Portugal 2002 "Dinosaurs of Portugal"
| Issue Date | 01.01.2002 |
| ID |
Michel: 36.1-39.1 (SMD: MSPost VE 50),
36.2-39.2 (Amiel: SIMA 1020),
36.3-39.3 (NewVision: Epost 2000); Scott: N/A; Stanley Gibbons: ?; Yvert et Tellier: ?; Category: pR |
| Design | artwork: Jose Projecto, stamps design: Mariana Santos |
| Stamps in set | 4 self-adhesive ATM labels |
| Value |
€0.27 : € 1.75 - Sauropod with footprints €0.27 : € 1.75 - Lourinhasaurus €0.27 : € 1.75 - Dacentrurus €0.27 : € 1.75 - Allosaurus |
| Emission/Type | ATM |
| Places of issue | all major cities of Portugal |
| Size (width x height) | 55 mm x 30 mm |
| Layout | strip of 4 self-adhesive labels |
| Products | None |
| Paper | Esmalte, fluorescent |
| Perforation | imperforate, self-adhesive |
| Print Technique | Offset lithography |
| Printed by | Amiel and SMD vending machines |
| Quantity | N/A |
| Issuing Authority | CTT - Correios de Portugal |
On January 1st of 2002 15 European countries replaced their local currency with a common one - EURO (€).
This eased travel for citizens of these countries and made trade between corporations and private persons in the Euro zone easier too. Prices on every item including postage stamps changed to euros as well. The same changes were made for ATM stamps too. Since 01.01.2002, only Euro (€) currency are written on ATM stamps of Portugal,
From November 1999 till March 2002 the Post Authority of Portugal were issued 3-5 sets of vending machine stamps (ATM) per year. "Dinosaurs of Portugal" stamps are one of them. Four different designs of dinosaurs and their footprints, were created by Portuguese artist Jose Projecto, then transformed to stamp-templates (self-adhesive labels) by the graphic-designer Mariana Santos. Fossils of all dinosaurs depicted on the stamps as well as their footprints were discovered in Portugal.
Descriptions of the dinosaurs depicted on these stamps are available in the article about the ATM stamps from 1999.
| Change of postal rates on dinosaur ATM stamps of Portugal between 1999 and 2002 | ||||||||
| Year of issue | Without additional label (regular mail) |
"Correio Azul" (priority mail) |
Vending machines used in Portugal in 2002, from left to right:
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| Domestic | Spain | Europe, except Spain | Rest of the world | Domestic | International | |||
| up to 20g. | up to 100g. | up to 20g. | up to 20g. | up to 20g. | up to 20g. | up to 20g. | ||
| 1999 | *50.00* | *85.00* | *95.00* | *100.00* | *140.00* | *80.00* | *350.00* | |
| 2000 | *50.00$ / €0.25 | *85.00$ / €0.42 | *90.00$ / €0.45 | *100.00$ / €0.50 | *140.00$ / €0.70 | *85.00$ / €0.42 | *350.00$ / €1.75 | |
| 2001 | *50.00$ / €0.25 | *85.00$ / €0.42 | *95.00$ / €0.45 | *105.00$ / €0.50 | *140.00$ / €0.70 | *80.00$ / €0.42 | *350.00$ / €1.75 | |
| 2002 | €0.27 | €0.45 | €0.46 | €0.54 | €0.70 | €0.43 | €1.75 | |
The ATM dinosaur stamps from 2002 were on sale for two months only. On March 1st, 2002 they were replaced by the labels with EURO currency symbol, therefore the dinosaur stamps with Euro values are very difficult to find.
In 2002 the dinosaur ATM stamps were on sale in four different vending machines: AMIEL Sima 1020, SMD MSPost VE 50 and ePost NEWVISION 2000 and ePost NEWVISION M (Modular).
Three of them printed 7 predefined rates, similar to issues of 1999-2001.
The fourth vending machine - ePost NEWVISION M (Modular), has more than 30 pre-programmed rates for various weight categories. Dinosaur stamps with ePost NEWVISION M values are very rare.
- AMIEL machines printed text in bold, large font: 19mm width
- SMD machines printed text in smaller font: 16mm width
- epost NewVision 2000 machines printed text in smallest font: 13mm width.
The philatelic desk sold ATM dinosaur stamps with Euro currency of AMIEL and SMD machines only, NewVision machine was not installed at the philatelic desk at that time.
| Amiel SIMA 1020 text | SMD MSPost VE 50 text | NewVision Epost 2000 text |
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These dinosaur stamps, denominated in Euros, were replaced by "Introduction of Euro coins and banknotes" ATM labels in all vending machines.
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| Lourinhasaurus ATM stamp of Portugal with the rate of domestic letters with weight up to 20g of 2003. |
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| Allosaurus ATM stamp of Portugal with face value of €0.48, printed inverted. The face value corresponds to the 2004 rate of domestic letters with weight up to 100g or letter to Spain with weight up to 20g. |
These stamps are not listed in any stamp catalogue.
The origins of these stamps are doubtful.
It can be that the labels with dinosaur design were left in some vending machines after the date they are supposed to be replaced.
Another possibility is manipulation of the service staff, who inserted the old labels to the machine to produce some "rare" and expensive stamps for collectors.
| Change of postal rates of Portugal between 2003 and 2005 | ||||||||
| Year of issue | Without additional label (regular mail) |
"Correio Azul" (priority mail) |
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| Domestic | Spain | Europe, except Spain | Rest of the world | Domestic | International | |||
| up to 20g. | up to 50g. | up to 100g. | up to 20g. | up to 20g. | up to 20g. | up to 20g. | up to 20g. | |
| 2003 | €0.30 | €0.46 | €0.47 | €0.55 | €0.70 | €0.43 | €1.75 | |
| 2004 | €0.30 | €0.45 | €0.48 | €0.48 | €0.57 | €0.72 | €0.45 | €1.75 |
| 2005 | €0.30 | €0.46 | €0.49 | €0.48 | €0.57 | €0.75 | €0.45 | €1.75 |
Products and associated philatelic items
Any FDC or additional philatelic product were produced by Portuguese Post for the dinosaur ATM stamps with the face values in Euro.
| 7 values sets | ||
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| SMD stamps | NewVision stamps | |
| Test values | Example of circulated covers | |
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| SMD stamp with the test values | NewVision stamp with the test values | |
| Example of circulated covers | ||
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| Example of a cover posted on the day after the dinosaur stamps were replaced in the vending machines. It was cancelled with the First-Day-of-Issue Postmarks of Euro-currency stamps. |
The cover posted in 2005.
The dinosaur ATM stamps 1999-2002 were in circulation until 31.12.2006
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| Cover posted in 2015 with dinosaur ATM stamp from 2003 with inverted text | ||
References
- ATM stamps and vending machines of Portugal
- ATEEME: home page, ATM stamps of Portugal
- Atms Portugal
- MICHEL Automatenmarken-Speziel (Vending Machines Special) 2013/2014, 7. Auflage (7th Edition), ISBN: 978-3-95402-951-4
- AFINSA (National Portuguese stamps catalogue) 2009, ISBN: 978-972-9468-15-5
Acknowledgments
- Many thanks to fellow stamp collector Mr. Vitor Vieira, who run a blog about ATM stamps of Portugal from Portugal, for his help finding some information about these stamps and for sharing scans of some stamps and covers from his collection.
- Many thanks to fellow stamp collector Mr. Jose Lalanda Jorge from Sintra, Portugal for sharing scans of signed FDC covers from his collection.
- Many thanks to Dr. Peter Voice from Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Western Michigan University, for reviewing the draft page and his very valuable comments.