Thursday, 24 April 2025

Myanmar Post to Re-Issue Festival Stamp Series as a Sheetlet

In 2019, Myanmar Post issued a stamp series celebrating the country's twelve monthly festivals, each accompanied by the seasonal flower associated with that month. Each stamp represented one festival and flower, with sheets containing 30 stamps of a single design.

The series is now being re-issued as a single sheetlet containing all twelve stamps. While the designs remain unchanged, the new format brings all twelve together in one unified layout. The sheetlet, measuring approximately 203 x 221 mm (8 x 8.7 inches), contains twelve stamps of 200 Kyats each, making the total face value 2,400 Kyats per sheet. The official release date is 28 April.  Total production is 50,000 sheets.

Interestingly, while the Burmese calendar traditionally begins with the month of Tagu—usually falling in April—the original 2019 series began with Pyatho, which fell in January that year. Although the sheetlet’s April release appears coincidental, the arrangement of the stamps on the sheet follows the original order: from left to right, top to bottom, starting with Pyatho.

However, this move has drawn criticism from collectors. Since the stamps themselves are identical to the original 2019 versions and lack any distinguishing features or overprints, removing them from the sheet makes it nearly impossible to tell them apart from the original issue. This could lead to confusion in stamp classification. Some collectors have suggested that an overprint, a revised face value, or the inclusion of the year of issue in the stamp design could have helped distinguish the re-issue.

The sheetlet bears the title “Twelve Seasonal Festivals and Flowers”.  No official First Day Cover (FDC) will be issued, but first day cancellations will be available. Each packet contains 50 sheetlets.

As previously reported in the report for the month of Tabaung, there was an unintentional error in the original stamp design regarding the scientific name of the Tharaphi flower. The correct scientific name for Tharaphi is Calophyllum amoenum, but it was mistakenly labeled as Calophyllum inophyllum, which actually refers to the Ponenyat flower. To address this mistake, the scientific name on the stamp for the month of Waso was replaced with the common name "Alexandrian laurel," which, during the design stage, was noticeably not italicized. However, in the final issued stamp, Myanmar Post italicized the name.

In this 2025 re-issue, it appears Myanmar Post may have used the original design file, resulting in the non-italicized common name being retained—an outcome that is arguably more correct.

Sunday, 13 April 2025

Costumes ~ Ava Era

Stamps featuring Ava era costumes are the third sets in the costume series and were issued on 8 Dec 2021.  The set includes two stamps depicting man and woman in Ava era costumes.  At Yangon GPO, Mandalay GPO and Naypyitaw CPO, the envelopes with cachet are sold at 200 Kyats each.  In addition to the envelopes, the folding card with the design facts is also sold at 200 Kyats each.



Technical Information

Date of Issue: 8 December 2021
Denomination: 200 Kyats
Perforation: 14
Colour: 4
Quantity: 300,000 Pieces
Printing Process: Offset
Stamp Composition: 50 Stamps per Sheet
Stamp Size & Format: 30 mm x 42 mm (Vertical)
Printer: Security Printing Works (Myanmar)
Stamp Designer: Professor Myat Tun Aung, Aung Than Hitay
Historical Perspective Adviser: Dr. Chit San Win
Art From Adviser: Academy Zinyaw MgMg (Film), Thiha Lwin (TMH)

Thursday, 10 April 2025

Myanmar - Russia Tiger Population Preservation Stamps 2022

The 2nd International Tiger Forum was held in Vladivostok, Russia, on September 5, 2022. The forum aimed to evaluate the outcomes of the Global Tiger Recovery Programme since its launch in 2010 and to discuss future strategies for tiger conservation, with a special focus on the Amur tiger. To commemorate the event, Myanmar Post issued three postage stamps along with three first day covers (FDCs).  Empty first day covers (without stamps or cancellations) were sold for 400 Kyats each.

Additionally, Myanmar Post released a large-format special edition FDC in a limited run of only 200 covers, which were presented as gifts to officials. A notable stamp error was discovered by U Maw Lwin Sein—on one sheet, the bottom row of five stamps was imperforate due to a missing row of perforation.




Technical Details of Stamps

Date of Issue: 5 Sep 2022
Printer : Security Printing Works (Myanmar)
Printing Process : Offset
Stamp Size and Format : 42 mm x 30 mm (Horizontal)
Color : 4
Perforation : 14
Denomination : K200
Sheet Composition :  50 Stamps per Sheet
Quantity : 100,000 pc per design
Designer : The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Conversation of Myanmar


First Day Covers

Official FDC 1

Official FDC 2

Official FDC 3


Friday, 4 April 2025

Royal Mail Issues "DEC Myanmar Earthquake Appeal" Slogan Postmark

At 12:50:52 Myanmar Time on 28 March 2025, a devastating earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale struck the Sagaing Region of Myanmar. The epicenter was located near Mandalay, the nation’s second-largest city. It was the most powerful earthquake to hit Myanmar since 1912 and ranks as the second deadliest in the country's modern era. The quake caused severe destruction throughout Myanmar and led to significant damage in neighboring Thailand. Urgent humanitarian assistance is needed for those affected.

In support of relief efforts, Royal Mail has teamed up with the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to help raise awareness and encourage public donations. To mark this campaign, a special slogan postmark is being used on UK mail. The slogan features the message "DEC Myanmar Earthquake Appeal" enclosed in a box, with the line "DONATE NOW AT DEC.ORG.UK" printed directly beneath.

Mockup slogan dated 05-05-2025

The Norvic Philatelics Blog has shared several examples of this postmark, seen on mail processed at Mount Pleasant Mail Centre and dated 2 April 2025, Bristol Mail Centre dated 3 April 2025 and Peterborough Mail Centre on 5 April 2025. The example I acquired was processed from North & West Yorkshire on 2 April 2025.  According to Norvic Philatelics Blog, the postmark may have been used for a short period only, probably until 10 April 2025.