St Helena stamps 1998

 New Definitive Issue "Maritime Heritage"

The St Helena Post Office maintains a stamp issuing policy whereby defintive stamps are replaced every five years. The Current definitive stamps featuring the beautiful birds of St Helena, released on 26 August 1993, are today being replaced by a very interesting and attractive issue entitled "Maritime Heritage".

Each of the twelwe stamps depict a differnet type of naval ships that called at St Helena during the early times through to the later yeasr of sail, and includes such ships as HMS Endeavour, HMS Northumberland, the Dutch ship Witte Leeuw, and the French frigate La Belle Poule, which conveyed the body of the Island's most famous resident, Napoleon Bonaparte, back to France in 1840. The ships are shown at sea against backgrounds based on weather conditions prevailing at the time.

The name of the ship and the year it called at St Helena is printed on each stamp.

There are two official covers, one blue and the other cream, both bearing the design of a fleet of East Indiamen off St Helena. The six stamps affixed to each cover are cancelled with a special cachet featuring the bowline knot.

A liner card containing information on stamps is enclosed in each cover.

Mint sets at £10.80 and official first day covers £5.20 (blue) and £L6.40 (cream) are available from the Philatelic Bureau, The Post Office, Jamestown.

Just click on stamp!