1978 Commemoratives

1978 - Tuvalu Commemorative Stamps
Sets: \| Wild Birds \| Ships \| Coronation \| Flowers \| See Maps and Scenes Definitives for 1978 Independence set

1) Wild Birds:

	Date of Issue:	1978-01-25
	Designer:	G. Drummond
	Printer:	Format International
	Process:	Lithography
	Size:	32mm x 48mm
	Format:	Panes of 20 (2 groups of 10 separated by a gutter) Plates 1A and 1B
	Paper:	Unwatermarked, White Gum
	Perforation:	14 x 13.7

BRC#	Value	Description	Scott	S.G.
1978.C01.1	8c	Pacific Pigeon	73	81
	v1)	Period after "pigeon" (row 5/2, pane 1A) [image]
	v2)	Broken first "P" in "Pacific" (row 3/4, pane 1B)
1978.C01.2	20c	Reef Heron	74	82
	v1)	Spur at top tip of "2" (row 1/1, pane 1A)
	v2)	Black dot above rock, below tail (row 5/4, pane 1B)
1978.C01.3	30c	Fairy Tern	75	83
	v1)	Flattened top on "3" of "30" (row 1/3, pane 1B) [image]
1978.C01.4	40c	Frigate Bird	76	84
	v1)	Flower on tree (row 2/1, pane 1A) [image]
	v2)	Egg in nest (row 4/1, pane 1A) [image]
Specimen stamps produced for all values (1,000 sets). [image] Two distinct shades exist for the bird on the 20c stamp; purple (most common) and blue. [image] The chest on the 40c frigate bird varies from orange to red The printing quality of this set was poor; other minor constant varieties exist in addition to the ones listed above. See typical pane layout for variety positions. [image] All panes have Plate 1A on the lower left margin, plate 1B on the lower right. The master sheets, before cutting, either consisted of 1 pane of each value, or 4 panes of single values. Quantities sold: 8c - 38,494. 20c - 38,902. 30c - 38,897. 40c - 38,927.

2) Ships:

	Date of Issue:	1978-04-05
	Designer:	I. Oliver
	Printer:	Format International
	Process:	Lithography
	Size:	48mm x 328mm
	Format:	Panes of 16 (4 groups of 4) Plates 1A and 1B
	Paper:	Unwatermarked, White Gum
	Perforation:	13.7 x 14

BRC#	Value	Description	Scott	S.G.
1978.C02.1	8c	S.M.V. Lawedua	77	85
1978.C02.2	20c	M.V. Wallacia	78	86
1978.C02.3	30c	M.V. Cenpac Rounder	79	87
1978.C02.4	40c	M.V. Pacific Explored	80	88
	v1)	Broken 'R' in Explorer (row 4/3, pane 1B) [image]
Specimen stamps produced for all values (1,000 sets). The 8c and 30c values exists with "Specimen" inverted. The sheets consist of 4 groups of 4 stamps, seperated by horizontal and vertical gutters. The plate numbers are on the horizontal gutters, 1A on the left, 1B on the right. Sheetlets of 4 have been created by cutting the panes of 16 apart, but they were not sold that way by the Tuvalu Philatelic Bureau. [image] Quantities sold: 8c - 56,367. 20c - 56,506. 30c - 56,177. 40c - 56,525.

3) Coronation Anniversary:

Set

S/S

	Date of Issue:	1978-06-02
	Designer:	G. Drummond
	Printer:	Format International
	Process:	Lithography
	Size:	48mm x 32mm
	Format:	Sheets of 10 plus 2 labels
		Souvenir sheet of 4 Booklets of 2 x each value
	Paper:	Unwatermarked, White Gum
	Perforation:	13.7 x 4, 15 x 15 (S/S)

BRC#	Value	Description	Scott	S.G.
1978.C03.1	8c	Canterbury Cathedral (perf 13.7 x 14)	81	89
	v1)	"Broken Crown" variety (R2/1)
	a)	Canterbury Cathedral (perf 15 x 15) from S/S	-	-
	v1)	"Green garden hose" variety (8c stamp on S/S)
1978.C03.2	30c	Salisbury Cathedral (perf 13.7 x 14)	82	90
	a)	Salisbury Cathedral (perf 15 x 15) from S/S	-	-
1978.C03.3	40c	Wells Cathedral (perf 13.7 x 14)	83	92
	a)	Wells Cathedral (perf 15 x 15) from S/S	-	-
1978.C03.4	$1	Hereford Cathedral (perf 13.7 x 14)	84	93
	a)	Hereford Cathedral (perf 15 x 15) from S/S	-	-
	b)	S/S of 4 with above values, (perf 15 x 15)	84a	MS94
Specimen stamps produced for all values (1,000 sets), but not the souvenir sheet. Two destinct types of overprints exist for all four values; one by lithography, the other by typography. The typography version is easily distinguished by the squared off bottom tip of the "S". [image] The Booklets contain marginal pairs of each value, torn from the regular sheets and stapled between a printed cover and backing. The souvenir sheets were printed in master sheets of 12 (4 rows of 3). Therefore the "Garden hose" variety on the 8c stamp appears on every 12th sheet. The souvenir sheet exists imperforate with slightly different shades of colour, but it may be a proof. [image] The printing quality of this set was poor; many minor constant varieties exist which allow the sheets to be plated. Quantities sold: 8c - 314,390. 30c - 312,657. 40c - 312,160. $1 - 312,958. S/S - 82,543.

4) Flowers:

	Date of Issue:	1978-10-04
	Designer:	I. Oliver
	Printer:	Format International
	Process:	Lithography
	Size:	28.5mm x 42.5mm
	Format:	Panes of 16 (4 groups of 4) Plates 1A and 1B
	Paper:	Unwatermarked, White or Cream Gum
	Perforation:	14 x 14

BRC#	Value	Description	Scott	S.G.
1978.C04.1	8c	Puafiti	92	101
1978.C04.2	20c	Susana	93	102
1978.C04.3	30c	Tiale	94	103
1978.C04.4	35c	Inato	95	104
Specimen stamps produced for all values (1,000 sets). Two types of papers exist for all 4 values: cream, and white. They are most easily distinguished from the reverse of mint copies. The sheets consist of 4 groups of 4 stamps, seperated by horizontal and vertical gutters. The plate numbers are on the horizontal gutters, 1A on the left, 1B on the right. Sheetlets of 4 have been created by cutting the panes of 16 apart, but they were not sold that way by the Tuvalu Philatelic Bureau. Quantities sold: 8c - 70,437. 20c - 70,663. 30c - 70,734. 40c - 70,642.