Senegal
Dinosaurs on stamps and postmarks of Senegal
Contents:
Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country in West Africa.
Senegal's economic and political capital is Dakar.
It is the westernmost country in the mainland of the Old World, or Afro-Eurasia, and owes its name to
the Senegal River, which borders it to the east and north.
The name "Senegal" comes from the Wolof "Sunuu Gaal", which means "Our Boat".
Senegal covers a land area of almost 197,000 square kilometres and has
an estimated population of about 13 million.
Discovered and claimed by
Portugal in the late 15
th century,
the islands' sugar-based economy gave way to coffee and cocoa in the 19
th century - all grown with
African plantation slave labour, a form of which lingered into the 20
th century.
Senegal gained independence from Portugal in 1975.
The recent discovery of oil in the Gulf of Guinea
promises to attract increased attention to the small island nation.
[R1]
The first stamps of Senegal were issued in 1887.
Before that general issues of the French Colonies were used.
Stamps for the Republic of Senegal were first issued in 1960.
To date (2020), there is only one stamp set issued by Senegal
related to paleontology – a set of dinosaur stamps from 1995.
[R2]
Official stamps of Senegal related to Paleontology: dinosaurs
|
Diplodocus on stamp of Senegal 1995,
MiNr.: 1281, Scott: 1133
|
Notes:
[1]
Even though these stamps were issued in March, 1994, as printed on the selvage on the bottom left corner of the mini-sheet,
these stamps were not circulated until January, 1995.
First Day Covers of this set have a postmark date of 27.01.1995.
The Michel Catalog lists these as issued in 1995, whereas the Scott Catalog erroneously lists them as 1994 issues.
Commemorative postmarks of Senegal related to Paleontology: dinosaurs
Legend is here
27.01.1995 "Dinosaurs" [FDC] |
|
|
|
|
References:
- [R1] Senegal:
Wikipedia,
WikiTravel,
FlagCounter.
- [R2] Postal History and Philately of Senegal:
Wikipedia,
Links to official website of the Post Authority, stamp catalog and a list of new stamps of Senegal are here.
Acknowledgement:
Many thanks to
Dr.
Peter Voice from Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Western Michigan University,
for reviewing the draft page and his valuable comments.