2003 Scenic Definitives.

Definitives Tour.

       The 2003 Scenic Definitive issue consisted five gummed stamps and one in adhesive format. They were an add-on to those issued in 2000. Again scenes were selected were from various parts of New Zealand. The issue included a limited edition with silver foil in the NZ Post silver fern logo. Lower down under 2004 we have two further designs and three changed to adhesives.

          
50c - Ailsa Mountains.                                   $1.00 - Coromandel.


Ailsa Mountains - 50c
Towering over 3500 metres above sea level, the Ailsa Mountains form a magnificent western backdrop to Lake Wakatipu, in the South Island's Fiordland region. The mountains are drained by the Greenstone and Caples Rivers, whose waters contain a rich resource of rainbow and brown trout and whose valleys and surrounding beech forests are popular choices for tramping and camping expeditions.
Coromandel - $1.00.
The Coromandel Peninsula - just two hours' drive from Auckland, New Zealand's largest city - is a haven of untouched beauty. An historic logging and gold-mining area, it today offers a getaway destination of lush forests, deserted beaches and secluded bays. A marine reserve off the east coast shelters a wealth of fish, shellfish and marine plant species.
I like the Coromandel and used go there often for holidays and hunting. The fishing was always good there too. Now the area has become aware of tourism potential and there are a lot more attractions and things to do. 


          
               $1.50 - Arrowtown.                           $2.00 - Tongariro National Park.

Arrowtown - $1.50
When gold was discovered in central Otago's Arrow River in the 1860s, thousands of miners flocked to the district. 'Arrowtown', established in 1862, soon earned itself a reputation for lawlessness and constant squabbles over claims for gold. Today, more than 100 years after the gold rush, Arrowtown's original buildings have been restored and the 'living historic town' is a popular tourist destination.
Tongariro National Park - $2.00.
Located in the central North Island, Tongariro is New Zealand's oldest national park. It includes and protects three major active volcanoes - Mt Ruapehu, Mt Ngauruhoe and Mt Tongariro - as well as forests, tranquil lakes and a desert-like plateau. In this strongly contrasting landscape you'll find hot springs and winter snowfields, alpine herbs and dense beech forests, as well as many native birds, animals and insects.
  
$5.00 - Castlepoint.
This small holiday settlement on the North Island's Wairarapa coast is dominated by a white-coloured headland named 'The Castle' by explorer Captain James Cook. With its fossil-rich reef, sheltered lagoon, extensive beach and undulating sand dunes, Castlepoint is a popular location for water-based recreational pursuits - and a visiting point for dolphins, fur seals, sea birds and the occasional small whale.
Now this is a spectacular location. I was out there on a stormy day many years ago. The waves had completely cut off the headland where the lighthouse stands. Would have been amazing to have been out on that rock that day but we couldn't get anywhere near it.

Arrowtown - $1.50. (Adhesive)

First Day Cover.

 Perforation Errors.

This error was caused by the paper being out of place during perforating. This give an appearance of the perforation move down so it overlaps another stamp. Notice the barcode in the selvage has also been cut by the moved perforation. 

 In this case there is no perforation at all in this booklet of $1.50 Arrowtown (Adhesive).
In a example like this collectors usually refer to them as being imperf stamps.


Limited Edition - Frond Logo Silver Foiled.
A limited edition set of gummed stamps with the New Zealand Post frond logo silver foiled were produced and sold in complete numbered sheets. On all values the silver foil matches and overlays the black printing on the regular issue stamps (in the sample shown above the foiling is offset slightly). I don't know how the real ones appear but these images here do not show anything worth the extra effort for.


2004 Scenic Definitives - New Designs.

 
      45c - Kaikoura.                                 $1.35 - Lake Tekapo.

45c - Kaikoura.
Kaikoura is on the South Island’s eastern coastline. Long a service centre for the local fishing industry, innovative entrepreneurship has seen the township become an internationally renowned whale-watching destination. The 45c is available in both a gummed and a self-adhesive version.
Further south, the $1.35 stamp features the Church of the Good Shepherd, a beautiful chapel with superb views over Lake Tekapo that has become a sought after wedding venue.

Three Adhesive stamps were issued at the same time.
One from this issue and two others from previous issues of Scenic Definitives.
 
The 45c Kaikoura as was mentioned above.

                          
1996 10c - Champagne Pool, Waiotapu.                              2000 90c - Rangitoto Island

The First Day Cover.
The 2004 First Day Cover for the Scenic Definitives shows a brilliant sunset from Kaikoura. The stamps are the two versions of the 45c Kaikoura, and the $1.35 Lake Tekapo.  


Four of the Five Stamps Used.
Used stamps are not shown very often in the more modern issues on this blog. There is no reason for this other than image quality and the idea of presenting the stamps so their design and beauty can be enjoyed. Below are four of the five values in used condition and I must admit there is a certain satisfaction in showing stamps that have been used for the purpose there were designed. 
                          
50c - Ailsa Mountains, Lake Wakatipu.                               $1.00 - The Coromandel Peninsula.

                         
$1.50 - Arrowtown, Central Otago.                                  $2.00 - Tongariro National Park.

2003 Technical information.

Date of Issue:
7 May 2003
Designer:
CommArts Design , Wellington, New Zealand
Printer:
Southern Colour Print, Dunedin, New Zealand
Stamp Size:
30mm x 25mm
Sheet Size:
50c and $1.00 sheets of 100; $1.50 in sheets of 50 and booklets of five; $2.00 and $5.00 in sheets of 50
Paper Type:       
Gummed - De la Rue 103gsm red phosphor coated litho stamp paper;  Self-adhesive - 210gsm PSA gloss back stamp paper
Perforation:
Gummed - 13.5 x 13.25;  Self-adhesive - Diecut

2004 Technical information.

Date of Issue:
22 March 2004 (45c and $1.35); 5 April (90c)
Designer:
Comm Arts Design , Wellington
Printer:
Gummed: 45c, Southern Colour Print Dunedin.  $1.35, Walsall Security Printers, UK.   Self-adhesive: 45c, SNP Sprint, Australia.  90c: Southern Colour Print, Dunedin
Stamp Size:
30mm x 25mm
Sheet Size:
90c: 50; Booklets of 10
Paper Type:  
45c & $1.35 gummed, Tulliss Russell 104g Red Phosphor;  45c self-adhesive; dispensers & coils: CPI C90 self-adhesive paper, sheets & Booklets: CPI paper C100 self-adhesive paper.  90c: Booklets; Avery Dennison B100 PSA. Sheets; Avery Dennison B90 PSA
Perforation:      
45c gummed; 14.  $1.35; 14.39 x 13.99. Self-adhesive; Diecut

Some of the images in this post were used with permission from the illustrated catalogue of StampsNZ
You can visit their web site and On-line Catalogue at, http://stampsnz.com/