1997 Royal Golden Wedding Anniversary

        Princess Elizabeth was born on 21 April 1926, the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York. In 1936, on the abdication of King Edward VIII, the Duke and Duchess became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother) and Princess Elizabeth heir presumptive to the throne.

        The Duke of Edinburgh, formally His Royal Highness Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, was born on 10 June 1921, on the Greek island of Corfu. He is the only son of Their Royal Highnesses Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg. His mother was the sister of Earl Mountbatten of Burma.

        On the 20th of November 1947, cheered by the teeming throngs lining the entire length of the processional route, supported by crowned heads and invited dignitaries at the ceremony itself, and before millions more through the medium of television throughout the United Kingdom and abroad, Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh were married at Westminster Abbey, London.

        In January 1952 The Princess and Duke, on behalf of the King, left England for a tour of East Africa, Australia and New Zealand. However, on 6 February, while holidaying in Kenya, King George VI died. Princess Elizabeth immediately returned to England as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and she was crowned on 2 June 1953 in Westminster Abbey.
       In 1997 the couple celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary, 50 years of marriage. To mark this special anniversary, NZ Post issued a single stamp showing Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh. The stamp was only issued on special miniature sheets of 10 x 40c stamps.

2007 Royal Diamond Wedding Anniversary

          In 1947, as the people of Great Britain were rebuilding their lives after the devastation of World War II, a Royal celebration heralded nationwide rejoicing throughout the Commonwealth. On 20 November, Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary (the elder daughter of King George VI, and soon to be Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II) married the Duke of Edinburgh – an occasion we remembered in New Zealand as the couple celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary.

         New Zealand Post released this two value stamp issue commemorating this momentous milestone for New Zealand's Head of State. For not only was it a personal achievement for the couple, but Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the 40th monarch since William the Conqueror obtained the crown of England in 1066, was the first reigning sovereign to reach a 60th wedding anniversary. Included in this issue were a miniature sheet and two first day covers.

2017 Platinum Wedding Anniversary

New Zealand Post has created this special commemorative stamp issue to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh’s platinum wedding anniversary. Over their 70 years of marriage, they have achieved many remarkable milestones, of which family feature prominently. The stamps capture some of these magical moments.

While the Queen and Prince Philip were engaged in 1946, their engagement was not formally announced to the world until the following year – 10 July 1947 – when Elizabeth turned 21.

On Thursday 20 November 1947, the royal couple were married in Westminster Abbey. Despite all their royal responsibilities, some of the most significant moments in their lives are family occasions. The births of their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren are sure to have been among the highlights. The fourth generation of the royal family continues to grow, with another great-grandchild expected in the first half of 2018.

Together, the Queen and Prince Philip have broken many records. She is the longest-serving – and longest-living - sovereign in New Zealand’s history, and the first to visit this country while reigning. He is the longest-serving consort and the longest-lived male member of the royal family. They are the first royal couple to see three generations of successors to the throne. No other members of the royal family have ever celebrated a platinum wedding anniversary, which makes this a very rare and remarkable milestone by any standard.

2012 Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee

        2012 marked a significant year for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, as she celebrated 60 years as a dedicated monarch. New Zealand Post was proud to present the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee stamps to mark this prestigious anniversary. Official portraits (70c stamps) of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh wearing their New Zealand honours have been released to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

A used copy of the $2.40 stamp.

        The 60th anniversary of a monarch’s accession is known as a ‘Diamond Jubilee’, and it is certainly an occasion worth celebrating. Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee is only the second in the past 1,000 years of New Zealand and British history. The first was Queen Victoria's in 1897. Queen Elizabeth II’s coincided with Waitangi Day on 6 February 2012.
        Queen Elizabeth II has close links to New Zealand and is the first monarch to adopt the title Queen of New Zealand. She has visited New Zealand on ten separate occasions, both officially and informally, and in the past six decades she had been actively involved in all aspects of New Zealand life.
         Featuring silver foiling on metallic silver ink, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee stamps reflected this prestigious anniversary. Each of the six stamps in this highly collectable stamp issue reflected Her Majesty's close association with a dedication to Aotearoa. From the official 2012 portraits to photographs of the Queen's various tours of New Zealand, this was a stamp issue worth celebrating.
        This stamp issue wouldn't be complete without a miniature sheet and first-day covers. The first-day covers featured the official New Zealand portraits of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, as well as the official New Zealand Diamond Jubilee emblem. They were the perfect accompaniments to the set of stamps.

1988 Centenary Philatelic Society of New Zealand

        During the 1880s New Zealand stamps were few and far between - only a handful, all bearing the portrait of Queen Victoria, had been issued. On 5 September 1888, four collectors met to discuss their hobby; the outcome of the meeting was the Philatelic Society of New Zealand, the nation's first organised stamp collectors' group.

        Today the Society, now the Royal Philatelic Society of New Zealand, is far bigger, one of the leading philatelic societies in the country and is affiliated to the country's national philatelic body, the New Zealand Philatelic Federation.

        To mark 100 years of organised philately in New Zealand, the Society organised the "Royal 100" national philatelic exhibition, held in Wellington in October 1988.

New Zealand Post issued two stamps marking this 100 year period. Queen Elizabeth II is set against a background showing stamps from the 1882 Second Side-Faced Issue, each with the portrait of Queen Victoria.

2016 Queen Elizabeth 90th Birthday.

          On 21 April 2016, Queen Elizabeth II turned 90 years old, making her the first British monarch to reach this impressive milestone. Queen Elizabeth II has achieved many incredible milestones as the reigning monarch, including being New Zealand’s and Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, being the longest-lived sovereign in history and being married longer than any other monarch.

         To celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday, New Zealand Post created this very special stamp issue. Included in this issue are three stamps, housed within a unique miniature sheet. Each stamp contains three images ‒ simply tilt the miniature sheet and watch the images change! The images take us from the Queen’s christening in 1926 right through to her attendance at the 2015 Anzac commemorations in London. As you tilt the miniature sheet, the captions beneath the stamps change too ‒ resulting in a comprehensive view of the Queen’s lifetime. The stamps are featured in a classic stylised gold-gilded frame against a royal purple background, making this a truly regal stamp.

1975 Definitives / Pictorials - Part Five.

 Definitive Tour.

Back to 1970 Pictorial Definitives.                                Forward to 1980 - 1981 Definitives.

Errors in the Higher Values.

       Finally we come to flaws and errors found in the higher values. I struggled to find a good variety of flaws in these stamps. So this page seems to show a lot more stamps offset on their back than I would have liked. I will continue to look for more and include when I can.

          Series Index.
1975 Pictorials - Part One.  An overview and history of these issues.

1975 Pictorials - Part Two.  The stamp designs and subjects in more detail.

1975 Pictorials - Part Three.   Flaws & errors found in the 9 low value roses.

1975 Pictorials - Part Four.   Flaws & errors found in the 10c Queen Elizabeth.

1975 Pictorials - Part Five.   Flaws & errors found in the higher values.

1975 Definitives / Pictorials - Part Four.

 Definitive Tour.

Back to 1970 Pictorial Definitives.                                Forward to 1980 - 1981 Definitives.

1977 10c Queen Elizabeth II & 1979 14c Overprint.

       This post is was originally published as a separate post but we have decided include it where it should be, in this series on the 1975 Pictorials. While we repeat some of the information included in Part Two, we've decided to leave this page as close as possible to the one we originally published.

       This something a bit different. Instead of featuring a set or series of stamps I am going to be looking at only one stamp and an overprint added two years later. So first, lets me introduce you to our stamp. There she is to the right - the '1977 10c QE II.' 

        Intended as an addition to the 1975 Definitives, the 10c depicting Queen Elizabeth II, was issued in 1977 to meet a demand cause by a change in postal rates. Valued at the new letter postage rate of 10c meant this was a very common and well used stamp. In 1979 another change in postal rates meant the 10c value was no longer required for ordinary letters so the stamp was overprint with two solid bars over the old value and a new value of "14c." This type of stamp is commonly known as a Provisional. There is the younger sister to the left 1979 14c QE II overprint.

       So that is the basic story of this stamp. One design and a value overprint two years later. Since both these stamps were commonly used, large numbers printed and further reprints required. What makes this stamp so interesting is the large number of printing errors which can be found in both the original stamp and in her provisional sister.

1975 Pictorials / Definitives - Part Three

 Definitive Tour.

Back to 1970 Pictorial Definitives.                                Forward to 1980 - 1981 Definitives.

Errors in the Roses (Low values).

         This post will be one of three posts on the flaws found in the 1975 Pictorial / Definitive issue. On this page we will be looking at the nine lower value stamps. In my next post I will look at flaws found in the 10c Queen Elizabeth the in my third post I will feature errors in the high values.
       
          Finding good images of stamp errors can be a problem, but when we come to dealing with image sizes we get into some real problems. Its been decided that in this blog, keeping stamps to scale is not as important as displaying them to their best advantage.

1975 Pictorials / Definitives - Part Two

Definitive Tour.

Back to 1970 Pictorial Definitives.                                Forward to 1980 - 1981 Definitives.

 

The Designs.

        The lower values of the 1975 Pictorial / Definitives were nine stamps featuring roses grown in New Zealand. To capture the beauty of each rose, a larger almost square format was used. While creating an impressive set of stamps, this led to problems with vending machines. At first the older 1970 stamps were used but by 1977 as postage rates continued to rise new values were created by overprinting these older stamps. (1970 Definitive / Pictorials - Part One.) Finally in 1978 a new set of four values were issued especially for use in vending machines.
       In 1976 a four value issue of Maori artifacts was added, then in 1977 came the 10c Queen Elizabeth II, with the high value seashells following in 1978 & 1979. In 1981 the $5 Beehive was issued. There is some debate among us writers on whether this last stamp should be included in this series of issues.   

1975 Pictorials / Definitives - Part One.

 Definitive Tour.

Back to 1970 Pictorial Definitives.                                Forward to 1980 - 1981 Definitives.

A Brief History of this Issue.

By 1975 New Zealand ready for a new series of definitive stamps. The 1970 Definitives had used the practice of issuing the stamps over series of issues.

The 1975 Definitives took this even further to become a series of almost unrelated issues over a number of years. This is the last big definitive set so will be the last time we do a large series of pages on one particular definitive issue. The 1975 Definitive issue is usually listed together in many stamp catalogues but I notice NZ Post list them on their web site as separate issues. From now on definitive issues will be treated like other stamp issues being listed in this blog by their issue date.

This series began in 1975 once again began with the lower values, this time a set of nine values with a common theme of roses. It would be 1976 before the next issue of three values, Maori Artifacts would be issued. 1977 saw the series go back to pick up the 10c Queen Elizabeth before continuing on with the higher value seashells in 1978 & 1979. Along the way there were some provisional overprints and special issues for stamp vending machines that we have also included on this page.

2015 - Queen Elizabeth II.

New Zealand's Longest Reigning Monarch.

        As New Zealand did not become part of the British Empire until three years after Victoria’s accession to the throne in 1837, Queen Elizabeth II has been New Zealand’s longest-reigning monarch for some time. Queen Elizabeth II is the only ‘Queen of New Zealand’ we’ve ever known, as during Queen Victoria’s reign New Zealand was a British colony rather than a Realm. On 28 May 1953, Her Majesty formally became ‘The Queen of New Zealand’ - the first Sovereign to hold this title.
        During her reign Queen Elizabeth II has maintained close links to New Zealand, and has visited ten times since her inaugural tour in 1953/54. Although her last visit was in 2002, we still maintain a strong bond with the monarchy, with more recent visits made on her behalf by William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who last visited in 2014 along with their son Prince George of Cambridge.
        On 9 September 2015, Queen Elizabeth II succeeded Queen Victoria as the longest reigning British monarch. To celebrate this amazing milestone, New Zealand Post is issued a special set of seven stamps, each value representing a different decade of her reign.

1967 Centenaries

1967 Post Office Savings Bank Centenary.

As commemorative stamp issues had already been produced for the centenaries of the Postal Service and Telegraph Service it was felt appropriate that a special stamp issue should be produced for the centenary of the Post Office Savings Bank in 1967.

The opening of the first Post Office Savings Bank occurred in the 1860s, the gold rush years in New Zealand. It was an important event that fostered the habit of thrift and saving among the increasingly prosperous colonists of this relatively young nation.

                            
4d - Queens.                                                                9d - Coins.

1955 Stamp Centenary

      This set has already been shown on this blog, in our post 2005 - 150 Years of New Zealand Stamps, but considering the importance of this issue to the history of New Zealand Stamps, we felt it deserved its own page. I believe the clever way these three stamps were designed is often over looked by collectors in their search for more attractive and exciting stamps. I hope this page below might go some way to correcting this.

         The 1955 featured the three values shown above. While appearing to be simple designs, I will show you below that some thought has gone into them, cleverly linking the stamps and postal system of 1855, with the stamps and postal system of 1955.  

1977 Definitive 10c QE II

       This post is something a bit different. Instead of featuring a set or series of stamps I am going to be looking at only one stamp and an overprint added two years later. So first, lets me introduce you to our stamp. There she is to the right - the '1977 10c QE II.' 
        Intended as an addition to the 1975 Definitives, the 10c depicting Queen Elizabeth II, was issued in 1977 to meet a demand cause by a change in postal rates. Valued at the new letter postage rate of 10c meant this was a very common and well used stamp.
       In 1979 another change in postal rates meant the 10c value was no longer used for ordinary letters so the stamp was overprint with two solid bars over the old value and a new value of "14c." This type of stamp is commonly known as a Provisional.
       So that is the basic story of the stamp. One design and value overprint two years later. Since both these stamps were commonly used, large numbers printed and further reprints required. What makes this stamp so interesting is the large number of printing errors which can be found in both the original stamp and in its provisional sister.

The Design.

               The design was a simple portrait taken from the 1977 Silver Jubilee Issue which can be seen above. The second photo from the left was used which shows the Queen's facing towards the right, wearing a crown. When you compare this stamp below with the definitive versions you will notice that the Queen's shoulders has been trimmed off, making the picture more square than rectangle.

1855 Full Faced Queens - Part Four.

Definitives Tour.  

Forward to 1973 Newspaper Stamp.

Links:- Full-Faced Queens.
          1855 Full-Faced Queens - Part One.
                    A basic introduction to the Full Faced Queens issues. 
          1855 Full-Faced Queens - Part Two.
                    Looking at factors effecting the condition and value of Classic Stamps. 
          1855 Full-Faced Queens - Part Three.
                    A collection of covers from before and using Full Faced Queen stamps. 
          1855 Full-Faced Queens - Part Four.
                    Modern use of the Full Faced Queen design.

        This is the last post in my series on Full-Faced Queens, New Zealand's first postal stamp issue.
        Over the years the Full-Face Queen design has been reused a number of times as New Zealand has marked various anniversaries since their first issue. They have appeared, either as copies of the original stamps or with the design updated with more modern content.

1955 Centennial of Postage Stamps in New Zealand.
        There were three stamps in this issue but we are only interested in the 4d value in this post.  In this case the original design was updated with a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II instead of Queen Victoria. Since New Zealand was still using the old Sterling currency the value could still be written as "THREE PENCE" rather than the more common 3d.

Queen Elizabeth II - 3d

For the other stamps in this issue see my posts

1955 Stamp Centenary. 

2005 - 150 Years of New Zealand Stamps.

Queen Elizabeth - A Younge Queen.

 Definitive Tour.
Back to George VI Definitives.                                              Forward to 1960 Pictorials.

Queen Elizabeth II

      

         After researching for the 60th Anniversary Issue post in this blog I have become more interested in stamps featuring Queen Elizabeth II. I have decided to do a few more posts looking at her life in greater detail through the stamps of New Zealand. This post covers her early life and photos on stamps, her coronation, then the first 1953 - 1955 definitive issues. For extra interest, I've included a few Postal History items as well.



1957 - 1967 Ross Dependency Pictorials

Establishing Scott Base.

        Scott Base was originally constructed as a temporary base in support of the UK inspired and privately managed Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (TAE). The New Zealand government provided support for the TAE and also for other International  Geophysical Year (IGY) projects during 1957.

2013 The Australia World Stamp Exhibition

           To celebrate the exhibition the 2013 World Stamp Exhibition held in Melbourne, New Zealand Post issued an exhibition miniature sheet and souvenir cover. The miniature sheet incorporates stamps from the "Queen Elizabeth II - 60th Anniversary of the Coronation" stamp issue, set against an image of the exhibition venue - the Royal Exhibition Building.

           The exhibition was the largest collection of philatelic and numismatic items on show in Australia since 2005, and it marked the centenary of the 1913 Kangaroo and Map stamp - Australia’s first national postage stamp. It was be attended by national and international dealers, traders, collectors and postal administrations, including New Zealand Post.
        
          I don't particularly like the idea of issuing a set like this but I can see why NZ Post wants to promote the stamps of New Zealand at this International Exhibition. To me, the idea of issuing stamps and other items for the collector market takes away from the real purpose of postage stamps but then I suppose if it wasn't for the collector market we would just have a plan set of stamps with the face of the Queen and a value, updated every 10 years or so. 

 Miniature Sheet showing three of he Queens.





Special Cover with same design as the miniature sheet.

 

2012 Blenpex

        Blenpex, Marlborough's first National Stamp Exhibition which was held in Blenheim from the 12 -14 October. To mark this event, on 12th October, New Zealand Post issued a special miniature sheet and souvenir cover.
    

         The design of the miniature sheet depicts the 2,885m high, Mount Tapuae-o-Uenuku, a well known peak seen from all over the Marlborough District. The three stamps included in the design came from New Zealand's 'Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee' which were issued earlier this year at the time of the jubilee.

         Personally I don't particularly like miniature sheets as I believe they do not reflect the original purpose of stamps as a means of pre-paying postage. Miniature sheets are mainly designed for the collector market. Putting a miniature sheet on a normal sized envelope would in many cases be totally impractical if not impossible.

        As miniature sheets go this one is among some of the better ones. It is colourful with an attractive appearance. Including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee stamps will of course make it attractive for collectors of stamps depicting the royal family too.

        

Technical information

Date of issue:	12 October 2012
Miniature sheet and souvenir cover designed by:	Stamps Business, New Zealand Post, Wellington
Printer and process:	Southern Colour Print Ltd by offset lithography
Number of colours:	Four process colours plus PMS 877 silver and silver foil
Paper type:	Tullis Russell 104gsm red phosphor gummed stamp paper
Period of sale:	These stamps remained on sale until 11 October 2013.