Postage stamps of Ireland
The postage stamps of Ireland are issued by the
These were the major stamp productions for everyday use.
Oifig an Phoist, the Irish Post Office, was the section of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs which issued all Irish stamps in the Republic of Ireland up to 1984. After the division of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs into two semi-state organisations in 1984,[2] An Post took over the responsibility for all Irish postal services including the issuing of postage stamps.
Background
British stamps used in Ireland
To identify postage stamps used in Ireland between 1840 and 1922, it is necessary to identify the
From 1840 to 1844, the
Stamp issuing authorities
Between 1922 and 1983 Oifig an Phoist, the Irish Post Office, a section of the
Forerunners
In stamp collecting circles, the word forerunner usually describes a postage stamp used during the time period before a region or territory issues stamps of its own. However, in Irish reference books, such as Handbook of Irish Philately, the term forerunners usually refers to political and propaganda labels. These often resemble stamps, but few of them were used on Irish mail and they had no legal standing for mail in Ireland.[7]: 15 [8] Four values, 1c, 3c, 24c (deep-green), and 24c (mauve-purple) were produced in New York by the Irish veterans of the US Civil War and are known as the 1865–67 Fenian issue. The 1893 colonial design are unofficial essays and are classed as bogus.[7]: 13–20
Between 1907 and 1916,
The
Essays
The Postmaster General of the Irish Free State issued an invitation to firms in Dublin and London on 1 February 1922 for the submission of designs for a permanent definitive stamp issue,[9]: 10 and by March several designs had been submitted. The following companies and printers provided essays: Dollard Printing House Ltd., Hely Ltd., Perkins Bacon & Co., and O'Loughlin, Murphy & Boland.[6]
Postage stamps
Overprints
In 1922, as an interim measure before the first specially designed definitives were ready, a series of contemporary stamps of
Collecting and identifying the overprints can be an arduous task as there are numerous variations in the overprint settings. Feldman states "the complex details of plating, shading, overprint colours, accurate measurements, to mention a few, often discourage even the most enthusiastic collector".[7]: 21 Three specialised books, or catalogue chapters, (Freeman & Stubbs, Munk and Meredith), issued within five years of issue have concentrated on this topic and Meredith[11] is regarded as unequalled.[12]
Three distinct overprints were made, before and after the formal independence of the state on 6 December 1922. The
The second overprinted series also consisted of five lines, similar to the first series, and were released in a range of values from a half-penny to one shilling and were issued June-October 1922. These were overprinted by Thom and are easily distinguished from the first set by the sans-serif figures in "1922" and the full stop after the year, as per the picture above left.
The Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann) overprints debuted on 11 December 1922, being the third set. This is a three-line overprint using a sans-serif typeface and was done by Thom, Harrison and the Government Printers. The last overprinted stamps were the Waterlow & Sons re-engraved[16] King George V 2/6, 5/- and 10/- values that appeared in 1934 and were overprinted in 1937 for use in Ireland.[17]
Name of state
On stamps, the name of the state has always been written in
Definitives
Since 1922, nine Irish definitive stamp series have been released.
The first twelve stamps, the low values up to 1
Between 1982 and 1988 a series based on Irish architecture through the ages was released, with line drawings by Michael Craig and graphics by Peter Wildbur. It contained twenty-eight stamps, with values ranging from 1p to £5. Stamps based on Irish
For the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising an eighth series of definitive stamps were issued on 21 January 2016 and will only be on sale for a period of one year. There are sixteen stamps divided into four groups of four categories named as: Leaders and Icons, Participants, Easter Week and The Aftermath.[19][27]
Following the withdrawal of the limited edition 1916 commemoration definitives, the ninth series made its debut on 13 January 2017 with an initial twelve designs based on objects described in
Several Irish definitives have been issued in booklet and coil formats in addition to the normal sheet configuration.[23]: 37–53
Commemoratives
Irish postage stamps have been released to commemorate a wide variety of Irish topics, such as Irish notable events and anniversaries, aspects of Irish life and culture,
The first commemorative, a set of three Daniel O'Connell stamps, appeared on 22 June 1929. Until the mid-1990s, with only three exceptions in 1943, 1977 and 1979 for Douglas Hyde, Louis le Brocquy and Pope John Paul II respectively, it was policy to not depict living persons. This policy has been put aside and since 1995 there have been several such issues, mainly depicting athletes; for instance 30 stamps were issued showing living Irish sportsmen for the Millennium[35]: 25 and several golfers are shown on three 2006 Ryder Cup stamps.[36] More recently, stamps have featured U2,[37] Thin Lizzy[38] and Irish rugby players and coach, such as Johnny Sexton and Joe Schmidt.[39]
-
1953 two-pence halfpenny An Tóstal
-
1966 executed Irish nationalist Roger Casement birth centenary
-
1957 birth centenary of authorTomás Ó Criomhthain
Miniature sheets
Some stamps were issued in the form of a
Airmails
Seven Irish
Postage dues
Surcharges imposed by the Irish post office on mail bearing insufficient pre-paid postage had the postage due collected by the use of these labels.[43] Since 1925 there have been six series printed, with the design remaining the same until 1980, though the colour and watermarks have changed. The Irish word pingin, for penny, is used in both £.s.d and decimal currency, but because it has the same meaning in each, the value on the label does not indicate whether the label was issued before or after decimalisation. Hence, identifying the issue of a label requires further information: if collectors knows the date of use, the existence of a watermark and if so which type, and the specific colour, identification will be easier. For example, the 3d value was blue between 1940 and 1969, and stone colour from 1971 until 1980; it changed from a watermarked to a non-watermark paper in 1978. Additionally, the 1, 5 and 8 pence values are seen in two different colours depending on the issue, while the 1⁄2d, 1d, 2d and 6d are seen with both watermark varieties. Except for the sixth issue, which has the word Éire in the design, there is no explicit country identity on any of the others. The first four series use only Irish words.[34]: 164–166
Sterling issues
The first issue consisted of four values released on 20 February 1925; 1⁄2d, 1d, 2d and 6d. Typographed by the Government Printers in Dublin Castle on 'se' watermarked paper. The sheets were printed in larger sheets of 180 divided into three panes of 60 labels. The second issue had ten values: 1⁄2d, 1d, 11⁄2d, 2d, 3d, 5d, 6d, 8d, 10d and 1/-, and were printed on 'e' watermarked paper between 1940 and 1969. Other details are the same.[42]: 93–94
Decimal issues
A third issue was made up of seven labels and issued in decimal currency in the following values: 1p, 11⁄2p, 3p, 4p, 5p, 7p and 8p. In the fourth issue the 3p, 4p and 5p values were reissued in non-watermarked paper on 20 March 1978. A new design, printed by photogravure, and appeared on 20 June 1980 in ten values: 1p, 2p, 4p, 6p, 8p, 18p, 20p, 24p, 30p and 50p made up the fifth issue. The sheet format was two panes of 100 divided by a gutter margin. The sixth issue consisted of ten newly designed labels by Q Design and lithographically printed by ISSP on non-watermarked paper on 6 October 1988: the values were: 1p, 2p, 3p, 4p, 5p, 17p, 20p, 24p, 30p, 50p and £1. In 1993 an experimental franking machine was used as a short-lived replacement but no more postage dues or Euro denominated postage dues have been produced though between 1993 and 1997 though few such machine produced labels have been recorded in commercial usage.[34]: 167
Booklets
Stamp booklets were first put on sale on 21 August 1931. Booklet construction was a lightweight cardboard cover stitched on the left-hand side with panes of stamps (usually four panes), advertising panes and interleaving bound in. Until 1956 most booklets had half of the front cover devoted to advertising, and until 1963 booklets also had serial numbers on the front cover: two numbers indicated the year of issue and serial number (in that order on the early issues but with the order reversed for later issues), until 1963 when the serial numbers ceased.[34]: 168 Since 1983, most booklets are no longer stitched; the stamp pane, or panes, are glued into a folded card cover.[44]
Until 1988, when the Dublin Millennium booklet containing commemorative stamps was issued, all booklets contained only definitive stamps.[45] Since then, An Post has issued both commemorative and definitive booklets, with three times as many commemorative booklets issued.[44] In 1990 An Post issued the first booklet mixing definitive and commemorative stamps in one booklet and also on a single pane.[46]
Many booklet stamps can be identified by one non-perforated edge, though a few are perforated on all edges. On booklets up to 1977, the printing plate construction enabled both upright and inverted watermarks in equal quantities owing to a gutter dividing rows 6 and 7 in the sheets of 12 × 10 stamps. The gutter was used for stitching during assembly, requiring rows 4–6 and 10–12 to be turned through 180 degrees so those panes could be stitched on the left of the booklet.[34]: 168
Watermarks
The Irish overprinted stamps came, as supplied from the printers in London, with a watermark of the
Postal stationery
A few early issued items were embossed but generally the post-paid impressed stamps were typographed. The Revenue Stamping Branch, Dublin Castle, applied the impressed indicia until 1984, when An Post employed the lithographic printing method.[47]: 18, 116, 128
Official
At independence, a King George V 5-pence registered envelope and 1-shilling telegram form were printed in green for use in Ireland until domestic products became available. Irish telegram forms were only produced in 1/- and 1/6 values. Registered envelopes have appeared in many values and sizes. The printed (but non-stamped) registered envelopes were produced by private firms and stored by the Irish post office until needed, so envelopes from former periods, showing outdated fees in the text, often received an impressed stamp for the current postal rate, creating many subtypes for collectors. Other products have carried post-paid imprint, such as commemorative and special issue postcards, including a series of
Up to 1987, airletters (also known as aerogrammes) were produced without any fee applied and were available free from post offices upon payment of the appropriate rate in force for the postage stamp purchased to mail the airletter. Most airletters with a pre-paid indicia have been sold at a small premium over the then-current aerogramme postal rate.[47]: 130, 145–149
Stamped-to-order
Known as the stamping privilege, companies,
Stamped-to-order postal stationery users included
Collecting Irish stamps
Newly issued Irish postage stamps are available from the Philatelic Bureau[50] of An Post in the General Post Office (GPO) in central Dublin. Commemorative and special issue stamps are usually available for one year from the date of issue. Until the mid-1960s the Irish stamp-issuing policy was very conservative, with only a few new ones each year; up to four or five commemoratives, usually of two values, plus the occasional updated, or new, definitives.[51] During the late 1960s and beyond, the issue quantity produced rose considerably as many as eighteen in 2018.[34]: 45–159 There are two specialised publications that quote quantities printed that were available from the issuing authority. Five issues had low printing numbers from 850,320–940,140 and the 1961 St. Patrick 8d value only lists 500,160 copies.[3][42] Many collectors concentrate on one type of stamp, such as definitives or commemoratives, or even one issue, such as Gerl definitives, confirmed by three definitive issue specialty publications.[23][52][53] The First Day covers, especially commemoratives with full sets affixed, are popular though the older issues are harder to find because less than a million of the high value stamps were printed in the early years (1929–1940s) for several issues, a far lower number than the 20-plus millions printed for most of the low values during the same period.[3]
The overprints, which proved very popular during their early years, are a complex topic giving an advanced collector a great philatelic challenge.[12][54]
Numbering systems
The Irish Post Office has never publicised an official stamp numbering system for the postage stamps they issued, so collectors use a
Collectors tend to use the catalogues produced in their own region and language, so in the United States, Scott is used most often as evidenced by the use of Scott numbers in American stamp auction catalogues. In contrast, SG numbers are used in England and Ireland because Stanley Gibbons (a British publisher) produces the catalogue of choice in those countries. Advanced and more specialist collectors have used the David Feldman, later called MacDonnell/Feldman, and later again called MacDonnellWhyte, catalogues between 1978 and 1991,[55] and Hibernian catalogues (1972, 1976, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986, 2002,[56] 2009 and 2020[57] editions).
Stamp societies
- Local societies
- DSS, Dublin Stamp Society, founded in 1948.[58]
- IPS, Irish Philatelic Society, is more than a century old, having started as the Irish Philatelic Club following a meeting in Irish Times.[59]
- International societies
- ÉPA, Éire Philatelic Association, is a US-based Irish philatelic society.[60][61]
- IPC, Irish Philatelic Circle, is a British-based Irish philatelic society.[61]
- FAI, Forschungs- und Arbeitsgemeinschaft Irland e.V., is a German-based Irish philatelic society.[61]
See also
- Joint issues
- King George V Seahorses
- Richard King (artist)
- List of people on stamps of Ireland
- Revenue stamps of Ireland
- Timeline of postal history
References and sources
Notes
- ^ "GB Overprints Society". GB Overprints Society. 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
- ^ Mitchell, James (21 December 1983). "Postal and Telecommunications Services Act, 1983 (An Post) (Vesting Day) Order, 1983". Office of the Attorney General of Ireland. Retrieved 4 July 2007.
- ^ a b c d e MacDonnell & Whyte 1990
- ^ Krulla, J. H. "Cancels show your stamps in a new light". Linn's Stamp News. Archived from the original on 4 May 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2007.
- ISBN 978-0-582-40622-3.
- ^ a b c "Stamp Printers by Country: Ireland". StampPrinters.com. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Feldman 1968
- ^ Lee, Mike (20 May 2012). "Irish Forerunners and Political Labels – Part 2". Articles. Philatelic Database. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Miller 1983
- ^ a b Reynolds 1983
- ^ Meredith 1927
- ^ a b Foley 1978, p. 61
- ^ Freeman & Stubbs 1922, pp. 6–8
- ^ "The Wolf Collection of Irish Postage Stamps: Rialtas Overprints". University of Notre Dame. Archived from the original on 23 February 2007. Retrieved 22 March 2007.
- ^ Freeman & Stubbs 1922, p. 19
- ^ Taylor, Ross. "Seahorses 1913 and 1934". ImagesoftheWorld.org. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2007.
- ^ "The Wolf Collection of Irish Postage Stamps: Saorstát Overprints". University of Notre Dame. Archived from the original on 23 February 2007. Retrieved 22 March 2007.
- ^ "1982: 'Ireland', 'Éire' and why both aren't written on postage stamps". 1982 State Papers. thejournal.ie. 30 December 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ a b "The Collector" (PDF). Irish Stamps. An Post. January 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
- ^ a b "Ninth Definitive Series 100 Objects". Press releases. An Post. 13 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
- ^ Gibbons 2004, pp. 6.
- ^ a b "The First Definitive Series of the Irish Free State and Irish Republic, 1922–1968". Arwel Parry. Archived from the original on 6 May 2007. Retrieved 22 March 2007.
- ^ a b c Warren & Fitzgerald 1978
- ^ "New Currency — New Stamps". An Post. 2 January 2002. Retrieved 7 October 2007.
- ^ "Wild Flowers Brighten new Stamps". An Post. 8 September 2004. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ The Collector: Seventh Definitive Series — Irish Animals and Marine Life (PDF), vol. Special Edition, An Post, September 2010, pp. 1–3, retrieved 24 March 2012
- ^ O’Sullivan, Marése (12 February 2016). "An Post unveils special stamps to commemorate Easter Rising". UTV Ireland. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
- ^ "Ninth Definitive Series — 'A History of Ireland in 100 Objects, a selection'". Shop. An Post. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
- ^ "An Post Ninth Definitives Stamps Series". An Post, Irish Tiimes, Royal Irish Academy & National Museum of Ireland. January 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
- ^ "New Irish stamps tells Ireland's stories through 100 Objects". Media Centre News. An Post. 6 February 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
- ^ "Ninth Definitive Stamp Series issues". Media Centre News. An Post. 23 July 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
- ^ "Stamps and Letters". An Post. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
- ^ "An introduction to Europa stamps". European stamps. Warners Group Publications. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Hamilton-Bowen & Wolverton 2019
- ISBN 0-85259-583-2.
- Irish Times. 27 September 2005. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- ^ O'Connor, Rachel (15 October 2020). "Special edition stamps released to celebrate U2's incredible career". Entertainment. The Irish Post. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- ^ Beresford, Jack (2 October 2019). "An Post blunder sees Thin Lizzy 50th anniversary stamps released A YEAR EARLY". News. The Irish Post. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- ^ "New stamps celebrate Irish rugby ahead of World Cup". RTÉ News. 28 August 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- ^ The Directory of Dublin for 1949. Dublin: Alex Thom & Co. 1948.
The Air Mail Service is available to nearly all countries. The rate to European Countries is 5d per oz.
- ^ "Minister Launches Tall Ships Stamps". Media Centre: News. An Post. 3 July 2005. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
- ^ a b c Buchalter 1972
- ^ Eólaí an Phoist—Post Office Guide 1977. Dublin: Department of Posts and Telegraphs. 1977. p. 26.
- ^ a b Gibbons 2004, pp. 30–31
- ^ "Philatelic Facts from the last 25 Years" (PDF). The Collector. An Post 25 Year Special Edition: 4. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 January 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- ISSN 0484-6125. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f Jung & Clancy 2002
- ^ Eóluide an Puist/Post Office Guide 1931-32. Dublin: Department of Posts and Telegraphs. 1931. p. 10.
- ^ a b c d e f g Jung 2003
- ^ "Irish Stamps". An Post. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
- ^ Gibbons 2004, pp. 2–5
- ^ Warren & Jung 2000
- ^ Jung 1992
- ^ "The Wolf Collection of Irish Postage Stamps: Part Two: The Overprints—General Introduction". University of Notre Dame. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2007.
- ^ "MacDonnell, David" search". Worldcat.org. 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- ^ "Hibernian Stamp Catalogue search". Worldcat.org. 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- ^ "2020 Hibernian Handbook and Catalogue of the Postage Stamps of Ireland". publications. hibernian-news.eu. 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- ^ "Irish Stamps Collectors News" (PDF). An Post. February 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
- ^ The Story of the Irish Philatelic Society 1901–2001. Blackrock, Co Dublin: Irish Philatelic Society. July 2002. p. 5.
- ^ "APS Specialty Societies". American Philatelic Society. Archived from the original on 20 June 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
- ^ a b c "Ireland Stamps and Ireland Postal History". StampDomain.com. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
Sources
- Buchalter, M. Don (1972). Buchalter, M. Don (ed.). Hibernian Specialised Catalogue of the Postage Stamps of Ireland 1922–1972. Hibernian Stamp Co Ltd, Dublin, Ireland.
- Dulin, Cyril I. (1992). Ireland's Transition: The Postal History of the Transitional Period 1922–1925. MacDonnell Whyte Ltd, Dublin, Ireland. ISBN 978-0-9517095-1-1
- Feldman, David (1968). Handbook of Irish Philately. Dublin, Ireland: David Feldman Ltd & the Dolman Press Ltd.
- Foley, Joe (April 1978). "The Postage Stamps of Ireland 1922–1927 by W.G. Meredith—revised". The Revealer. XXVII No. 4 (130): 61. ISSN 0484-6125.
- Freeman, F. F.; Stubbs, T. T. (April 1922). Provisional Issue: Irish Free State Stamps (1st ed.). Dublin, Ireland: Mint Stamp Company.
- ISBN 978-0-85259-583-1.
- Hamilton-Bowen, Roy; Wolverton, Lee R., eds. (2019). Hibernian Handbook and Specialised Catalogue of the Postage Stamps of Ireland 1922-1919. Ridgau, Germany: Rodgau Philatelie. ISBN 978-3-9807973-3-7.
- Jung, Otto (2003). Irish Postal Stationery Stamped to Order. Germany: FAI, Forschungs- und Arbeitsgemeinschaft Irland e. V.
- Jung, Otto; Clancy, Barney (2002). Postal Stationery of Ireland (3rd ed.). Germany: FAI, Forschungs- und Arbeitsgemeinschaft Irland e. V.
- Jung, Otto (1992). The Irish Architecture Definitives. FAI, Forschungs- und Arbeitsgemeinschaft Irland e. V.
- MacDonnell, David; Whyte, Ian, eds. (1990). MacDonnell Whyte Stamps of Ireland: Specialised Handbook, 1991 Edition (13th ed.). Dublin, Ireland: Ian Whyte (Ireland) & MacDonnell Whyte. ISBN 978-0-9517095-0-4.
- Miller, Liam (1983). Kane, William (ed.). Postage Stamps of Ireland 1922–1982. Dublin, Ireland: Philatelic Section, ISBN 978-0-946521-01-2.
- Meredith, W. G. (1927). The Postage Stamps of Ireland 1922–1927 (4th ed.). London.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Reynolds, Mairead (1983). A History of The Irish Post Office. MacDonnell Whyte Ltd, Dublin, Ireland. ISBN 978-0-9502619-7-3.
- Warren, Brian; Fitzgerald, Edward (1978). The Gerl Definitives. Ian Whyte. ISBN 978-0-9506415-0-8.
- Warren, Brian; Jung, Otto (2000). Irish Heritage and Treasures. FAI, Forschungs- und Arbeitsgemeinschaft Irland e. V.
Related reading
- Mackay, James A. (1982). Irish Postmarks Since 1840. Dumfries, Scotland: James A. Mackey.
- Munk, Herbert (1941). Kohl's Briefmarken Handbuch und grosser katalog: Irish Free State (section) (English translation by H.G. Zervas ed.). Berlin: Collectors Club of New York.
- Summers, Howard (2020). Bibliography of the Philately and Postal History of the British Isles. Howcom Services, Borehamwood, UK. ISBN 978-1-7025-2236-6.
External links
- An Post Irish Post Office
- Dr Charles Wolf's collection of Irish postage stamps Forerunners Overprints
- Effects of the Partition of Ireland on the postal service (1920–1922) (archive version)
- IPTA, Irish Philatelic Traders Association Irish stamp dealer's trade group(archive version)
- Primary and secondary sources relating to stamps in Ireland (National Library of Ireland)
Philatelic societies
- ÉPA, Éire Philatelic Association US based Irish philatelic society
- FAI, Forschungs- und Arbeitsgemeinschaft Irland e.V. German based Irish philatelic society
- Irish Airmail Society specialises in Irish Aerophilately (No longer active)
- Irish Philatelic Circle British based Irish philatelic society