The Philatelic Bureau of Maltapost plc issued a Miniature Sheet to commemorate the new Euro coinage through a stamp issue on 1 January, this being the first stamp issue for this year.
Designed by philatelic artist Frank X. Ancilleri, this miniature sheet is 100mm x 62mm in size. The stamp on the Miniature Sheet is 35mm x 35mm, with a perforation of 14.28 x 14.28 (comb). The stamp on the new Euro coinage issue has a face value of e1.00 / 43c.
As usual, the miniature sheet has been printed by Messrs Printex Limited of Qormi on Maltese Crosses watermarked paper.
The new Euro coinage stamp depicts the two sides of the one Euro coin, and also includes the Malta coat-of-arms in colour. The surround on the Miniature Sheet carries a selection of Euro coins.
In addition to this miniature sheet, on 1 January, Maltapost also launched a joint stamp issue with Cyprus on the adoption of the euro. Sizes are exactly the same as for the other miniature sheet. The joint issue sheet is 100mm x 62mm in size, and the stamps are 35mm x 35mm in size, with a perforation of 14.28 x 14.28 (comb). This miniature sheet is also printed by Printex on Maltese Crosses watermarked paper.
The Malta stamp depicts the Sleeping Lady from the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum. The clothed figure has abnormally fat limbs and hips. She is naked to the waist, and has a fringe with a fringed lower part. The clay figure may have been intended to be an iconographic representation of death or the afterlife. According to Sir Temi Zammit’s notes, this figure was found in the votive pit in the main level of the Hypogeum.
The Cyprus stamp represents the bust of Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, who was born of the sea foam off the coast of Paphos. She is one of the 12 Olympian deities, and in one version of Greek mythological tradition she was born from the seed of Uranus dispersed in the waters of the sea. Each stamp has a face value of e1.00 / 43c.
These Miniature Sheets are available from the Philatelic Bureau of MaltaPost (Tel. 2596 1747, email [email protected], postal address 305 Triq Hal Qormi, Marsa), and from all MaltaPost postal retail outlets.