Impressions™ 2015: Christmas Decorations

A new item to this year's range is a set of Christmas decorations featuring an imperforate Christmas sheet of one stamp and a Perth Mint coin featuring Christmas items connected to the stamp.

There are four decorations (each sells for $34.95):

$1.70 Bells design from 2014 and 2012 Bells coin

60c Candle design from 2013 and 2013 Candles coin

55c Reindeer design from 2012 and 2014 Santa's sleigh coin

65c Christmas Island 'Crab Christmas Tree' from 2015 and 2015 Santa on Christmas Island coin

The coins are not new, having featured in a PNC released each year.

Limited to: 150 of each decoration

Sheet size: 38 mm x 54 mm

Printer: Unknown

Printing Process: Likely to be digital due to the small print run, and the numbering

Paper: Ordinary gummed paper

Special features: Each design is imperforate, and includes a micro printed '2015' date (the 65c stamp Christmas Island stamp doesn't)

Availability date: 26 October 2015 (The 65c Christmas Island decoration is not available until 30 October)

Update 1 (28 October 2015): Changed availability date to 26 October 2015, reflecting the first day these went on sale.

Impressions™ Range Announced

It's that time of year again when Australia Post announces its annual Impressions™ range. This year the full range of items is featured at: https://shop.auspost.com.au/stamp-coin-collectables/impressions

I will upload a review of each item which is relevant to collectors on this blog, along with an availability date (this is the date the item is available for ordering, and hence presumably it is in stock). Further information will be published in my Stamp News articles once the products are examined and printing and other information is known. This information will also be available online.

Due to the complexity and number of issues, collectors are asked to check this blog regularly. Updates will be noted in each entry when made.

Impressions™ 2015: Further Items

Australia Post Philatelic has kindly sent me a PDF copy of the Impressions™ catalogue, which has a further more items listed.

Australian Trees Special Pack

Limited to: 1000 packs

Sheet size: Unknown

Printer: McKellar Renown

Printing Process: Probably lithography with scent added

Paper:
Lemon Scented Sheetlet:
Ordinary gummed paper (stamps appear to be the same as the regular issue, but have a plastic coating applied, which is the scent).
Sheetlet printed on wood:
Self-adhesive (same as regular issue)

Special features: Scent added to the gummed sheetlet

Availability date: 30 October 2015

Animals in War Ingot Set

This one escaped my notice whilst checking online. There are no images of the miniature in the webshop.

Limited to: 250 sets

Sheet size: Unknown

Printer: Unknown

Printing Process: Likely to be digital due to small print size and numbering of each sheet

Paper: Ordinary gummed paper

Special features: Unknown

Availability date: 26 October 2015

Update 1 (30 October 2015): Date of availability added to Trees pack, and correction to contents.
Update 2 (5 November 2015): Printer of trees sheetlets updated.
Update 3 (10 November 2015): Trees pack has arrived and information on the Trees pack has been updated.

New Australia Post Stamp Collecting Site

Australia Post will be launching a new stamp collecting site at: http://www.australiapostcollectables.com.au in conjunction with the Stamp Collecting Month issue on 22 September.

The site is said to boast up to date information for collectors, a newsletter, articles and lots more for collectors. This is a positive development for Australian philately, and long overdue. I remember calling for such a site, and a newsletter etc. many years ago.

Stamp Bulletin No. 336

Collectors should have received their latest Stamp Bulletin by now. Unusually, Australia Post has not uploaded a PDF version to their website, or a copy to the Issuu website.

What surprised me is the number of issues, and most issues are accompanied by a miniature sheet and/or self-adhesive booklets. Thankfully, none of these issues are released in a special format, though I wonder what the contents of the 'Long May She Reign' prestige booklet are.

There is also no mention of this year's Christmas stamps, although they are released only 3 days after the Animals in Action issue. No doubt, Australia Post has saved the Christmas issues for the November-December Bulletin, but if you were cynical you might think putting the 'Signs of Our Times' (1 September) issue in the July-August Bulletin, and the Christmas issues (30 October) in the November-December Bulletin, to give the impression that there are fewer issues in September-October than there actually are.

August-October New Issues Announced

While we await the next Stamp Bulletin, issues for August to October have been announced (note: there has been some additions to those announced in the last Stamp Bulletin).

25 August - Birth of a Princess (no image available yet, but likely to be similar to the Prince George issue)

1 September - Signs of the Times (the postmark seen shows the issue date as 11 August!)

9 September - Dogs that Saved Macquarie Island (AAT issue)

9 September - Long May She Reign (marking the day the Queen becomes the Commonwealth's longest reigning monarch)

22 September - The Solar System (Stamp Collecting Month issue)

5 October - Honoured by Australia (likely to highlight the Australian Honours System)

13 October - Bicycles

27 October - A Centenary of Service - Animals in War (the regular military issue)

30 October - Christmas Island Christmas (a light-hearted view of Christmas)

30 October - Christmas (religious and secular stamps)

Certainly a busy and potentially expensive time for collectors. Let's hope the price of most of the stamps is set at the domestic rate of 70c.

New Postmarks Coming Soon

Australia Post has updated its list of upcoming postmarks for the next few months. Surprisingly there's been a change in approach with the Temporary and Permanent listings gaining more details:

With the cessation of Colleen's catalogue of postmarks, let's hope this fills the gap, and Australia Post continues to supply collectors with such detailed information.