Philippine Stamps and Topical Stamp Collecting, 2nd Edition

     On April 1, 1949, a semi-postal set of 3 stamps was released by the post office. One of the stamps had a stylized design of birds in the background. Strictly speaking, this was the first "bird stamp" of the Republic period since it contained a bird design. However, the design was quite small and seemed insignificant. If this is the case, then one can claim that the first "bird stamp" of the Republic period appeared on the Baguio Conference issue of 1950. The postal issue consisted of 3 stamps with the following denominations: 5 centavos, 6 centavos and 18 centavos. The featured bird was the dove. In 1967, a set of 4 stamps on birds was issued and it was an anti-TB semi-postal issue. It was on this issue that the first "eagle stamp" appeared. The eagle was the Philippine eagle which was known then as the monkey-eating eagle.

 

     The first "airplane stamp" came out with the release of the Centenary of Philippine Postage Stamps issue of 1954. The set consisted of 6 multicolored stamps with the same design. Three of the stamps were commemorative stamps while the other three were air post stamps. The airplane, which looked like a passenger airplane, was placed just below the upper right-hand corner of the stamps.

 

     *In 1955, the first "sea craft stamp" was issued. The sea craft --- a Moro vinta --- appeared on the stamps which were issued to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Rotary International. The issue was composed of 3 multicolored stamps. Two of the stamps were commemorative stamps while the other one was an air post stamp. The stamps' design was a lake scenery with Mayon Volcano serving as a background. This was quite unique. The Moro vinta was (and still is) associated with places found in the southern part of the Philippines. Mayon Volcano is located in the Bicol area which is a region found in the northeastern part of the Philippines. (*See IMPORTANT NOTE at the end of the article.)

 

     Once again, it was in 1954 when one of the first topical stamps of the Republic period appeared. This was the Second Asian Games issue and it was composed of 3 stamps. It was the first "sports stamps" with a perforation of 13 and three denominations: 5 centavos, 18 centavos and 30 centavos. In 1960, the first "Olympic stamps" came out with the release of the Olympic issue. The issue consisted of 4 stamps and each stamp had its own design of a particular sporting event in the Olympics. It was in this set that the first "basketball stamp" appeared.

 

     During the 1960s, a number of outstanding issues of topical stamps were released. These issues included the orchid set of 1962, the Olympic set of 1964, the cycling set of 1965, the musical instruments set of 1968 and the butterflies set of 1969. From the 1970's up to the present, a lot of topical stamps issues have been released.

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*IMPORTANT NOTE: In 1947, the Philippines issued the first definitive stamps. These are very small stamps that showed landmarks and scenery of the country. One of these definitive stamps contained an image of "sea craft". Technically speaking, this is the first "sea craft stamp" of the Republic period. However, the image was too small and not the main theme of the issue. In 1951, the coat of arms series was released. The coat of arms of Zamboanga city and Iloilo city had ship or sea craft designs on them. Strictly speaking, these are "sea crafts stamps," but their theme was nationalistic in nature and not sea craft per se. In addition, the images of the sea crafts on the stamps were small. Again, technically speaking, the 1947 issue and the coat of arms stamps are easily classified under the "country collection" category rather than the "topical stamp collection" category.