Isle of Man – Inauguration of Postal Independence – 1973
| FDC image | 
|
|---|---|
| FDC reverse image | N/A |
| Country | Isle of Man |
| Country code | IM |
| Issue title | Inauguration of Postal Independence |
| 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 | Official first day cover |
| Cover producer | |
| Cover reference | |
| Limited edition | No |
| Edition limit | N/A |
| Copy number | N/A |
| Cachet or cover design | Viking longship beneath the inauguration inscription; marked OFFICIAL FIRST DAY COVER. The leaflet associates the cachet with the Great Road of King Orry. |
| 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 | Black circular Douglas first-day cancellation. The shared detail image was taken from the ½p to 2p pictorial definitive cover and illustrates the same postmark design and date. |
| Postmark image |
|
| Signed | No |
| Signed by | N/A |
| Signature details | N/A |
| Information sheet included | Yes |
| Information materials | Single-sided printed information leaflet |
| Information sheet title | Inauguration of Postal Independence |
| Information sheet image | 
|
| Information sheet reverse image | N/A |
| Information sheet notes | Discusses the tradition of King Orry's landing, the date adopted for the stamp design, the cover cachet and technical details. The reverse is blank. |
| 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 official cover with a blank reverse. Accompanying information leaflet recorded; its reverse is also blank. |
This owned official first day cover relates to the Inauguration of Postal Independence issue, released by the Isle of Man on 5 July 1973. The issue comprised one 15p commemorative stamp, catalogued as IM-SG-34, depicting a Viking landing on Man in AD 938. Stanley Gibbons lists a first day cover for the issue.[1]
The issue marked the establishment of an independent Manx postal administration on 5 July 1973. The Isle of Man Post Office later recalled that advance demand led to the planned quantity of the inaugural stamp being increased from 250,000 to 350,000.[2]
The cover and accompanying leaflet
The unaddressed envelope depicts a Viking longship beneath the inscription “INAUGURATION of the ISLE OF MAN POST OFFICE 5th. JULY, 1973” and is marked “OFFICIAL FIRST DAY COVER”. Its 15p stamp bears the black circular Douglas first-day cancellation dated 5 July 1973.[3]
A single-sided information leaflet accompanies the cover. It connects the stamp design with the tradition of King Orry, also named Gorree in the leaflet, and explains that AD 938 was the date adopted for the design. The leaflet associates the cover cachet with the Great Road of King Orry, the traditional Manx name it gives for the Milky Way.[4]
The reverses of the cover and leaflet are blank. The postmark detail image is shared with the pictorial definitive covers issued on the same date; the full cover scan records the actual cancellation strike on this copy.
Stamp design and production
The leaflet credits the design to J. H. Nicholson, R.I., and identifies the printer as Harrison and Sons of High Wycombe. It records five colours, photogravure printing and comb perforation 14. The paper has Harrison and Sons' very white matt coating and PVA gum.[4]
The leaflet gives the vertical stamp's dimensions as 1.6 × 1.341 inches, including perforation. Converted to metric and expressed as width by height, these are approximately 34.1 × 40.6 mm.[4]
Sheets contained 50 stamps, arranged in ten columns and five rows. The leaflet confirms five rows of ten stamps, and the catalogue records the cylinder numbers as 1A (×4).[4][1]
Sales
Stanley Gibbons records a quantity sold of 350,000 stamps and states that the stamp sold out soon after issue. These details refer to the 15p stamp, not to the number of first day covers produced or sold.[1]
Related stamp
For the 1983 15p stamp inscribed “POST OFFICE DECENNIUM”, see IM-SG-256.[1]
Stamps on this cover
| Image | Identifier | Face value | Subject | Format | Other catalogues | Notes
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
IM-SG-34 | 15p | Viking landing on Man, AD 938 | Stamp | Quantity sold: 350,000 stamps. Sold out soon after issue. For the 1983 15p stamp inscribed “POST OFFICE DECENNIUM”, see IM-SG-256.[1]
|
Related first day covers
- Isle of Man – Pictorial definitives – ½p to 2p – 1973
- Isle of Man – Pictorial definitives – 2½p to 4p – 1973
- Isle of Man – Pictorial definitives – 5p, 6p, 7½p and 9p – 1973
- Isle of Man – Pictorial definitives – 10p, 20p, 50p and £1 – 1973
- Isle of Man – Pictorial definitives – ½p to 3p – Mercury cover – 1973
- Isle of Man – Pictorial definitives – 3½p to 9p – Mercury cover – 1973
- Isle of Man – Pictorial definitives – 10p, 20p, 50p and £1 – Mercury cover – 1973
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 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.
- ↑ “50th Anniversary Exhibition at the Manx Museum”. Isle of Man Post Office. Retrieved 3 October 2026.
- ↑ Inauguration of the Isle of Man Post Office — official first day cover(First day cover).Reference: Scan of the cover.Copy held in the collection.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Inauguration of Postal Independence(Information leaflet).Reference: Scan of the information leaflet.Issue date printed as 5 July 1973. Historical explanation and technical details on the printed face. Original held in the collection.