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Isle of Man – Pictorial definitives – ½p to 3p – Mercury cover – 1973

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First day cover details
FDC image Pictorial definitives — ½p to 3p — Mercury cover
FDC reverse image N/A
Country Isle of Man
Country code IM
Issue title Pictorial definitives — ½p to 3p — Mercury cover
Date of issue 5 July 1973
Withdrawal or invalidation date 31 December 1978 (general withdrawal from sale); 15 May 1979 (SG12 and SG17 in booklets); 30 June 1983 (SG15 retained for postal orders)


Stamp type Definitive
Stamp subtype Country pictorial
Theme or subject Manx landscapes and landmarks
Text credit
Designer or artist J. Nicholson
Printer Courvoisier
Printing process Photogravure
Colours Multicoloured
Paper and gum Granite paper; thick shiny gum on printing (a)
Perforation 11½
Stamp dimensions
Issue format Sheets of 50 (5 × 10)
Number of stamps 6
Cover type First day 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, dotted routes, sailing boats and lighthouses; orange Three Legs shield; ISLE OF MAN and day of issue inscriptions; Mercury logo
Addressed No
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 Two strikes of the black circular Douglas first-day cancellation. The shared detail image was taken from the ½p to 2p official cover and illustrates the same postmark design and date.
Postmark image

Main postmark for Pictorial definitives — ½p to 3p — 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 Yes
Condition Not specified
Collection Comment Owned. Unaddressed Mercury cover with a blank reverse. No information leaflet is present with this copy. Stamp detail images are reused from the official covers.

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 owned Mercury first day cover bears six Isle of Man pictorial definitives: ½p, 1p, 1½p, 2p, 2½p and 3p, catalogued as SG 12–17 and issued on 5 July 1973.[1]

The envelope bears the Mercury name and logo. Its cachet shows a map of the Isle of Man with named places, dotted routes, sailing boats, lighthouses and an orange shield containing the Three Legs. The six stamps are arranged in two rows of three and bear two strikes of the Douglas first-day cancellation dated 5 July 1973. The original envelope is unaddressed.[2]

The designs are credited to J. Nicholson. Courvoisier printed the stamps by photogravure on granite paper, perforated 11½, in sheets of 50 (5 × 10). The initial printing (a) has thick shiny gum.[1]

The reverse of this copy is blank, and no information leaflet is present. The stamp and postmark detail images used below are shared illustrations from the official covers in the collection; the full cover scan records the actual stamps and cancellation strikes on this Mercury copy.

General withdrawal of the stamps was on 31 December 1978. The ½p and 3p values in booklets remained available until 15 May 1979; the 2p was retained for postal orders until 30 June 1983. These are withdrawal-from-sale dates, rather than dates of postal invalidation.[1]

Stamps on this cover

Image Identifier Face value Subject Format Other catalogues Notes


Castletown IM-SG-12 ½p Castletown Stamp Printing (a); inscribed 1973. Detail image from the official cover.



Port Erin IM-SG-13 1p Port Erin Stamp Printing (a); inscribed 1973. Detail image from the official cover.



Snaefell IM-SG-14 1½p Snaefell Stamp Printing (a); inscribed 1973. Detail image from the official cover.



Laxey IM-SG-15 2p Laxey Stamp Printing (a); inscribed 1973. Detail image from the official cover.



Tynwald Hill IM-SG-16 2½p Tynwald Hill Stamp Printing (a); inscribed 1973. Detail image from the official cover.



Douglas Promenade IM-SG-17 3p Douglas Promenade Stamp Printing (a); inscribed 1973; ordinary border colour. Detail image from the official cover.


References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Stanley Gibbons.Channel Islands and Isle of Man 2022 Edition Stamp Catalogue(31st combined edition).Stanley Gibbons.2022.Section: Isle of Man — Independent postal administration.pp. 197–198.Catalogue system: Stanley Gibbons.Catalogue number(s): 12–17.ISBN: 978-1-911304-89-0.Place of publication: Ringwood.
  2. ↑ Isle of Man pictorial definitives — ½p to 3p Mercury cover(First day cover).Reference: Scan of the cover.Copy held in the collection.
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