This year’s Christmas stamps were issued on 15 October, 1969. The 5c stamp was designed by Mr. George Hamori, of Sydney, and shows a Nativity Scene in stained glass window style. The 25c stamp was designed by Mr. John Coburn, formerly of Canberra, and now in Europe designing tapestries. Mr. Coburn is a well-known Australian painter, and has had many exhibitions. He won the Blake Prize for Religious Art in 1960, and the Young Prize for a similar theme in 1963. This, his first stamp design, shows a “Tree of Life”, with the Christ Child in a leaf-shaped crib, and the Christmas star above.
Both stamps were printed by photogravure at the Note Printing Branch, Reserve Bank of Australia, Melbourne, in sheets of 100 on paper incorporating helecon. The 5c stamp is 22 mm x 34.5 mm, printed area, and the 25c is 34.5 mm x 22 mm. The lower value was printed in yellow, cyan, magenta and black (tricolour inks) and the 25c in orange, maroon, black and gold. The stamps are being sold initially on a “request” basis, so that they may be used on greetings posted to reach Europe and North America by surface mail. They will go on sale at the end of 1969, although they will continue to be available for a further period from philatelic sales points.
Details
- Date of Issue: 15 October 1969
- Reprint: December 1969
- Withdrawn Date: 31 March 1971
- Invalidated:
- Designer:
- 5c – George Hamori, Sydney
- 25c – John Coburn, Canberra
- Printer: Note Printing Branch, Reserve Bank of Australia
- Process: Photogravure
- Cylinders:
- Yellow – Cyan – Magenta – Black (5c)
- Orange – Maroon – Black – Gold (25c)
- Paper: Wiggins Teape – chalk coated with Helecon
- Watermark: None
- Perf: Comb
- 13.5 x 13.25 (5c)
- 13.25 x 13.5 (25c)
- Sheet:
- Printed in two panes of 50 stamps (R5 x 10) divided by horizontal gutter. (5c)
- Printed in two panes of 50 stamps (R10 x 5) divided by vertical gutter. (25c)
- Quantity:
- 104,959,000 (5c)
- 2,544,000 (25c)
Subjects