A Celebration of Coronation Commemoratives

Alex Downie OBE MLC

A new set of stamps to mark the sixtieth anniversary of Her Majesty The Queen’s coronation will be issued next month.

For generations, commemorative souvenirs to mark the coronations of British monarchs ranging from medals, china or pottery drinking mugs, badges etc have been produced as treasured keep-sakes of these landmark occasions in British history. No doubt grand celebrations are sure to be repeated in 2013, the year that marks the sovereign’s diamond anniversary of her crowning country and will also be celebrated with new commemorative items. Pictured above is Alex Downie OBE MLC who has been a collector of coronation items for over 40 years and whose memorabilia features in some of the artwork within the overall stamp issue.

Commemorative souvenirs date back from the coronation of Queen Victoria through to our present monarch. They were and remain, remembrances of times when procession, pageants, firework displays, street parties and sports celebrated the coronation of a new King or Queen. Some could be bought while others were ‘awarded’ to young people, to be kept as a reminder of events that were high points in their lives.

Probably the shortest-lived royal souvenir in the Isle of Man was a replica of the St Edward’s coronation crown. It was made of 1200 lbs of confectionery rock and was eaten by schoolchildren on the day it had been made to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Known as the ‘Crown of Sugar’, it was exhibited for a short time in the front window of its maker, Johnson and Co. Then on Jubilee Day it was smashed into easily sucked pieces. Tickets were issued to children and they exchanged these at the shop for five-ounce bags of pieces.

There have been many other notable souvenirs including coloured souvenir postcards in 1902 to mark the coronation of King Edward VII, medals and flags. By the time of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II there were scores of commercial souvenirs. These ranged from men’s tie pins to royal-crested handbags. Virtually anything was packed decoratively, even pencils and paint boxes for children and tinned biscuits and chocolates. Only time will tell what this year’s coronation souvenirs will be!

Please visit our website at www.iomstamps.com to find out more about The Coronation of HM Queen 1953- 2013 collection of stamps and products and to pre-order.

Isle of Man Stamps & Coins – Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Collectables

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Isle of Man Stamps & Coins produced stamps and a range of collectable items to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen. Products include a set of six stamps, first day cover, presentation pack, miniature sheet, special covers and a special collectors folder.

For more information visit http://www.iompostoffice.com/stamps/FutureIssue.aspx?categoryid=237

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Isle of Man Stamps & Coins – London 2012 Olympic Games Collectables

Our London 2012 Olympic Games Paul Smith Designed Merchandise. Please click the image to see our product video.

To order please click here:

http://www.iompostoffice.com/stamps/Issue.aspx?productid=1003&categoryid=211

 

 

 

Isle of Man Stamps & Coins – Mark Cavendish – The Manx Missile Collection

Dot Tilbury, General Manager, Isle of Man Stamps.  Please Click the image to see video.

Isle of Man Stamps & Coins have created a number of product video’s promoting a number of items. The first is a set of stamps and other merchandise to mark the sporting achievements of Manxman and world cycling star Mark Cavendish MBE. This includes a souvenir sheet with augmented reality – the £1.05 stamps and special label come to life and you can watch Cavendish winning the World Championship in Copenhagen.

To order click here

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Isle of Man Post Shop Christmas Comp – First Week Winners

Our First Week Post Office Christmas Comp Winners 2012 – Mr & Mrs Tomlinson

Our first post shop Christmas competition winners last week were Christine and David Tomlinson, of Douglas.

They were presented with their £50 worth of postage by Dot Tilbury, General Manager, Isle of Man Stamps & Coins at Isle of Man Stamps & Coins HQ.

On winning David Tomlinson said: “It was a very pleasant surprise to be told we had won live on Manx Radio. To win £50 worth of postage is particularly pleasing at Christmas as we do send a lot of cards, so the prize will be well used.”

A FANTASTIC VARIETY OF PRIZES TO BE WON WITH ISLE OF MAN POST OFFICE

In the lead up to Christmas Isle of Man Post Office is giving customers the chance to win six fabulous prizes on offer from £50 worth of postage, a Santa Tram and train trips for a family of four, £50 worth of saving stamps, a year’s joint membership to the Friends of Manx National Heritage and the grand prize draw of £500 of foreign currency.

 

The free to enter competitions will be held each week from 12th November through till the 13th December with one competition per week and the winner will be announced live on Manx Radio every Monday morning from November 19. Entry coupons for each competition can be found in a leaflet which is being distributed to all 40,000 residential addresses on the Island from Monday 5th Nov 2012. The household delivery leaflet also contains ideas for Christmas presents, packing materials available from Regent Street Post Shop and the last posting dates.

 

To enter the competition/s simply cut out the relevant coupon and post it into the special post box in Regent Street Post Shop only during the dates the coupon is valid to and from. All entries to each of the competitions will automatically be entered into the chance to win the grand prize draw of £500 worth of foreign currency to be drawn on December 13.

 

There is also a special competition for children with the chance to win a fabulous evening for a family of four to see this year’s pantomime, Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs at the Gaiety Theatre on December 21, being staged by the Manx Operatic Society. The prize also includes pre-show dinner at Sir Norman’s in the Sefton Hotel and an after-show backstage pass to meet the cast. For children to enter it couldn’t be easier, Dot Tilbury General Manager Isle of Man Stamps and Coins explains how:

“We want to encourage lots of children on the Island to write their letters to Father Christmas. The art of letter writing is a valuable skill and in this day of modern technology, we should still find time to put pen to paper. Children need to write their Santa letter and visit Regent Street Post Office and place it in the special post box no later than December 12 to be entered into the prize draw. Children must include their name, address and contact telephone number of their letter. This is a wonderful prize and I’m sure we will receive a lot of entries, so get writing kids!

 

The Post Shop is open Monday to Friday 9am to 5.30pm (open from 9.30am on a Tuesday) and 9am to 12.30pm on Saturday.

 

Bee Fauna Of The Isle Of Man

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The Isle of Man Post Office is pleased to present this beautiful stamp issue dedicated to one of our most popular and beloved insects and recognising its crucial role in the life cycle of the natural world.

Apart from the honeybee, the Isle of Man is home to approximately 15 species of bumblebee and 57 species of solitary bee. To put this into perspective, currently there are known to be 24 species of bumblebees and over 200 solitary bee species recorded from the British Isles. On the Island these bees can be found foraging from flowers on our mountain moorlands where the lovely Bilberry Bumblebee, amongst several other bee species, can be found visiting bilberry and heather flowers, right down to the Island’s coastal fringes where a number of bees make a living on the Ayres and the soft cliffs of Ramsey Bay for example.

Most of us will be familiar with some of the various species of bumblebees that visit our garden flower beds, but the solitary bees will be less familiar and it may be only when they are nesting in our lawns or flower beds that we may notice them. They are called solitary because, unlike the honey and bumble bees, there is no worker caste and they do not live in colonies although they can form large nesting aggregations such as those of Colletes succinctus.

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Other solitary bees, known as cuckoo bees, forgo the labour of building and provisioning their own nests but sneak their eggs into the nests of other bees and where they develop and eliminate their competition for the nest’s provisions. The silver and white Epeolus variegatus is one such cuckoo bee which can be found on the Ayres where it takes advantage of the efforts of bees such as species of the genus Colletes.

On the Isle of Man there are in the region of 120 beekeepers with varying numbers of colonies, 100 of them are fully paid-up Members of the IOM Beekeepers Federation affiliated to the BBKA, comprising of three districts. It is estimated that there are at least 400 colonies kept by these beekeepers or the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.

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These images are so life-like you can almost smell the honey as this issue is made extra special printed on honey-scented paper.
Please visit our website at www.iomstamps.com to find out more about the Bee Fauna of the Isle of Man collection of stamps and products and to pre-order.

A Royal Request For Isle Of Man Stamps & Coins!

Personal copies of the special commemorative first day cover for HRH The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall have been requested by Clarence House, following the couple’s royal visit to the Isle of Man last month.

To mark the prestigious visit which was part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, Isle of Man Post Office produced a special commemorative cover. It featured the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee stamps and captured the essence of the day with a selection of photographs featured on a filler card with text.

Dot Tilbury, General Manager Isle of Man Stamps & Coins said: “We worked closely with Clarence House ahead of the visit to arrange permissions to have a photographer follow the couple during their whistle-stop tour, so we could obtain the variety of images we needed to produce the special cover. We sent a cover to Clarence House so they could see the final product and we were delighted to be contacted by them asking for copies for Prince Charles & the Duchess of Cornwall. This is fantastic feedback and we very much hope that Their Royal Highnesses will be pleased with the cover and that it will be a lasting memory of their trip to the Isle of Man.”

The first day commemorative cover is still available to buy at the price of £10 (ref number QB96). Please click HERE to find out more about our Jubilee stamps and products.