Christmas Island

Christmas 2019
01 November 2019

***Christmas Island: Christmas 2019 (miniature sheet), 1 November 2019. Image from Australia Post.***

Issue date: 1-November-2019
Issue withdrawal date: 31-December-2020
Denomination: 1 x 65c, 1 x $2.20
Stamp and minisheet design: Rebecca Mills
Product design: Simone Sakinofsky, Australia Post Design Studio
Paper: gummed Tullis Russell
Paper: self-adhesive Arconvert Securepost MC90, Domain Securepost MC90
Printer: RA Printing
Printing process: Offset lithography
Stamp size (mm): 26 x 37.5
Minisheet size (mm): 105 x 80
Sheetlet size (mm): 120 x 192
Perforations: 14.6 x 13.86
Sheet layout: Module of 50 and sheetlet of 10
FDI Postmark: Christmas Island, WA 2019
FDI withdrawal date: 30-November-2019

Overview

Located some 2,600 kilometres north-west of Perth, Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean, was named by Captain William Mynors, who sailed past it on Christmas Day 1643.

Australia Post has produced stamps for Christmas Island since 1993. This light-hearted stamp series features Santa Claus interacting with various personified local fauna.

This year’s theme focuses on the festival meal, which is a central part of Christmas Day celebrations.

This year’s colourful stamp and minisheet illustrations are by Rebecca Mills. The two stamps and minisheet feature a communal table of abundance, goodwill and joy, at which Santa, Rudolph and some local friends, indulge in a festive feast.

You can see more of Rebecca’s amazing work on her website. You can also follow Rebecca on Twitter and Instagram.

Stamps in this issue
65c – Santa
The domestic Christmas-card-rate stamp features Santa and an Abbott’s Booby pulling heartily on the two ends of a Christmas cracker.
$2.20 – Rudolph
In the international-rate stamp, Rudolph has truly embraced the Christmas spirit, adorning his horns with baubles. With a Frigatebird at his shoulder, Rudolph offers some coveted plum pudding to an enthusiastic Red Crab.
Christmas 2019 minisheet
The Christmas Island Christmas 2019 minisheet consists of the two stamps from the issue incorporated into a miniature stamp sheet.

***Christmas Island: Christmas 2019 (embellished sheetlet 10x65c Santa stamps), 1 November 2019. Image from Australia Post,***

The self-adhesive sheetlet contains 10 x 65c embellished Santa stamps from the Christmas Island Christmas 2019 stamp issue.
The Santa sheet contains clear varnish on selected parts of the stamps and 10 “card only” stickers.
Seasonal greeting card rate applies to greeting cards enclosed in a sealed envelope and endorsed card only. Only available during November and December.

***Christmas Island: Christmas 2019 (sheetlet of 5 x $2.20 CI Christmas 2019 international stamps_, 1 November 2019. Image from Australia Post.***

This sheetlet contains 5 x $2.20 Rudolph self-adhesive international stamps from the Christmas Island Christmas 2019 stamp issue in a convenient wallet sized booklet.

***Christmas Island: Christmas 2019 (first day Christmas Island Christmas 2019 minisheet cover), 1 November 2019. Image from Australia Post.***

This first day cover is a pictorial envelope with the minisheet from the Christmas Island Christmas 2019 issue affixed and postmarked – First day of issue | 1 November 2019 | Christmas Island WA 3798

The first day cover is valid for postage only on day of issue, from the post office named on the postmark.

These stamps and other products can be purchased from Australia Post Collectibles.

This is the first part of what I hope will be a comprehensive listing of new stamp issues as they are released throughout the year. This project began as a simple spreadsheet on which I tabulated every release I could track down. It soon became a “mission” to make the listing as complete as I could make it without access to the catalogues (which are published long after the stamps are issued). I then intended to create an end-of-the-month illustrated blog article but that proved to be too massive of a project, especially with my work schedule and other activities. I have since decided to post the information as a page that I constantly update throughout the year (and, as such, will always be accessible from the top menu on the page). I will announce progress on the page through my “Weekly Phila-Bytes” columns.

The listings are chronological by date, and then alphabetical by stamp-issuing entity. The images come from a wide range of difference sources, some are high-quality scans, others are low-resolution promotional mock-ups. Those latter images will be replaced by better ones as soon as I can. If you own any of these stamps, I would appreciate any upgrade in scans of your actual stamps via email. Occasionally, there are links that lead to additional information, including technical details, of the various stamp issues.

I hope you find this compilation useful.