1979 GB commemoratives - Penny Black 1840

Here’s an interesting curiosity…A very nice strip of three London Post c.1839 13p GB commemorative stamps on an envelope above another strip of three Policeman on the Beat 10p GB stamps. What makes this unusual, however, is that I received this envelope in the post the other day – in fact if you look carefully you’ll see a post mark dated 10 September 2007 – whilst the commemorative stamps were issued in 1979! As it happens, this is no accident – the envelope contained other stamps purchased on eBay. One of the fun things about buying stamps from dealers on eBay is that on some occasions you get more than you bargained for!

1979 commemorative stamps posted in 2007

The London Post stamp (SG Cat. 1097) was part of the four stamp set produced for the Centenary of the Death of Sir Rowland Hill (22 August – 24 October, 1979), whereas the Policeman on the Beat (SG Cat.1100) was issued on 26 September, 1979 along with three other stamps celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Metropolitan Police.

The London Post Stamp also appeared in the 1980 Miniature Sheet issued at the London 1980 Stamp Exhibition.

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PHQ 38 Sir Rowland Hill Cards Royal Mail Stamp Card Series Full Set 4/4

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GB. 1979 Sir Rowland Hill with Fancy cancel.....18/1

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1979 Rowland Hill & Penny Postage Bicentenary First Day Cover – Belfast Postmark

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1979 Bruce Castle School Sir Rowland Hill Official First Day Cover Upper Edmonto

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GREAT BRITAIN 1979 ROWLAND HILL 4v MINIATURE SHEET MNH MINT SGMS1099

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1979 First Day Cover ROWLAND HILL Miniature Sheet as shown Excellent

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GB Decimal Miniature Sheets Used ON PIECE ex FDC

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GB Wholesale Offer 1979 Rowland Hill x 10 Sets U/M Great Price & with FREE p&p

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The way we were … European flags in 1979

EU Assembly 1979 – 41mm x 30mm Inaugurated in 1958 as the Common Assembly, the European Parliament originally consisted of representatives selected by the national parliaments of EU member countries. Beginning in 1979, members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were elected by direct universal suffrage to terms of five years. Britannica.com When I saw that today’s theme over at Sunday Stamps, hosted by See it on a Postcard, was Maps/Flags my mind went right away to this set of GB commemorative stamps from 1979. Recent turbulent events in the UK over Brexit make this particular issue a poignant piece of political history. This isn’t intended as a political post, however, although as a British citizen who has lived almost her entire adult life in Italy, I have always considered myself thoroughly ‘European’! Issued on 9 May 1979 to mark the very first Direct Elections to European Assembly, this set consisted of four very similar stamps featuring subtle variations of the main design of hands – all conspicuously white – placing flags of member nations into ballot boxes. This is the 9 pence stamp, with a blue background, with the other denominations seeing different directions and colour changes of the background. I don’t own this entire set, and only have this used stamp, which I carefully steamed off an envelope as a child. The post mark seems particularly quaint, with its ‘REMEMBER to use the POSTCODE’ slogan. The flags featured include the original six member nations – Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Italy, and the Netherlands – as well as the three nations that joined later in 1973 – Denmark, Ireland, and the UK – with the UK Union Flag the very first in the top left hand corner. The four stamps were designed by Stafford Cliff, best known as the creative director of the Conran Design Group in London. Don’t forget to head on over to See it on a Postcard and visit the other Sunday Stamps bloggers today!

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