New private local post in Italy releases first stamp
It’s not often that I get to mention a stamp from a brand new local post, but we’re getting 2022 off to a good start with this new issue from Ankon Local Post. The private local post operating in Castelfidardo, Italy, on November 4, 2021, released a commemorative stamp commemorating the 700th anniversary of the death of the poet Dante Alighieri.
Ankon Local Post Dante Alighieri stamp
The stamp has a face value of 1.40, though I have to admit the currency indicator is not one that’s familiar to me.
I’m quite pleased to welcome Ankon Local Post operator Rosalba P. to the local posting community, and look forward to seeing additional creations from her as we move forward.
Update (2022-02-11)
Rosalba commented below that her local post stamps are denominated in fiorino Ankonitano.
Philosateleian Post smashes single-year mail volume record
Taking one final look back at 2021, Philosateleian Post last year set a new record for mail volume, processing 524 pieces of outgoing mail and surpassing the previous record of 485 set in 2019. 13 pieces of mail carried by Philosateleian Post last year received local service only, while the remainder were transferred to the United States Postal Service for dispatch to their final destinations.
As in years past, non-letter business mail (bills, stamps and covers, etc.) comprised the majority of my household’s outgoing mail with more than 320 pieces sent, smashing that category’s previous record of 281 set in 2019. 30 postcards were processed, which was a new record for that category as well.
Also of note is that Philosateleian Post transported 15 packages last year, which is the highest number of parcels carried in a single calendar year since 2015.
Finally, the domestic letter category, which includes both personal cards and letters and those that I sent on behalf of the Local Post Collectors Society, added nearly 120 more pieces to the total. That was almost exactly the same total as in 2020, but fell short of 2019’s all-time high for the category.
And yes, I realize that tracking how many pieces of mail my family and I send is a little weird, but it’s kind of fun in a way, too!
As you’re probably aware, I’ve been issuing quarterly supplements for The Philosateleian since I launched my project in 2006, and if you regularly download and print those, you don’t need the annual supplements; this update is only for those users who have chosen to update their albums only once per year. The first quarterly update for 2022 should be available in early March.
Thank you as always for your support and for your interest in The Philosateleian.
This post may be a few days late, but I’ve been thinking about 2021 and although it probably wasn’t my most active year in stamp collecting or where Philosateleia is concerned, there were definitely some highlights:
I continued zeroing in on what I’ve adopted as my specialty: solo uses of the 14¢ American Indian stamp. These are not common at all, but I was able to acquire no fewer than five —four commercial, one philatelic—for my collection. I’m still a long way off from having enough examples to put together even a single-frame exhibit, but maybe one day.
With a narrower focus, I also spent some time clearing out material that no longer falls within the scope of my collection. Unrelated covers and duplicates that I don’t need? Some of those have ended up as Philosateleian Post Horn giveaways, while I’ve listed others on eBay or in my own online shop. There’s still much to do, but it feels good to clear some things away.
Philosateleian Post issued its 40th different local post stamp last January and is up to 42 as of the beginning of this year. I never seem to get tired of “playing postmaster”!
I also wrote my 500th blog post last year. I’m not the most frequent of posters, but I’ve been at this for a while now, and the posts add up over time.
As for this year? A couple of things I’d like to do include:
Processing more of the pile of unsorted landscape stamps I’ve accumulated into my collection. I created a few landscape album pages in 2021, but not nearly as many as I would have liked. Hopefully I’ll be able to make more progress on that project this year.
Continuing to expand The Philosateleian U.S. Stamp Album with additional pages for fiscal stamps. I don’t think there’s anywhere close to the same amount of demand for revenue stamp album pages as there is for postage stamp album pages, but I like to give you as many options as possible.
I wrote back in August about a 3¢ local post stamp issued by Como Park Post out of Saint Paul, Minnesota. That stamp was initially released in imperforate sheets, but Como Park Post operator Tom B. informs me that it has been reissued in coil form, and he sent me a cover bearing a coil pair.
3¢ Como Park Post coil stamps on cover
The initial run of coil stamps has no markings that distinguish those stamps from the earlier imperforate sheet stamps. Tom tells me that later printings of this stamp will have a red marking along one edge, which will make it possible to identify singles as being from coils; in the meantime, however, much like the imperforate United States coil stamps of the 1910s, these need to be collected on cover in order to verify their original format.
Update (2021-01-02)
When I checked my post office box on Friday, one of the items awaiting me was a cover bearing one of Como Park Post’s 3¢ stamps with a red stripe along one edge.
3¢ Como Park Post coil stamp on cover
The red stripe is dark but noticeable particularly above and below the design, and should make the stamp easy to identify as originating in a coil even if it’s removed from the cover.
