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T O P I C R E V I E WRossI'm looking for comments on this minisheet from Guinea-Bissau issued in 2011 for the anniversary of the STS-51L Challenger disaster.Robert PearlmanWhy did they issue a 10th anniversary commemorative on the 25th anniversary?Cozmosis22Another elaborate commemorative produced by a country that probably doesn't have a functioning postal system. Cashing in on the tragedy simply for national revenue. Wouldn't give a nickel for it. Also curious as to why it even mentions STS-7 instead of 51-L... not once but twice?randyPersonally I've never heard of that country and I also wouldn't give a nickel for it. And that would be extremely generous.Hart SastrowardoyoWhile I have heard of that country, I dislike stamps and coins that have no connection to the subject they picture. In this case, not unless there's a TAL site there, which would make this somewhat ironic.RossI must admit that I knew a little more than I indicated when I asked the question. As well as being interested if anyone had extra information on the issue I was interested to see who noticed the error (congratulations Robert who noticed it soon after I posted the image). However, there is more to the issue than first appears. See the next scan:This is the issued version (or one of them - see below). As you can see the 10 Anniv has been corrected to 25 Anniv. However, there is another change. The mission emblem is now monochrome rather than coloured. What does all this indicate? Maybe the top example is a proof sheet which had an error that was corrected in the issued version. However, why was the mission emblem colour changed? At first I thought it might be to reduce the number of colours used if the emblem used one of more that were different to the rest of the sheet. Although why that would be necessary I had no idea. Then I noticed the following version:Now the error has been corrected and the mission emblem is in full colour!! Very strange indeed! The first version (error version) I noticed on eBay and apparently was the only one who noticed the error as I was the only bidder. The second version is one I got from Lollini and is the version illustrated on their website and the third version is the common version being offered on eBay. Shows it pays to have sharp eyes.Guinea-Bissau is a small African nation which has been independent since 1973. Like many African nations it is unstable with regular army coups. As far as not being involved in the activity shown on the stamps, this is hardly unusual. Most countries issue doubtful stamps these days. Even my own country, Australia, issued last year alone several thousand dollars worth (at least that's what they charged) of a variety of imperforate minisheets, semi-imperforate minisheets, minisheets in various formats, gold and silver stamps etc etc etc In addition to the infamous Special Event Sheets where 10 to 20 of the same ordinary stamp are made into a sheetlet with a graphic background for some event that may have little to do with Australia other than its popular. To each his own.
Also curious as to why it even mentions STS-7 instead of 51-L... not once but twice?
This is the issued version (or one of them - see below). As you can see the 10 Anniv has been corrected to 25 Anniv. However, there is another change. The mission emblem is now monochrome rather than coloured. What does all this indicate? Maybe the top example is a proof sheet which had an error that was corrected in the issued version. However, why was the mission emblem colour changed? At first I thought it might be to reduce the number of colours used if the emblem used one of more that were different to the rest of the sheet. Although why that would be necessary I had no idea. Then I noticed the following version:
Now the error has been corrected and the mission emblem is in full colour!! Very strange indeed! The first version (error version) I noticed on eBay and apparently was the only one who noticed the error as I was the only bidder. The second version is one I got from Lollini and is the version illustrated on their website and the third version is the common version being offered on eBay. Shows it pays to have sharp eyes.
Guinea-Bissau is a small African nation which has been independent since 1973. Like many African nations it is unstable with regular army coups.
As far as not being involved in the activity shown on the stamps, this is hardly unusual. Most countries issue doubtful stamps these days. Even my own country, Australia, issued last year alone several thousand dollars worth (at least that's what they charged) of a variety of imperforate minisheets, semi-imperforate minisheets, minisheets in various formats, gold and silver stamps etc etc etc In addition to the infamous Special Event Sheets where 10 to 20 of the same ordinary stamp are made into a sheetlet with a graphic background for some event that may have little to do with Australia other than its popular. To each his own.
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