Stamp Bulletin No. 336

Collectors should have received their latest Stamp Bulletin by now. Unusually, Australia Post has not uploaded a PDF version to their website, or a copy to the Issuu website.

What surprised me is the number of issues, and most issues are accompanied by a miniature sheet and/or self-adhesive booklets. Thankfully, none of these issues are released in a special format, though I wonder what the contents of the 'Long May She Reign' prestige booklet are.

There is also no mention of this year's Christmas stamps, although they are released only 3 days after the Animals in Action issue. No doubt, Australia Post has saved the Christmas issues for the November-December Bulletin, but if you were cynical you might think putting the 'Signs of Our Times' (1 September) issue in the July-August Bulletin, and the Christmas issues (30 October) in the November-December Bulletin, to give the impression that there are fewer issues in September-October than there actually are.

August-October New Issues Announced

While we await the next Stamp Bulletin, issues for August to October have been announced (note: there has been some additions to those announced in the last Stamp Bulletin).

25 August - Birth of a Princess (no image available yet, but likely to be similar to the Prince George issue)

1 September - Signs of the Times (the postmark seen shows the issue date as 11 August!)

9 September - Dogs that Saved Macquarie Island (AAT issue)

9 September - Long May She Reign (marking the day the Queen becomes the Commonwealth's longest reigning monarch)

22 September - The Solar System (Stamp Collecting Month issue)

5 October - Honoured by Australia (likely to highlight the Australian Honours System)

13 October - Bicycles

27 October - A Centenary of Service - Animals in War (the regular military issue)

30 October - Christmas Island Christmas (a light-hearted view of Christmas)

30 October - Christmas (religious and secular stamps)

Certainly a busy and potentially expensive time for collectors. Let's hope the price of most of the stamps is set at the domestic rate of 70c.

New Postmarks Coming Soon

Australia Post has updated its list of upcoming postmarks for the next few months. Surprisingly there's been a change in approach with the Temporary and Permanent listings gaining more details:

With the cessation of Colleen's catalogue of postmarks, let's hope this fills the gap, and Australia Post continues to supply collectors with such detailed information.