Ghana

Dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, Charles Darwin on stamps and postmarks of Ghana

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Contents:
Ghana, officially called the Republic of Ghana, is a sovereign unitary presidential constitutional democracy, located along the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean, in the subregion of West Africa.
Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence.
Spanning a land mass of 238,535 km2, Ghana is bordered by the Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, Togo in the east and the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean in the south and has a population of about 28 million. [R1]

The first stamps of independent Ghana were issued in March 1957 and consisted of a commemorative stamp set of four and a definitive stamp series of 12 formed by overprinting former Gold Coast stamps with the words GHANA INDEPENDENCE 6th MARCH 1957.
Regular issues have followed, including a number of sets of postage due stamps. Ghanaian stamps after independence were noted for their bold colors and the frequent incorporation of the Ghanaian flag in their design.
Ghana was the first country client of the Inter-Governmental Philatelic Corporation (IGPC) who produced a lot of various stamps on every popular subject on behalf of Ghana, however, inept handling of the early post-independence issues caused damage to Ghana's reputation in the philatelic world from which it has not yet recovered.

According to Michel-online catalog, during the 1960s and 1970s, the Post of Ghana issued approximately 20-40 stamps per year.
In more recent time, the number of stamps issued per year has increased to 120-200 stamps! The Ghana Post usually releases up to 20 sets per year – with each set containing multiple stamps with both mini-sheets and souvenir sheets. [R2]




Official stamps of Ghana related to Paleontology or Paleoanthropology: dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals

01.06.1992 "Dinosaurs" 08.08.1995 "Dinosaurs" 01.03.1999 "Dinosaurs"
Dinosaurs on stamps of Ghana 1992 Dinosaurs on stamps of Ghana 1995 Dinosaurs on stamps of Ghana 1999
15.09.2014 "Dinosaurs" [1]
Dinosaurs on stamps of Ghana 2014

Notes:
[1] In 2014, first time in this century, Ghana issued two sets of Dinosaur stamps, each one contains two Mini-Sheets. The author does not know of any FDCs of these stamps – and suspects they were not issued at all.
These stamps are still (2019) on sale at local post offices and can be used for a postage.

Dinosaur stamps of Ghana 2014 on circulated covers to Germany, posted in 2018


Other stamps to consider: Charles Darwin

01.09.1998 "Inventors and Inventions" [A1]
Charles Darwin on stamp margin of Ghana 1998

Notes:
Charles Darwin on stamps og Ghana 1998 [A1] A portrait of Charles Darwin is present in the top right margin of the sheet. Even though Charles Darwin was not a paleontologist and the study of fossils was not his primary interest, he collected many fossils during his voyage around the world on the HMS Beagle. He sent many of those fossils to his colleagues in England.
His theory of the evolution of life was published in his most famous work, “On the Origin of Species” in 1859. This theory is widely accepted by the scientific community and it is the basis of paleontological science.


Commemorative Postmarks of Ghana related to Paleontology: dinosaurs

Legend is here
01.06.1992 "Dinosaurs" [FDC]
Dinosaur on postmark of Ghana 1992



References:
  •   [R1] Ghana: Wikipedia WikiTravel FlagCounter
  •   [R2] Postal History and Philately of Ghana: Wikipedia
              Links to official website of the Post Authority, stamp catalog and a list of new stamps of Ghana are here



Acknowledgement:
Dr. Peter Voice from Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Western Michigan University, for reviewing the draft page and his valuable comments.


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