View source for Isle of Man – Queen Elizabeth II regional definitives – Decimal currency – Manx-language map cover – 1971

{{#vardefine:stamp-count|0}}

{{FDC issue
|fdc-image=
|fdc-back-image=
|country=Isle of Man
|country-code=[[wikipedia:en:Isle of Man|IM]]
|issue-title=Queen Elizabeth II regional definitives – Decimal currency
|issue-date=7 July 1971
|withdrawn-date=5 July 1973 (invalidated in the Isle of Man, subject to transitional acceptance); 7 July 1973 (withdrawn locally); 4 July 1974 (withdrawn from British Philatelic Counters)
|quantity-sold=
|sold-out=
|year=1971
|stamp-type=[[wikipedia:en:Definitive stamp|Definitive]]
|stamp-subtype=[[wikipedia:en:Country definitives|Regional definitive]]
|theme=[[wikipedia:en:Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]]; Isle of Man regional definitives; decimal currency
|text-credit=
|designer=[[wikipedia:en:Jeffery Matthews|Jeffery Matthews]]; portrait after a plaster cast by [[wikipedia:en:Arnold Machin|Arnold Machin]]
|printer=[[wikipedia:en:Harrison and Sons|Harrison and Sons]]
|printing-process=[[wikipedia:en:Photogravure|Photogravure]]
|colours=Bright magenta; ultramarine; reddish violet; chestnut
|paper-gum=Chalk-surfaced paper; originally cream paper; gum not specified
|perforation=15 × 14
|stamp-dimensions=
|issue-format=Sheets of 200 (10 × 20)
|cover-type=[[wikipedia:en:First day of issue|First day cover]]
|cover-producer=
|cover-reference=
|limited-edition=No
|edition-limit=
|copy-number=
|cachet=Green map of the Isle of Man with a blue surround and “ISLE OF MAN” lettering; Manx-language headings with the English wording “First Day Cover” and “First Issue Manx Decimal Stamps”.
|addressed=Yes
|postmark-type=[[wikipedia:en:First day of issue#Special handstamps|Special handstamp]]
|postmark-location=[[wikipedia:en:Douglas, Isle of Man|Douglas, Isle of Man]]
|postmark-date=7 July 1971
|postmark-inscription=FIRST DAY OF ISSUE; 7 JULY 1971; DOUGLAS ISLE OF MAN
|postmark-notes=Two strikes of the pictorial Douglas first day handstamp with the Three Legs of Man and circular lettering. The four stamps are arranged in a horizontal line on the reference example.
|postmark-image=
|postmark-additional-image-1=
|postmark-additional-image-2=
|signed=No
|signed-by=
|signature-details=
|information-sheet=Yes
|information-materials=
|information-sheet-title=
|information-sheet-image=
|information-sheet-back-image=
|information-sheet-notes=
|authenticity-certificate=No
|authenticity-certificate-image=
|authenticity-certificate-back-image=
|fdc-owned=No
|condition=
|collection-comment=Wanted cover. Address status and cachet description are based on the reference example, not an owned specimen.
}}

This wanted [[wikipedia:en:First day of issue|first day cover]] is the Manx-language map cover version of the four decimal-currency Isle of Man [[wikipedia:en:Country definitives|regional definitives]] issued on 7 July 1971. The stamps are the 2½p, 3p, 5p and 7½p values, numbered SG 8–11.<ref name="SG2022">{{Cite Catalogue
|author=Stanley Gibbons
|title=Channel Islands and Isle of Man 2022 Edition Stamp Catalogue
|edition=31st combined edition
|publisher=Stanley Gibbons
|year=2022
|section=Isle of Man — Regional issues
|page=197
|catalogue=Stanley Gibbons
|catalogue-number=8–11
|isbn=978-1-911304-89-0
|notes=Place of publication: Ringwood.
}}</ref>

The reference example has a green map of the Isle of Man with a blue surround and “ISLE OF MAN” lettering. Manx-language headings accompany the English wording “First Day Cover” and “First Issue Manx Decimal Stamps”. Its producer has not been identified. The four stamps are arranged in a horizontal line, cancelled with two strikes of the pictorial Douglas first day handstamp dated 7 July 1971. The example is addressed; recipient details are not transcribed here.<ref name="CoverReference">{{Cite
|title=Isle of Man decimal regional definitive first day cover — Manx-language map cover
|type=Reference image of a first day cover
|reference=Contributor-supplied reference image: image(10).png.
|notes=Reference illustration supplied to identify a wanted cover; the illustrated specimen is not recorded as owned.
}}</ref>

The Post Office information card held with the collection’s separate turquoise-panel cover identifies the stamp designer as [[wikipedia:en:Jeffery Matthews|Jeffery Matthews]].<ref name="PO1971">{{Cite
|title=Isle of Man — Regional Decimal Definitive Issue
|type=Information card
|publisher=Post Office
|reference=[[:File:IM-Queen-Elizabeth-II-Regional-Definitives-Decimal-Currency-1971-information-card.jpg|Scanned information card]]
|notes=Card headed “7th July 1971”, held with the owned cover.
}}</ref> The portrait of [[wikipedia:en:Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]] is after a plaster cast by [[wikipedia:en:Arnold Machin|Arnold Machin]]. [[wikipedia:en:Harrison and Sons|Harrison and Sons]] printed the stamps by [[wikipedia:en:Photogravure|photogravure]] on chalk-surfaced paper, perforated 15 × 14, in sheets of 200 (10 × 20). The 2½p stamp has one centre [[wikipedia:en:Phosphor banded stamp|phosphor band]], while the other three values have two bands.<ref name="SG2022" />

All four values were initially issued on cream paper. The 2½p and 3p later appeared on white fluorescent paper; the supplied catalogue entry does not give dates for those later appearances. Phosphor-omitted errors are listed separately as [[IM-SG-8y|SG 8y]] and [[IM-SG-10y|SG 10y]]. They are not included in the standard four-stamp cover listing.<ref name="SG2022" />

The catalogue records invalidation of SG 8–11 for use in the Isle of Man from 5 July 1973, with transitional acceptance for the prepayment of postage on letters from the island until 5 August 1973. It separately records withdrawal from local sale on 7 July 1973 and from British Philatelic Counters on 4 July 1974. The regional stamps remained valid for use in the rest of the United Kingdom at that time.<ref name="SG2022" />

== Stamps on this cover ==

{| class="wikitable"
! Image
! Identifier
! Face value
! Subject
! Format
! Other catalogues
! Notes
{{FDC stamp row
|image=IM-SG-8.jpg
|identifier=IM-SG-8
|face-value=2½p
|subject=[[wikipedia:en:Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]]; Isle of Man [[wikipedia:en:Country definitives|regional definitive]] design
|format=[[wikipedia:en:Postage stamp|Stamp]]
|other-catalogues=
|notes=Bright magenta; one centre [[wikipedia:en:Phosphor banded stamp|phosphor band]]. Illustrative scan from the collection’s separate turquoise-panel Post Office cover, not this wanted cover.
}}
{{FDC stamp row
|image=IM-SG-9.jpg
|identifier=IM-SG-9
|face-value=3p
|subject=[[wikipedia:en:Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]]; Isle of Man [[wikipedia:en:Country definitives|regional definitive]] design
|format=[[wikipedia:en:Postage stamp|Stamp]]
|other-catalogues=
|notes=Ultramarine; two [[wikipedia:en:Phosphor banded stamp|phosphor bands]]. Illustrative scan from the collection’s separate turquoise-panel Post Office cover, not this wanted cover.
}}
{{FDC stamp row
|image=IM-SG-10.jpg
|identifier=IM-SG-10
|face-value=5p
|subject=[[wikipedia:en:Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]]; Isle of Man [[wikipedia:en:Country definitives|regional definitive]] design
|format=[[wikipedia:en:Postage stamp|Stamp]]
|other-catalogues=
|notes=Reddish violet; two [[wikipedia:en:Phosphor banded stamp|phosphor bands]]. Illustrative scan from the collection’s separate turquoise-panel Post Office cover, not this wanted cover.
}}
{{FDC stamp row
|image=IM-SG-11.jpg
|identifier=IM-SG-11
|face-value=7½p
|subject=[[wikipedia:en:Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]]; Isle of Man [[wikipedia:en:Country definitives|regional definitive]] design
|format=[[wikipedia:en:Postage stamp|Stamp]]
|other-catalogues=
|notes=Chestnut; two [[wikipedia:en:Phosphor banded stamp|phosphor bands]]. Illustrative scan from the collection’s separate turquoise-panel Post Office cover, not this wanted cover.
}}
|}

== Related first day covers ==

* [[Isle of Man – Queen Elizabeth II regional definitives – Decimal currency – 1971|1971 — Turquoise-panel Post Office cover]]
* [[Isle of Man – Queen Elizabeth II regional definitives – Decimal currency – Cotswold cover – 1971|1971 — Cotswold cover]]
* [[Isle of Man – Queen Elizabeth II regional definitives – Decimal currency – GPO landscape cover – 1971|1971 — GPO landscape cover]]

== References ==

<references />