Topical Philately - COVID-19

Brazil: 08 July 2020 (Courtesy: Internet)

The word 'Philately' was coined from two Greek words by a French collector named Georges Herpin. He was a postage stamp collector. At that time the new hobby was called 'Timbromanie'. He amalgamated two Greek words - 'Philo' meaning 'an attraction for something' and 'Atelia' meaning 'free from duties/taxes' and created the word 'Philately' (1864). This is to note that before the introduction of postage stamps through modernization of postal system in UK by Sir Rowland Hill, postal charges were payable by the recipients of the letters. In 1866, Herpin sold his collection of stamps to Fredrick Adolphus Philbrick of London who is considered as one of the fathers of philately.

Since then, lot of water has flown through the river Thames and simple collection of stamps has emerged as a great hobby of Philately. It is no more just putting stamps in the stock books or albums but much more than that. The collection of stamps, studying about it, background analysis, knowledge sharing etc., have expanded the scope of philately. The joy of collection of random stamps from different countries has slowly changed into the pleasure of Thematic or Topical philately. Under this new format, a philatelist can choose a topic or theme as per her/his choice and built a collection. The option of choice of topic is only limited by someone’s imagination. For example, a philatelist may opt for ‘Medical’ theme while someone may go for ‘AIDS’ as the topic. In fact, the options are endless.

 

In this present situation of pandemic which is devastating the human civilization since Jan ‘2020, a new branch of topical philately has emerged which is termed as ‘COVID-19 Philately’. Here we would take a peep about the course of development of this thematic philately.

 The trend of recognizing the fight against Coronavirus  through commemorative stamp was set by Islamic Republic of Iran. The objective behind the issuance of postage stamp on COVID-19 theme was to pay due respect to front-line healthcare professionals who are making great sacrifices for mankind. Iran issued the first postage stamp on the theme of COVID-19 on 17 Mar, 2020, saluting 'National Heros'. The stamp has the images of the virus and healthcare workers in their Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), gloves, masks etc.

Courtesy: Internet

If Wuhan, China be the place where the COVID-19 was first detected, can China be far behind in commemorating the fight against the pandemic?

People's Republic of China (PRC) was the second country who issued se-tenant stamps on 11 May, 2020 with 'Dedication to fight the pandemic'. These stamps were designed by Wang Huming and Liu Xiangping.

Courtesy: Internet

The COVID-19 stamp of Macau, the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, was designed by Sou Farong with a slogan 'Dedication to fight the pandemic' and was released on 24 June 2020.

Greece issued a set of two stamps with labels 'Thank you all' and ‘We stayed at home and won' on 16 June. 2020.

Courtesy: Internet

 

Courtesy: Internet

One of the most detailed miniature sheet on the theme with beautiful colour combination was issued by Brazil with title - 'Combat COVID-19' on 08 July 2020.

While designing the stamps on COVID-19, several sub-themes were considered as per the imagination of the designers. It ranged from observing various COVID-19 protocols to morale boosting of people who are engaged in the duties of saving lives. On the other hand, countries added varieties in the design matter of the stamps.  

Singapore Post 07 August 2020 issue on “Work From Home (WFH): Quirks in the Island City” was a miniature sheet. It has an unique feature wherein the writings, value and Merlion on the stamp were embossed in golden colour. It was printed by Offset Lithography with Gold hot-stamping. The designer was Toby Tan Xun Yi of Pinch Design Pte Ltd.

Courtesy: Femin John, Singapore

Additionally it released a set of six stamps, each with one COVID-19 protocol messages viz. ‘Check Temperature’, ‘Soaper 5 to the Rescue’, ‘Keep a Safe Distance’, ‘Clean Surfaces’, ‘Wash Your Hands’ and also ‘Wear a Mask’.

Courtesy: Femin John, Singapore

Courtesy: Femin John, Singapore

Courtesy: Femin John, Singapore

Courtesy: Femin John, Singapore

Courtesy: Femin John, Singapore

Courtesy: Femin John, Singapore

On 09 Oct 2020, on the 500th anniversary of mail in Portugal, a set of five stamps was issued by Portugal post. CTT – Correios de Portugal is the agency for handling of postal services of the country. CTT stands for Correios (Post), Telegrafos (Telegraph) and Telefones (Telephone). It was founded in 1520 as  Correio Público, during Portuguese Renaissance by King Manual I ( 31 May 1469 – 13 December 1521) of Portugal. It will not be out of point to mention that the expedition of Vasco da Gama who discovered the sea trade route from Europe to India was sponsored by him.

Courtesy: Internet

All five stamps have images, depicting the services rendered by postal workers, under strict COVID-19 protocol. In one of the stamps a postal worker was portrayed, wearing face shield, while discharging his duties.

The stamp issued by Austria on the said theme drew the attention of philatelists all over the world because those were printed on toilet paper! Philatelists, worldwide were divided into two groups - one group appreciated the creativity while the other one rejected on the ground of poor taste.

Courtesy: Internet

At the onset of the pandemic and implementation of lockdown measures, people began stockpiling of rations, beverages, consumables for household etc. Marketers were astonished when they observed that the rolls of toilet papers flew off the selves very fast. That phenomena probably gave the idea of using toilet paper for printing COVID-19 stamp to Austrian Post.

It was issued on 30 Oct 2020. The miniature sheet contains one semipostal stamp. A total quantity of 300,000 stamps were printed by Variuscard Productions and Handels GmbH, Vienna, Austria.

There was a beautiful pictorial message for maintaining social distance. The slogan was unique - 'Distance that Brings Us Together'. They have shown the sketch of a baby elephant to indicate a separation of one meter. The elephant calf was in the form of metal foil. Other creatures viz. insects, rats etc., were there for comparison purpose.

Central African Republic opted for odd-shaped circular stamps for commemorating COVID-19 battle. In a circular shaped miniature sheet, they placed four circular stamps, at the backdrop of the globe.

Courtesy: Internet

India was not left behind. On 24 Dec 2020, India Post issued a set of four stamps and one miniature sheet with title 'Salute to COVID-19 warriors'. In addition to healthcare staff, it has saluted drivers, pilots and postmen who continued to deliver letters in the pandemic situation, risking their lives.

Besides postage stamps, several philatelic materials, based on the theme of COVID-19 was made available by different agencies. Numerous Special Covers were released on this ongoing theme.

Special postal markings and cancellations were used from time to time to spread the awareness about the danger of COVID-19. In this particular cancellation by Bhubaneswar Post Office, India the messages were loud and clear - ‘COVID-19 GLOBAL PANDEMIC’, ‘STAY HOME STAY SAFE’, TOGETHER WE CAN FIGHT COVID-19’, ‘BEHIND THE  MASK’ and ‘MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCING’.

A few other COVID-19 themed cancellations -

One example, among many of Special Covers, boldly declares war against COVID-19. This one was towards the proactive contribution by The Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Karnataka, India in prevention and management of COVID-19.

 

Even the minuscule payment receipts of Registered Letter of India Post bear the slogan ‘Wear Masks, Stay safe’.

 As per rough estimate, since the pandemic broke all over the world, till date more than 100 stamps on COVID-19 have been issued by various postal authorities across the globe, and still counting. In the context of present situation of the world, COVID-19 is certainly leaving an indelible mark about sufferings of human beings. Issuing of commemorative stamps on COVID-19 is an unique way to refer it to future generations.

Webliography:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2777922

https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n847

https://www.portugalallover.com/2009/04/portugals-post-office.html

The story was published in popular stamp e-magazine - Ananthapuri Stamp Bulletin (July' 2021). Relevant pages are given below:

Cover page

Page 1 of 5

Page 2 of 5

Page 3 of 5

Page 4 of 5

Page 5 of 5

Disclaimer:

The information provided in the article is for general informational purposes only. All information is provided in good faith. This is only for the sharing of knowledge of Philately with philatelist fraternity. No commercial angle, whatsoever, is involved. Under no circumstances I shall have any liability for reliance on any information provided in the story.