Jump to content

Isle of Man – Inauguration of Postal Independence – Mercury cover – 1973

From PhantomWiki


First day cover details
FDC image No image uploaded
FDC reverse image No reverse image uploaded
Country Isle of Man
Country code IM
Issue title Inauguration of Postal Independence — Mercury cover
Date of issue 5 July 1973
Withdrawal or invalidation date Not specified


Stamp type Commemorative stamp
Stamp subtype Historical event
Theme or subject Postal independence; Viking history
Text credit
Designer or artist J. H. Nicholson, R.I.
Printer Harrison and Sons
Printing process Photogravure
Colours Five colours; multicoloured
Paper and gum White postage stamp paper with Harrison and Sons' very white matt coating; PVA gum
Perforation 14 (comb)
Stamp dimensions Approximately 34.1 mm wide × 40.6 mm high, including perforation
Issue format Single stamp issued in sheets of 50 (10 columns × 5 rows)
Number of stamps 1
Cover type Commercial cover
Cover producer Mercury
Cover reference
Limited edition No
Edition limit N/A
Copy number N/A
Cachet or cover design Map of the Isle of Man with named places, blue coastal shading and small sailing boats; an orange shield bearing the Manx three legs; Mercury emblem and postal-service inauguration wording.
Addressed Not specified
Postmark type First-day-of-issue postmark
Postmark location Douglas, Isle of Man
Postmark date 5 July 1973
Postmark inscription FIRST DAY OF ISSUE; -5 JUL 1973; DOUGLAS; ISLE OF MAN
Postmark notes The illustrated example bears a black circular Douglas first-day cancellation, with part of its upper inscription obscured by the stamp. The shared detail image comes from the owned ½p to 2p pictorial definitive cover and illustrates the same postmark design and date.
Postmark image

Main postmark for Inauguration of Postal Independence — Mercury cover


Signed No
Signed by N/A
Signature details N/A
Information sheet included No
Information materials N/A
Information sheet title N/A
Information sheet image N/A
Information sheet reverse image N/A
Information sheet notes N/A
Certificate of authenticity included No
Certificate of authenticity image N/A
Certificate of authenticity reverse image N/A
FDC owned No
Condition
Collection Comment Wanted. Identified from an eBay photograph supplied as an illustration. The seller's photograph is not reproduced on this page. The reverse has not been examined. Information-sheet status follows the Mercury cover default.

Image notice: Images on these pages may depict copyrighted stamp designs, cover artwork, text or photographs. Unless otherwise stated, they are scans of physical items in the collection of PhantomSteve. Rights in the depicted material remain with their respective rightsholders. See Copyrights.


This wanted Mercury first day cover relates to the Isle of Man's Inauguration of Postal Independence issue of 5 July 1973. The illustrated example bears the 15p stamp, IM-SG-34, depicting a Viking landing on Man in AD 938, with a Douglas cancellation dated 5 July 1973.[1]

Stanley Gibbons lists a first day cover for the stamp issue. The identification of this particular Mercury cover comes from the supplied photograph.[2][1]

The illustrated cover

The Mercury cachet depicts a map of the Isle of Man with named places, blue coastal shading and small sailing boats. An orange shield bears the Manx three legs, and the Mercury emblem appears beneath the “ISLE OF MAN” heading. The envelope includes wording commemorating the inauguration of the postal service.[1]

No recipient address is visible in the photograph. The address status and condition of a future acquired copy remain unconfirmed. The reverse is not shown.[1]

Information-sheet status is set to No under the collection's Mercury cover default; accompanying material has not been independently documented for this example.

Stamp design and production

The information leaflet held with the owned official cover credits the stamp design to J. H. Nicholson, R.I., and the printing to Harrison and Sons. It records five colours, photogravure printing, comb perforation 14, white matt-coated paper and PVA gum.[3]

The leaflet gives dimensions which convert to approximately 34.1 mm wide × 40.6 mm high, including perforation. Sheets contained 50 stamps in ten columns and five rows. The catalogue records cylinder numbers 1A (×4).[3][2]

Sales

Stanley Gibbons records 350,000 stamps sold and states that the stamp sold out soon after issue. These details describe the stamp, rather than the number of Mercury covers produced or sold.[2]

Stamps on this cover

Image Identifier Face value Subject Format Other catalogues Notes


Viking landing on Man, AD 938 IM-SG-34 15p Viking landing on Man, AD 938 Stamp The image is a detail scan from the owned official cover. Quantity sold: 350,000 stamps; sold out soon after issue.[2]


For the 1983 15p stamp inscribed “POST OFFICE DECENNIUM”, see IM-SG-256.[2]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Inauguration of Postal Independence — Mercury cover reference photograph(Seller photograph).eBay photograph supplied by the collector for identification. The listing URL, seller and publication date were not recorded. The photograph is not reproduced on PhantomWiki.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Stanley Gibbons.Channel Islands and Isle of Man 2022 Edition Stamp Catalogue(31st combined edition).Stanley Gibbons.2022.Section: Isle of Man.Catalogue system: Stanley Gibbons.Catalogue number(s): 34.ISBN: 978-1-911304-89-0.Inauguration of Postal Independence issue; includes a first day cover listing and a cross-reference to SG256.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Inauguration of Postal Independence(Information leaflet).Reference: Scan of the information leaflet.Original held with the owned official first day cover. Cited here for stamp information; it is not recorded as accompanying the Mercury cover.
Retrieved from "https://wiki.k-e.org.uk/index.php?title=Isle_of_Man_–_Inauguration_of_Postal_Independence_–_Mercury_cover_–_1973&oldid=1892"