Information for the Collector
This catalog lists all postage stamps issued by the Marshall Islands Postal Service from 1984, when the Marshall Islands Postal Service
was established and began issuing its own stamps, to the current time. This catalog is updated frequently. Stamp issues are listed by set, in chronological order, according to the date
on which the set (or, the first issue in the set) was released.
Click to Display Listings by Year or Series
The catalog provides the following information:
Set Number: The Marshall Islands has officially classified and arranged all of its stamps as Sets
within Series. Series are defined by letters, and the letters are used as prefixes to the individually numbered Sets. For example, Set Number C1 belongs to the C-Series. The Series are:
A=Aviation Series. B=Booklet Stamps. C=Commemorative Stamps. L=Bicentennial of Lewis and Clark Explorations Series. P=Coin First Day Cover issues. R=Regular Stamps. U=Postal Stationery. T=The
20th Century Stamps. W=History of World War II Stamps.
Title of the Set.
Date of Issue: Date of issue of the Set, or if followed by "ff.", then the date of the earliest
issue in the Set. Dates of release for issues released later are shown immediately preceding the individual issue lines.
Method of Printing: Offset = Offset Lithography. Up to the
time of the printing of this catalog, all stamps have been printed Offset.
Format: Marshall Islands stamps are issued in three basic formats: (1) Souvenir Sheet. (2) Booklet. (3)
Sheets of Stamps. In this case, the format is given in the form S (W x H), where S is the number of stamps in a full Sheet of the stamps, W is the number of stamps across the sheet left to
right, and H is the number of stamps down the sheet from top to bottom. For example: Format: 12(4x3) indicates a Sheet of 12, 4 stamps Wide, 3 stamps High.
Perforation Gauge: Is
always expressed herein in the form Perforation: A or Perforation: TB x LR. Gauge is the number of holes measured in a space of two centimeters. Examples: Perforation:14 = Perforation Gauge 14,
the same on all sides. Perforation: 14x13.5 = Perforation Gauge 14 on Top and Bottom, 13.5 on Left and Right sides.
Special Characteristics: Tabs = Designs or text were printed on
the bottom selvage of the sheet of stamps adjacent to the bottom horizontal row of stamps. Such issues are often collected as Tab Singles, Tab Pairs and Tab Blocks.
Designer of the
Stamp.
Printer of the Stamp.
SCOTT'S® Standard Catalog Index Number.
Denomination: The face value of each stamp is expressed in Dollars, each Dollar
being comprised of 100 cents. (The circulating currency of the Marshall Islands is the United States Dollar)
Issue Number with Set: The Marshall Islands has officially classified and
identified each individual stamp within a Set by an Issue Number. Beginning on August 1, 1989, the Issue Number is imprinted on all stamps along with the Set Number. Exception: Set C49, Compact
of Free Association. Stamps issued prior to August 1, 1989, are not imprinted with Set or Issue numbers.
Individual Stamp Description or Item Description: The general subject matter
or title of the individual issue is given, together with additional information useful in identifying the individual stamp or the line item.
Prices: All prices shown in this catalog
are in United States Dollars (US$). The prices shown in the left-hand column are for mint (that is, unused and unpostmarked) stamps, while those on the right are for used (that is, postmarked)
stamps. Where a price is not shown, the item is not available in mint or used condition, as the case may be. Prices for Sets are given after the listings of individual stamps. Although prices
are shown for individual Issues within a Set, Marshall Islands stamps are almost always sold in complete Sets. Collectors should expect to purchase most Issues in this fashion.
The editors
have determined the prices herein after careful evaluation of the prices actually paid to dealers by collectors in several different countries. The editors believe that the prices represent the
average actual prices a collector would expect to pay from a dealer. Prices were corrected through the date last published.
Official First Day Covers: Unless otherwise indicated,
First Day of Issue postmark is Majuro.
Marshall Islands Stamp Numbers: The Marshall Islands has officially identified and classified each stamp in a uniform manner: the Marshall
Islands Stamp Number (MISN). Beginning on August 1,1989, the unique MISN has been imprinted directly on the margin of virtually all stamps as a boon to collectors.The MISN always takes the form:
SN.(Q-V) where SN is the Set Number, V is the Issue Number within Set, and Q is the Number of Issues within the Set in total. Thus, C64.(4-2) indicates that the stamp belongs to Set C64, that
there are 4 stamps in the Set, and that this is Issue Number 2 of the 4.
Year of Issue: Beginning on August 1, 1989, the year of issue has been imprinted directly on virtually all
stamps.
Where to obtain Stamps
Marshall Islands issues are available through stamp dealers throughout the world. Current stamps are available at Face Value (or Official Selling
Price for First Day Covers and Coin First Day Covers) from Marshall Islands Post Offices and from the Stamps and Philatelic Center of the Marshall Islands Postal Service.
Special Information about the History of World War II Issues:
The Marshall Islands launched its History of World War II commemorative series on September 1, 1989, with a single stamp marking the Invasion of Poland. Like the war itself, the series spanned
six years ending on September 2, 1995.
Individual stamps and sets marked the precise fiftieth anniversaries of 100 key events of the war years, 1939 to 1945.
Subjects for the stamps were
chosen by a distinguished Advisory Panel chaired by Major General John W. Huston (USAF, Ret.), then a professor of history at the U.S. Naval Academy. The Panel included: Brigadier General John
S. D. Eisenhower (AUS, Ret.); General Sir Anthony Farrar-Hockley (British Army, Ret.); Edward C. Ezell, Ph.D., Division of Armed Forces History, the Smithsonian Institution; Vice Admiral William
P. Mack (USN, Ret.); and Major General Walter H. Baxter III (USAF, Ret.)
The History of World War II is a factual and instructive series of stamps portraying "the tragedy and futility of war
and thereby making a dramatic and enduring peace statement." At the same time, it was a tribute "to human courage and the quest for freedom."
All History of World War II Issues have a
consistent format:
Sheetlets of 12 or 16 stamps, always four stamps wide. Each sheetlet contains from one to four different stamp designs.
Individual Stamps are of uniform size, either
50x31mm horizontal format or 31x50mm vertical format, printed in full, four-color offset process.
Marginal Inscriptions include the Marshall Islands Postal Service copyright, printer's
"traffic light", Marshall Islands Set Number, Marshall Islands Postal Service emblem, and name of the stamp designer.
Descriptive Tabs: The bottom margin of each sheetlet captures the words
of men and women who witnessed the events. One quote is repeated on four tabs for Sheetlets of one design or two designs vertically se-tenant. Two quotations alternate on four tabs for sheets of
four designs or two designs horizontally se-tenant.
Tab Blocks: Each sheetlet includes two complete "tab blocks of four" stamps (line-listed in this catalog).
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