The KiwiStamp

No Value Indicated - The KiwiStamp. 

        "Easy to understand and simple to use, these non-denominated stamps will always be worth the required postage of a Standard Post™ medium letter. You can also use multiple KiwiStamp™ postage stamps on a range of letter sizes or to send letters by FastPost™."
         That is how NZ Post promoted these stamps on their web site. The concept is simple, a stamp that will always be worth the required postage of a standard letter, regardless of how much the price of postage may rise between purchase and use.
         The stamps first appeared in 2009 then were reissued again in 2011. Of course all the stamps of both issues were self-adhesive being mainly sold in booklets or coils.

2009 KiwiStamp Issue.

        The 2009 KiwiStamp issue marked New Zealand Post's first venture into non-denominated stamps. Each stamp covers the base delivery rate within New Zealand of a small envelope using standard postage (50 cents at the time of issue). Two stamps are required for express delivery (FastPost) and extra stamps for larger sized envelopes.

        Marketed as a customer convenience, they also had the added benefit of allowing New Zealand Post to raise postage rates at any time without needing to print new stamps. New stamps and designs were introduced in the 2011 KiwiStamp issue.

                        

Beach Cricket Stumps.                                                            Kiwifruit.

Cricket on the beach, summer fun in New Zealand. The children have gone home for supper leaving the stumps on the beach, ready for tomorrow.

The Kiwifruit, came from China, was developed and renamed by New Zealand into that favourite fruit we all love today. A big exporter for the country too.

                         

     State Highway 1.                                             Wind Turbine and Umbrella.

State Highway 1, 'from the cape to the bluff.' Starting at Cape Reinga at the top of the North Island, going to Bluff at the bottom of the South Island. The red shield is the sign for the state highways of New Zealand.

Being a long thin country, laid side on to the prevailing weather, New Zealand has a lot of wind. Here the benefit and the problem of wind is shown in one picture, while the Wind Turbine is generating power, the umbrella is turned inside-out.

                          

Push Lawn Mower.                                                               Caravan.    

The push lawn mower, now mostly replaced with motorised lawn mowers, but some are still kept for use at the holiday batch. No petrol needed, just take it out and push.

The caravan, hook it up to the car and you are off. A little house on wheels, a home away from home. That one looks like a real old one too.  

                           

Porcelain Duck Ornaments.                                     Fish and Chips at the Beach.

How many times have you see ducks like that, 'flying' on the wall in that same formation? Why are these so often placed in the bathroom? Does someone like ducks in their bath?

Fish and Chips, even better fish and chips at the beach, after a good day playing and enjoying the summer.

                           

Fencing Wire and Swanndri.                                     Sausage Sizzle / Barbecue.

The Swani hanging on the fence. A typical rural New Zealand scene. No doubt the farmer is nearby, fixing a fence, running a new one. That roll of new wire gives it away.

Sausages, chops and steak, the typical barbecue fare. Its a great way to finish a summer day, no cooking in the kitchen or cleaning up afterwards.  

Normal Logo Booklet.                                                Silver Logo Booklet. 

The stamps are sold in booklets of ten stamps as shown. A limited edition of 11,000 special commemorative booklets were issued with silver foiled logo and text. Sales of the limited edition booklets were restricted to one or two per customer.

 A special booklet of fifty silver foiled stamps was also produced and sold one per customer. Only 3,000 of these booklets were issued.

 Above is an opened booklet showing the arrangement of the stamps inside.

Below is two strips off a coil showing all 10 stamps.

Both issues had First Day Covers but I have only managed to find one form the 2009 Issue.

2011 KiwiStamp Issue.

          In 2011 five new KiwiStamps replaced the 2009 KiwiStamp issue and continued New Zealand Post's venture into non-denominated stamps for postage within New Zealand.

                  

Hokey Pokey.                                                      Kiwi Road Sign.

Hokey Pokey ice-cream, New Zealand ice-cream flavour of choice since the 1940s. Many a Kiwi summer has been made that much sweeter with a lick of this vanilla and crunchy toffee combo.

Kiwis crossing! Featuring New Zealand’s famous national bird, this iconic road sign is one to look out for in the countryside, particularly as evening draws near and this flightless bird comes out to play. Personally I believe you would be very unlikely to see a kiwi anywhere near a road, so signs like this is more for the tourist market.

                

The Beach.                                                   Trout Fishing.

For most New Zealanders, summer and Christmas means the beach, and there are certainly plenty to choose from. Whether it’s for a surf, a swim or a barefoot walk on the sand, it’s all part of the Kiwi way of life.

It’s all in the flick of the wrist! Yeah sure! New Zealand trout fishing is regarded as some of the best in the world, particularly in the picturesque rivers of the central North Island.

Mountain Biking.

 True adventurers at heart, New Zealanders love to get their hearts racing. Surfing, white water rafting, and rock climbing are ways they might do this. Another action-packed pastime, shown in the stamp above, is mountain biking, some say the perfect way to see the nation’s unique terrain, whether it’s up, down or sideways!

The Coil Box                            The Booklet Cover.

The self adhesive stamps were issued in booklets of ten stamps and coils of 100. The limited editions found in the 2009 issue did not appear for the 2011 issue.

The Opened Booklet of 2011 KiwiStamp issue. In this case they used 2 of each design to make up the required 10 stamps



 A Sample of Coil Strip of the 5 KiwiStamps. 

 Here is something that should not have happened. KiwiStamps were in tended for use within New Zealand but somehow this cover made it all the way to Denmark. My guess is that either the post office allowed a special one off for a collector or since in the end postage had obviously been paid the cover was allowed to continue.

Some of the images in this post were used with permission from the illustrated catalogue of StampsNZ

You can visit their web site and On-line Catalogue at, http://stampsnz.com/