CPS Resource CentreForthcoming Mini-Sheet Joint Issue Features Plan Map of the Vatican City State
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| Italy & Vatican City State, 2019-02 (planned) |
Fellow cartophilatelist and Vatican expert, James Hamilton, has informed us of an upcoming joint issue between the Vatican and Italian Posts, of a mini-sheet that contains a map of the City State in the selvedge. The mini-sheet marks the 90th anniversary of the Lateran Treaty which led to the establishment of Vatican City State (1929). The 4.15€ sheet contains a total of four stamps featuring Popes Pius XI and Francis. An antique looking large scale city plan, on the left of the sheets, depicts St. Peters Basilica and the boundary of the city state along with major roads. The issue is expected in February, however the is not shown on either web site yet. James also tells us of a Vatican issue, in a special folder, that appears to feature a map, but details are limited at this time.
New Issue Marks Spain's Engineering Contributions to the Panama Canal
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| Spain 2019-01-02 |
Member Emilio Jiménez Soler alerted use to what is most likely the first cartophilatelic issue of 2019! On January 2, 2019 Spain Post issued a single stamp marking Spain’s engineering contributions in building the Panama Canal and the recent expansion project. The A2 denominated (0,70€) issue depicts a map of the Panama Canal on the right side of the stamp. Locator symbols for both new sets of locks in the expansion project — the Agua Clara Locks (entrance from the Atlantic Ocean) and the Cocolí Locks (entrance from the Pacific Ocean) along with a generalized route line through the canal are overlaid on the map. The left side of the issue is an artist’s rendering of the bow of a large cargo vessel, with many stacks of containers on the deck. Information from the Spanish Post web site provides the following details about the canal and the engineering contributions from Spain. “A century ago, when the canal was initially being built, many Spaniards worked on its construction under the orders of the American engineers who carried out the great work. The recent new expansions to the canal were carried out by Spanish companies and that somehow closes that historical cycle and is another example of the relationship and commitment that Spain has with America. While the canal has served well over the past years, the was a need to expand and improve the infrastructure of the canal, with the aim of adapting it to the current needs of international trade and freight traffic. For this, a consortium formed by different companies, most of them Spanish, started a great project of renovation and improvement of the Panama Canal, in which the most important part of it includes the construction of two new sets of locks (located at the two markers on the map) that include a total of 16 floodgates, eight located on the Atlantic side and the remaining on the Pacific side. The stamp that recognizes the Spanish workers and companies involved in this project.” [always a fascinating engineering project to read about and a nice thematic stamp from Spain. Does anyone know what the “ñ” near the Cocoli Locks denotes? Is it an emboss for the visually impaired? On an actual stamp, it appears more muted in color. – web admin]
Monaco Poste Celebrates Football World Cup 2018 with Map Issue
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| Monaco 2018-04-10 |
La Poste Monaco has issued a single stamp marking the 21st Football World Cup, being hosted in Russia from June thru July 2018. The 1.30 € denominated issue, of April 10, 2018, depicts four footballers in various poses with a map of the Russian Federation in the background. On the map are a grouping of stars, most likely indicating the location of the match stadiums. Around the left, top and right edges of the stamp are the flags of the participating countries. June 14 and July 15, in French, are written in the upper section of the stamp. [ does anyone know of any other World Cup 2018 issues with maps? let us know – web admin]
USPS Illinois Statehood Bicentennial Issue
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| USA 2018-03-05, Illinois Statehood Bicentennial |
On March 5, 2018 the US Postal Service issued a new stamp marking the Illinois statehood bicentennial. The first class, non-denominated “Forever” issue is a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) design. Located in the Midwestern region of the United States, Illinois is the 6th most populous US state and 25th largest in terms of land area. While the state’s largest population area is around Chicago in the northeast, the the capitol is Springfield, located in the center area of the state.
This stamp celebrates the 200th anniversary of Illinois statehood. Known as the Prairie State, Illinois became the 21st state of the Union on December 3, 1818. The stamp art features an outline of the state map with a series of yellow beams radiating upward like the rays of a rising sun. The colors on the map begin at the bottom with a deep yellow. The color fades upward to pale yellow and then into pale blue, with increasingly deeper blues rising to the top of the map; the yellows and blues symbolize the dawning of a new day as the state joins the Union. Stars, representing the first 20 states, grace the top of the stamp. The rising sun symbolizes the 21st star.
Recent AAT issue features map of Antarctica
On September 19, 2017, Australia Post issued a set of three stamps and a mini-sheet recognizing the cultural heritage of the Australian Antarctic Territory. The issue focuses on cultural artifacts from three key historical periods relating to Antarctica, which we refer to as the “exploration era”, “interwar era” and “postwar era”. Each artifact also represents a specific cultural theme. The set of three stamps are divided into the Exploration era (AUD 1), the Interwar era (AUD 1), and the Postwar era (AUD 2). The exploration era, also known as the heroic period, spans the late 19th and early 20th centuries – a time when several countries undertook voyages to Antarctica. The stamp features an aneroid barometer that was given to Australian physicist Alistair Keith Jack by Ernest Shackleton, expedition leader of the ill-fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition’s (1914–16). The Interwar era stamp design features the proclamation over King George V Land that Australian polar explorer and scientist Douglas Mawson signed on behalf of the British sovereign on 5 January 1931. The proclamation represents both political and geographical history and is especially significant as it formed the basis of Britain’s eventual transferal of territory to Australia in 1933. This stamp features a partial map of Antarctica, with the remaining section of the map printed on the center of the mini-sheet, in what appears to be a type of polar stereographic projection. The design of the third stamp, the Postwar ear, features the tracked Weasel M29 vehicle that was introduced to Antarctica after World War II. Following World War II, scientific interest in Antarctica was renewed, facilitated by Douglas Mawson’s lobbying of the government. In 1947, ANARE (Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition) was formed to undertake Australian Antarctic research. The Weasel M29 vehicle pictured in the stamp was the main Antarctic vehicle for ANARE until the mid-1960s, and was used on ANARE’s 1962–63 Wilkes–Vostok traverse, an historic journey of 3,000 kilometres to the Russian station in the Antarctic interior. [please comment on the maps projection if it is incorrect. it may also be a polar planar type of projection. it seems the surrounding continents may have been omitted on purpose. let us know what you think — web-admin]
Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT) 2017-09-19
