1970 Definitive / Pictorials - Part One.

Posted by on
 Definitive Tour.

Overview of this Definitive Issue. 

          1970 Definitive / Pictorials - Part One.
                    Overview of the 7 issues of this series of stamps.
                    Looking at the designs and subjects of these stamps.
                    A collection of flaws & errors from the low values.
                    A collection of flaws & errors from the large values.
                    Some other items of interest including a collection of courier tags.

 Brief History.        

         Planning for the 1970 Definitives began in 1968 with a two stage competition to select a group of designers who were then commissioned to complete full designs for the issue, with the final stamps being picked from that selection.

         The half, one and two cent abstract moths were designed by Miss Enid Hunter. The rest of the moths and the fish stamps up to the seven cent stamp by Miss Eileen Mayo. D.B. Stevenson designed the 7½ and 8 cent stamps.
                                   

        The 10, 15, 25, 30 cent, $1 and $2 stamps were designed by Mark Cleverley. The 23 and 50 cent stamps were designed by M V Askew and the 18 and 20 cent designs were by Enid Hunter again. The one and two dollar stamps were printed by Courvoisier in Switzerland and it is an unusual characteristic of their printing process that fibres are embedded on the gum side of the stamps.
        The stamps were then issued in seven groups over the period March 1970 to December 1971. Each separate issue had its own First Day Cover as can be seen below. On this page the stamps are shown in the order in which they were issued. In the second post of these same definitive, the stamps will be shown in order by their value.

       The 2½ cent stamps were surcharged in 1971 when postal rates increased and are usually listed under the 1971 Provisionals issue. The 3 and 4 cent stamps were surcharged in 1977 and are usually listed under the 1977 Postafix Provisionals issue.

                                     


1970 Definitives Stamp Issue - One.
(Issued - 12 March 1970)

 NZ Arms / Queen Elizabeth II.
March 1970 saw the first of a new series of definitive stamps that would eventually replace all of the 1967 Decimal Definitives. Over the next year and a half, all the stamps of this new set would be issued progressively via a series of seven issues.

10c - New Zealand Coat of Arms / Queen Elizabeth II.
The stamp was released at this time to coincide with a Royal Visit to New Zealand
of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

First Day Cover - 12 March 1970.
1970 Definitives Stamp Issue - Two.
(Issued - 2 September 1970)

 Butterflies & Moths.
A set of six stamps with the lowest values within this series of definitive/pictorials. 

                              
½c - Glade Copper Butterfly.                 1c - Red Admiral Butterfly.                  2½ - Magpie Moth.          

                                
2c - Tussock Butterfly.                           3c - Lichen Moth.                                4c - Puriri Moth. 


First Day Cover - 2 September 1970.


1970 Definitives Stamp Issue - Three.
(Issued - 4 November 1970)

Under-sea Creatures.
The next issue contained another range of lower values showing dominations
from 5c through 8c.

                       
5c - Scarlet Parrot Fish.                      6c - Seahorse.

                                
       7½ - Garfish.                          7c - Leather Jacket Fish.                            8c - John Dory.


First Day Cover - 4 November 1970.

1970 Definitives Stamp Issue - Four.
(Issued - 20 January 1971)

 Maori Themes.
A had happened in 1967, three stamps of lower - middle values showed
Maori cultural subjects. These were the next to be issued.

                    
           15c - Maori Fish Hook.                                          18c - Maori War Club.

20c - Maori Moko / Tattoo.

First Day Cover - 20 January 1971.


1970 Definitives Stamp Issue - Five.
(Issued - 14 April 1971)

 Technology & Progress.
For this issue we now jump to the highest two stamps of this definitive series.
They were the $1 & $2 used mainly for parcels and high valued mail.
              
$1.00 - Geothermal Power Generation.                                $2.00 - Agricultural Technology.      


First Day Cover - 14 April 1971.

1970 Definitives Stamp Issue - Six.
(Issued - 1 September 1971)

National Parks.
What was supposed to have been the last issue of this series
is sometimes called the National Parks, although this in incorrect since
the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park is not actually a National Park.


                                    
25c - Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park.                             30c - Mount Cook National Park.

50c - Abel Tasman National Park.

First Day Cover - 1 September 1971.

1970 Definitives Stamp Issue - Seven.
(Issued - 1 December 1971)

 Extra Value - National Park.
The final issue was an extra value added to meet an unpredicted
demand in postage.

23c - Egmont National Park.

First Day Cover - 1 December 1971.


Provisionals.
1971 Provisionals Issue.

             

The 2½ cent stamps were surcharged in 1971 when postal rates increased and are usually listed under the 1971 Provisionals issue. There are three varieties of this overprint which are more fully explained at the bottom of Part Two. 

1977 Postafix Provisionals Issue.



The 3 and 4 cent stamps were surcharged in 1977 and are usually listed under the 1977 Postafix Provisionals issue

      

First Day Cover - 21st April, 1977.
(Actually the 7c o/p was issued on the 18th April, 1997)


Technical information - Lower Values.

Date of Issue:
2 September 1970
Designers:
E Hunter, Wellington, E Mayo, Christchurch and D B Stevenson, Whangarei
Printers:
Harrison and Sons, England
Stamp Size:
21mm x 25mm
Sheet Size:
200 stamps per sheet
Process:
Photogravure and Letterpress overprinting
Perforation Gauge:    13.5 x 13
Paper Type:
Chalk surfaced, with and without watermark

Technical information - Higher Values.

Date of Issue:
12 March 1970
Designers:
M Cleverley, Auckland, E Hunter, Wellington and M V Askew, Christchurch
Printers:
Joh Enschedé, Netherlands, Harrison and Sons, England, Bradbury Wilkinson, England and Courvoisier, Switzerland
Stamp Size:
10c : 25mm x 42mm;  15c and 20c : 40.64mm x 24.13mm;  18c : 24.13mm x 40.64mm;  23c : 40mm x 24mm;  25c and 30c : 24mm x 40mm;  50c : 41.6mm x 25.3mm;  $1 and  $2 : 26mm x 41mm
Sheet Size:
100 stamps per sheet
Process:
Photogravure and Lithography
Perforation Gauge:                
10c : 14.5 x 14;  15c and 20c : 13.5 x13;  18c : 13 x 13.5;  23c and 50c  : 13.5 x 12.5;  25c and 30c : 13.25 x 13.5;  $1 and  $2 : 11.5 x 11.5
Paper Type:
Courvoisier prints on Granite type, others on chalk surfaced, with and without watermark



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/


Some information for this post came from.
New Zealand Post (Stamps)


Comments

Post a Comment

We appreciate your engagement with our content. To ensure a respectful and constructive community, please take note of the following:

- No Spam, Please: We do not tolerate spammy or promotional comments. Any such comments will be promptly removed.

- Moderation in Place: All comments are moderated to maintain a positive and inclusive environment. Please be patient, as it may take a little time for your comment to appear.

- Sign In with Google: To comment, please sign in using your Google account. This helps us maintain the integrity of our community and allows for better interaction.