2014 Health Issue.

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2014 Health Issue



Teaching children to grow their own fruits and vegetables not only benefits their health and well-being, it gives them positive attitudes towards healthy foods as well as a sense of pride and accomplishment. The 2014 Children’s Health stamp issue celebrates these foods that fuel the New Zealanders of tomorrow.

The 2014 Health Issue is special in that it marks the 85th year since Health Stamps were first issued. The series has come a long way and changed a lot since then. Health Stamps have contributed greatly to children's health over the years and continues to do so with every stamp sold this year providing 10c for Health.

The Stamp Designs.

80c - Carrots.

This future scholar proudly shows off her harvest of carrots for all to see on this stamp. Carrots are an excellent source of vitamin A, thanks to the natural source of beta-carotine. The nutrients in carrots help build strong bones and a healthy nervous system.

$1.40 – Apples.

This stamp shows a happy young boy with the apples he grew himself, giving him the nutrients he needs to grow up healthy and strong. Apples are loaded with vitamin C, B-complex vitamins and fibre, making them a perfect snack for growing kids.

              

$1.40 – Apples.                                          80c - Carrots.

(Future Strong Man.)                             (The Future Scholar.)

 80c – Pumpkin (self-adhesive)

This self-adhesive stamp shows a potential future rugby star as he proudly shows off the pumpkin he grew himself. Like carrots, pumpkins are full of beta-carotine, which is converted into vitamin A - a valuable antioxidant that is important for good eyesight.

80c – Pumpkin (self-adhesive).

(Future Rugby Player.)

  

At first, I was undecided about the appearance of this issue. The designs looked plain and uninteresting but as I've worked on this post, looking at these stamps, the design has kind of grown on me. Now I like its simplicity in delivering its message. And it is an important message too. Growing fruits and vegetables teaches children skills they’ll retain for life. They’re taught to be patient when waiting weeks (if not months) for their fruits and vegetables to grow as well as having the responsibility of having to nurture something from start to finish. These skills help promote a positive attitude towards healthy foods and create habits they’ll take through into adulthood. 

 This is not the first time the Health Stamp series has used the idea of an adult shadow behind a child. In 1967, the first decimal currency issue showed a boy playing rugby with the shadow of an adult rugby player behind him.

    

 1976 Boys playing rugby with adult shadow players behind.

Other Collector Items.

The Miniature Sheet.

 There was the usual miniature sheet containing all the stamps. The adhesive one was of course gummed here. Notice how the green plant at the bottom of the sheet lines up nicely with the First Day Cover design.

First Day Covers (FDC).

Two First Day Covers were issued too. The one above shows the miniature sheet cover while the one below has the three stamps from this issue. Again the simple design of the covers blends in well with the stamps themselves.

 There were also a number of other block configurations available as well. Two of the more popular ones are shown below.

 The Value Block.

This value $22.00, found in the top right-hand corner, is the total value of a sheet of 25 stamps.

 That is 25 stamps at 90c each or 80c + 10c of health.

This value $37.50, found in the top right-hand corner, is the total value of a sheet of 25 stamps.
That is 25 stamps at $1.50 each or $1.40 + 10c of health.



The Plate Block.

These blocks of stamps from the bottom left corner shows three important items concerning the printed sheets. Along the bottom is the designer. On the left side is 4 printer marks used to check colour and line up the four colours used to create the design. Below this is the name of the company that printed the stamps. Personally, I think this second block would be much more worthy of collecting.

Technical information

Date of issue:	3 September 2014
Number of stamps:	Two gummed stamps and one self-adhesive stamp
Denominations:	80c + 10c gummed and self-adhesive, $1.40 + 10c gummed
Stamps, miniature sheet and first day covers designed by:	Insight, Wellington
Illustrated by:	Chris Davidson, 4art.co.nz
Printer and process:	Southern Colour Print Ltd by offset lithography
Number of colours:	Four process colours
Stamp size and format:	Gummed: 30mm x 40mm (vertical); Self-adhesive: 25mm x 30mm (vertical)
Paper type:	Tullis Russell 104gsm red phosphor gummed stamp paper and Avery Dennison Kraft Back 210gsm
Number of stamps per sheet:	Gummed: 25; Self-adhesive: 100
Perforation gauge:	14
Special blocks:	Plate/imprint blocks could be obtained by purchasing at least six stamps from a sheet. Barcode blocks were available in A and B formats.
Period of sale:	Unless stocks were exhausted earlier, these stamps remained on sale until 2 September 2015.

Stamps and information on this post used from the NZ Post Web Site.