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Never has a stamp been front page news in the Vancouver Sun, Linn's Stamp News, and Canadian Stamp News all at the same time. Of course, there has never been a Canadian stamp like the new Vancouver 2010 48c self adhesive booklet issue, an of-the-stamp program, surprise, booklet only release, that began appearing in select Vancouver area post offices just nine days after Vancouver and Whistler were awarded the 21st Olympic Winter Games. In spite of my haunting post offices daily, shipping out orders, I knew nothing of the Olympic bid win tribute issue until the Vancouver Sun phoned for a comment, in response to a Canada Post news release distributed well after the stamp booklet distribution quietly began. When the Sun broke the story the next day, the Vancouver 2010 stamp was greeted with great "non collector" interest at local post offices and from the National Philatelic Center. A rumour soon started in the stamp community that the stamp was being recalled. Availabilty was hampered by postal clerks lack of knowledge regarding the as yet unheralded new issue, and an impending postal strike. |
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| No recall or postal strike ensued, but availabilty was by no means universal. Because of the rush release and overprinted nature, varieties and errors likely exist. There is no official first day cover.
Issued in three part Vancouver 2010 red overprinted booklets of 30, the Ottawa Post Office photo stamps bear the same red Vancouver 2010 overprint in the bottom right hand corner. Only 100,000 booklets were produced, of which 60,000 were made available in British Columbia. Overprinted issues are rare on new issue Canadian stamps. The last overprints I can remember are semi-official stamp show themed or political themed markings on the late 1970s floral definitives. Likewise, some booklets were semi-officially overprinted to promote stamp shows in the early 1980s. Other than G or O.H.M.S. official overprints, the last overprinted Canadian stamp issues that were widely distributed likely date back to the 1930s. Canada Post produced this overprinted issue, seven years before the Olympics, because Canada Post, and their wholly owned subsidiary Purolator Courier, are official sponsors of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games winning bid. There are postal trucks operating around Vancouver right now with commemorative panels congratulating Vancouver and Whistler on the successful Olympic bid. |
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 Calgary, Alberta hosted the Winter Olympics in 1988, Montreal, Quebec hosted the 21st Summer Games in 1976.
Vancouver - Whistler will host the 21st Winter Games in 2010. There will be a plethora of other Olympic coin and stamp issues in due course, once these are approved by the International Olympic Committee. A collection of prior Canadian Olympic issues can be put togther easily and affordably. |
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It will be interesting to see if the new issues spark interest from new collectors who are interested in the Olympics. Front page coverage cannot hurt, but will interest snowball? Buy some here. |
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| Other Olympic pages: | ||
Coins: The Vancouver 2010 Olympic coins are available in our store. They are not available for shipment outside North America at this time. According to a page 4 article in the June 25, 2007 issue of Coin World , the Royal Canadian Mint now has an agreement, with the United States Olympic Committee, to allow sales of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic coins to the United States. It appears the coins are not yet available for delivery outside North America. The Vancouver 2010 Olympics 50-coin program, the largest yet for any country, started in February, but stalled in April, when Vanoc, the Vancouver Olympic organizers, and the Mint started enforcing a ban on sales outside Canada, as they had no distribution agreement in place with individual nations' Olympic Committees. Canadian and U.S. residents can now order the coins, and get information about them, by calling Brian Grant Duff at (604)684 4613. By order of Vanoc, we are not allowed to display, describe, or sell the coins on our website, on radio, or on television. No terms of the agreement with the U.S. Olympic Committee were available at the time the Coin World article was written. The Canadian Numismatic Society email newsletter has been hinting for some weeks that a distribution deal with the States was imminent. It appears we can now ship Vancouver 2010 Olympic coins and souvenir holders to clients in Canada and the United States. 2006 Proof Olympic Lucky Loony in a Bookmark |
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Stamps: 2003 2010 Olympic Overprint attached stamp booklet trio |
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Royal Canadian Mint releases Freestyle Skiing quarter |
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Newsletter 46 |
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