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Gambia

Paleontology related stamps (dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, Charles Darwin)

The Gambia officially the Islamic Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa mostly surrounded by Senegal with a short strip of its coastline bordered with the Atlantic Ocean at its western end. It is the smallest country on mainland Africa. The Gambia is situated on either side of the Gambia River, the nation's namesake, which flows through the centre of the Gambia and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Its area is 10,689 square kilometres with a population of 1,882,450 at the 15 April 2013 Census (provisional). Banjul is the Gambian capital, and the largest cities are Serekunda and Brikama.

More information about Gambia are on Wikipedia WikiTravel Flag Counter

According to Michel catalogue, until middle of 1980th post of Gambia issued no more than 20 stamps per year. Later on till today amount of stamps issued every year is rapidly increased. In 1992, the year when first dinosaur stamps issued in the country, 160 stamps are printed out. The following year 353 (!) stamps. The poor country print their stamps with purpose to sale it to stamp collectors rather for real use for the post. Worth to mention, almost all stamp designs issued in last decades has nothing to with local history or culture.

Click on image to enlarge it.
Click on year number to see all Paleontology and Paleoanthropology related stamps issued in the year.

21.09.1992 "Prehistoric animals"	06.02.1995 "Prehistoric animals"	23.06.1997 "Dinosaurs"

01.08.1999 "Prehistoric animals"	01.08.2003 "Prehistoric animals"	24.02.2010 "Charles Darwin"

15.09.2014 "Dinosaurs"

Another stamps to consider

12.02.1997 "Endangered Species" ^[A1]	15.10.1998 "Ships" ^[A2]

Notes:
[A1] Latimeria chalumnae (stamp Nr. 11 on the sheet) among Endangered Species on stamps of Gambia 1997.
On 20 February 1939, the stunning announcement was made that a Coelacanth (Latimeria) had been caught off the Chalumna River mouth near East London (a city in RSA). At that time, the Coelacanth was thought to be extinct for nearly 70 million years. The drama commenced on 22 December 1938, when Capt H Goosen, skipper of the trawler Nenrine, brought ashore a peculiar metallic-blue, heavily-scaledfish with fins resembling legs. Miss Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, Curator o the East London Museum, was informed of the strangie catch, but was unable to identify the fish, which measured 1,5 m in length and weighed 57 kg. "Searching for African Coelacanths" exhibit of Susan Bahnick Jones explain the story of the "leaving fossil" discovery.

[A2] HMS Beagle (stamp Nr. 5 on the sheet) among other ships on stamps of Gambia 1998. HMS Beagle was a Cherokee-class 10-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, one of more than 100 ships of this class. On the second voyage a young naturalist named Charles Darwin was on board; the pivotal role this round the world voyage played in forming his scientific theories made Beagle one of the most famous ships in history. Darwin had kept a diary of his experiences, and rewrote this as the book titled Journal and Remarks, published in 1839 as the third volume of the official account of the expedition. This travelogue and scientific journal was widely popular, and was reprinted many times with various titles, becoming known as The Voyage of the Beagle. This diary is where Darwin drew most of the ideas for his publications.Darwin attributes his first real training in natural history to his voyage on the Beagle. Motre info is on Wikipedia.

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