHLY.COM
June 26, 2005

New Disney Stamps

The USPS are celebrating the art of Walt Disney with the release of four new stamps to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the first Disneyland resort opening in California.

A special unveiling ceremony will take place in the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Park on 30th June.

The stamps will feature Mickey Mouse with a birthday cake, Alice's tea party with the Mad Hatter, Little Mermaid Ariel playing music for Flounder, and Snow White and Dopey dancing.

It is the second "Art of Disney" set; the first one in 2004 focused on friendship.

NJ.COM
June 21, 2005

Israel Issues New Pope John Paul II Postage Stamp

Israel has expressed its esteem and appreciation for the late Pope John Paul II by issuing a stamp in his honor, showing the late Pontiff placing a note inside the stones of Jerusalem's Western Wall during his historic visit to Israel and the Holy City in 2000.

The stamp was released on June 9th, 2005, what would have been the Pope's 85th birthday. Communications Minister Dalia Itzik presented it to the head of the Holy See Embassy in Israel as well as other Catholic leaders and the ambassadors of Italy and Poland.

The stamp is captioned in English and Hebrew with a prayer that the Pope expressed during his visit. "May peace be God's gift to the land He chose as His own. Shalom," he had said.

TRAVELVIDEO.TV
June 19, 2005

Swiss unveil MMS stamps

Swiss Post have decided upon the four images to be used on the world's first stamps to feature photographs taken using mobile phones.

Over 3,000 people submitted images for the competition entitled "Swiss Mobile – a country on the move", which was jointly organized by Swiss Post, Swisscom Mobile and the Museum for Communication in Berne.

The stamps will be issued in September and feature the following designs:

- High in the saddle
- Mountain hike
- On top of the world
- Tracks in the snow.

GIBBONSSTAMPMONTHLY.COM
June 16, 2005

After 111 Years, Postage Stamps Go Private

The federal government printed its last postage stamps Friday.

The end to 111 years of stamp production by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) came without any public ceremony in the same 14th Street building where many of the nation's most famous stamps have been printed.

Workers pulled a final roll of 37-cent flag stamps from an aging, four-color Andreotti press on the fourth floor. That simple act terminated a once-thriving business that the Treasury Department agency had monopolized for decades.

Now, private printers will produce all the nation's stamps, a decision that U.S. Postal Service officials say will save tens of millions of dollars a year. The bureau will concentrate on printing currency, its other major product.

WASHINGTONPOST.COM
June 13, 2005

Special Motorcycle FDC: Top racers to sign for charity

Some of the biggest names in British Motorsport will be signing First Day Covers of the British Motorcycles issue which is due out on 19th July.

So far John Surtees, Geoff Duke, Carl Fogarty and Phil Read have agreed to sign a limited number of envelopes, with proceeds helping to raise money for Stoke Mandeville Hospital and Silverstone Village Hall. The envelopes will have a graphic image of motorcycle racing and will have the full set of six stamps and be franked with a special Silverstone handstamp.

GIBBONSSTAMPMONTHLY.COM
June 08, 2005

New Vatican postal stamps carry Pope's image

The Vatican has released the first postage stamps bearing a portrait of Pope Benedict XVI.

On May 24, the Vatican philatelic bureau issued a 3-stamp set, in values of 45, 62, and 80 cents (European). Each stamp carries its own inscription: Habemus Papam; Tu es Petrus; and Episcopus Romae respectively.

The last postage stamps issued by the Vatican were those commemorating the transition between Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Carrying a picture of an angel, and the legend "Vacant See 2005," they were quickly sold out to collectors.

Prior to that special issue, the last stamps produced by the Vatican were placed on sale in November 2004. The next set is expected to be a joint effort, with Germany, to commemorate World Youth Day in August.

CWNEWS.COM
June 05, 2005

USPS to issue philatelic souvenir sheet at world's largest stamp show next year

Stamp, history and architecture enthusiasts witnessed the unveiling of a special set of stamps today that will be issued next year during the world's largest stamp show. The Washington 2006 World Philatelic Exhibition Souvenir stamp sheet contains reproductions of three historic United States postage stamps originally issued in 1923-the $1 Lincoln Memorial, the $2 U.S. Capitol and the $5 Statue of Freedom that stands atop the Capitol's dome. They will be produced from the original 1923 dies created by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and issued in their original denominations.

"The Postal Service is proud to be reissuing these historic stamps," said Rosa Fulton, Northern Virginia District Manager, U.S. Postal Service, who unveiled the image. "They are wonderful reminders of the Postal Service's commitment to honoring the people, places and events that have shaped this great nation."

USPS.COM
June 03, 2005

New stamps to celebrate Royal Birthday Parade

Royal Mail mark the Trooping the Color birthday parade with a new set of stamps to be issued on 7th June.

Although the Queen's birthday is actually on 21st April, the parade has traditionally been held in June and has become the Queen's 'official' birthday.

The parade dates back to 1748 when it was created to celebrate the birthday of King George II, whilst this issue charts the ceremony's history from the ascension of King George IV to present day.

GIBBONSSTAMPMONTHLY.COM
June 02, 2005

Jersey Motor Festival Commemorated

Jersey Post issue a new set of stamps and a prestige booklet on 6th June to commemorate motoring clubs in Jersey. The release coincides with the Jersey Motor Festival and makes up the second part of the Jersey Festivals series.

The six new stamps each depict a classic car, the designs of which are as follows:

33p MGB GT
34p Mini Cooper
41p Citroen DS
50p Jaguar E Type
56p Volkswagen Beetle
73p Aston Martin DB5.

GIBBONSSTAMPMONTHLY.COM
June 01, 2005