Filenews 10 January 2021 - by Giorgos Christoforou
A whole world of Cypriot stamps is hidden in its heart within the walls of Nicosia, on Agios Savvas Street. In the Postal Museum, housed on the ground floor of an old stately residence.
Perhaps our generation is the last to use stamps to send a letter or a parcel. For future generations it may be a word unknown, as its usefulness will be unknown. That little piece of paper that people use as a payment sign to send a mailing envelope or package. The stamp, despite the fact that it has its own museum but also its lovers, will never become a past, emphasize philately but also connoisseurs of the object. He will continue his journey in every way and will get there and where he needs to be! It will bring depictions of history, folk tradition, modern life and other aspects of the life of the place.
The door of the history of the Cyprus Stamp was pushed and we entered the Museum to meet Mr. Ploutis Loizou, responsible for the area, who very willingly shared with "F" knowledge and experiences of 57 years through philately... He voluntarily offers his knowledge of the stamp to anyone who asks him, wanting the history of both the Museum and the stamp to continue.
The Museum was founded in 1981 in order to house the rich history and material from the collections of the Cyprus Post Office, which is completely interwoven with the long postal history of the island. In the three halls of the Museum, with the help of Mr. Loizos, we saw exhibits of stamps which are arranged chronologically, as well as various postal items such as stamps, airbrushes, envelopes for insured mail, special wrappers for the posting of newspapers and magazines, first-day circulation envelopes, information material, etc. , stamps of English camps, but also advertising.
The visitor of the Postal Museum has the opportunity to see the techniques by which they previously secured letters or postal bags, as well as the scales with which they weighed envelopes and parcels in order to determine the postal fee.
The postal history of Cyprus begins in 1871 with the operation of the Turkish post office in Nicosia, which ended its operation in 1878 when the English took over the administration of the island. The first stamps used in Cyprus were those of Great Britain in 1880, which were released under the label "Cyprus". In 1881 the first series of stamps was issued for Cyprus, which bore the portrait of Queen Victoria. With Victoria's death to the throne, she is succeeded by Edward the 7th, who also found his own portrait in the postal editions from 1902 to 1910. Then during the reign of George the 5th, stamps were released in Cyprus with his portrait, which had the highest stamp value in English, since they amounted to up to 5 pounds. Today they are pieces of particular collectible rarity.
As Mr Loizou explains, the stamps that were in circulation at the time were according to the postal needs of the place, and were also used for the stamping of court cases and other government documents that had a monetary cost.
1928 marks changes to stamps after the commemorative edition for the 50-year-old British government with 10 stamps. Cyprus was the first country to release stamps that escaped the monarch's portrait and had landscapes of Cyprus on top. Their cost started at three-quarters of a pound and amounted to 1 pound. This collection by the philately is valued as one of the most beautiful and most sought after in the world. In 1937 series with the coronation of George the 5th was released as a stamp. In 1938 another great series of landscapes of Cyprus was released where it continued in the same way as landscapes. In August 1955, the first series of stamps bearing the portrait of Queen Elizabeth was released. Subsequently, editions of landscapes of Cyprus were released, but in the corner they brought the portrait of the queen with the crown.
From independence onwards.
Cyprus became an independent state in 1960 and from 1962 until today, all its stamps bear its name in the three official languages, Greek, Turkish and English. The first stamps used after the signing of the Zurich-London agreements were those bearing Queen Elizabeth which were reprinted under the mark of the Republic of Cyprus. Later the first official release of stamps after independence, brought the map of Cyprus.
In 1962 the first series of European stamps (Europa stamps) was released which brought the pigeon. Since then, Cyprus has been circulating a series of European stamps every year on the subject given by the European Union, as in all the countries of the European region. Since 1964 in Cyprus every four years the Olympic stamps with the appropriate illustrations are released. From 1966 when the first Christmas series was released until today, the annual release of Christmas stamps continues. The Cypriot post office, over time circulates series related to the history, geography, culture of the place but also the big events
Similar stamps were released for the celebrations of the 20th, 30th and 60th anniversary of the independence of Cyprus. It is worth noting that in 1980, when Cyprus celebrated the 20th year of its independence, a series of commemorative stamps was issued with three photographs. One of the signing of the agreements, a photograph of Makarios III and one with the first Cypriot flag raised in the Parliament building.
Refugee Sign - The Longest Stamp
A total of 46 years later and the stamp with the refugee child, the so-called refugee stamp, is stuck in every envelope that leaves the Cyprus Post Office, is the longest of our country. In October 1974 after the Turkish invasion, the refugee sign was institutionalized by the Parliament and released with a photo depicting an old woman holding a child in her arms. The aim is to highlight the Cyprus problem abroad, while supporting the relief fund for patients. In December of the same year, the refugee sign was released with the child behind the barbed wire almost in the form in which we know it until today in the work of the well-known Greek engraver Tassos.
The price of the refugee sign was initially one cent and since 2008 its value is two cents. The construction of the stamp was done in engravings, then in a mock-up and today with the development of technology, the time of creation of a stamp has been minimized and any change in colours and shapes can be made via computer.
Sold for £45,000...
What makes a stamp of great value? His rarity and his mistakes, Mr. Loizou tells us, explain how bad stamps and limited-circulation stamps are of quite great value. Today, there is little chance of bad stamps being released because they are printed in security printers and... mistakes are destroyed!
An important element that stamp collectors pay attention to is the streeting because if it is destroyed it has no value from a collectible point of view, while the stamp should not cover much of the stamp and not hide its price.
Cypriot stamps have recently been sold at auctions abroad and some of them have reached up to £45,000, while several have touched higher prices. But... mistakes still continue to be sold and are very expensive!
Philately in Cyprus
During the English occupation of Cyprus there were several philately who were involved in the collection of stamps. In 1959 they founded the Cyprus Philately Society and were involved among other things in the publication of first-day circulation files. As Mr. Ploutis Loizou explains, the first day's file is printed on top of the stamps that are circulating and stamped with a special commemorative fence of the day. The first file of the 1st day of circulation issued by the Philately Company was released in 1960 with the proclamation of the Republic of Cyprus and bears the stamps of Queen Elizabeth which were marked with a special stamp 16/8/1960. Cyprus is currently estimated, depending on the publications of the Cyprus Post Office and the Philately Company, to number more than 5,000 philately.
There's a lot of philately to offer, as Mr. Ploutis Loizou tells us. The stamp is an Encyclopedia from which the philately can learn about a place, the culture of its natural wealth. At the same time, learning to collect stamps learns from organization and class as the collection of stamps needs special attention, use of tweezers and organization.
