Paleophilatelie.eu - Spain 2015, Dinosaur stamps

Spain 2015 "Dinosaurs (1^st)"

Issue Date	07.05.20015
ID	Michel: Scott: Stanley Gibbons: Yvert: UPU: ES045.15 Category: pR
Author
Stamps in set	4
Value	€2 Ankylosaurus €2 Triceratops €2 Tyrannosaurus €2 Diplodocus
Size (width x height)	57.6 mm x 40.9 mm
Layout	Sheets of 16 and sheet of 12 stamps (Anquilosaurus)
Products
Paper	gummed
Perforation	13x13
Print Technique	Offset, scales texture, R.A., phosphorescence, 3D
Printed by	RCM-FNMT
Quantity
Issuing Authority	Correos Y Telegrafos SA

On May 7, 2015, Post Authority of Spain issued the first stamps of Dinosaurs. The set contain four stamps each one printed with different technique: scales texture, Augmented Reality, phosphorescence, 3D and special glasses, which allows to some of the effects.

All of the dinosaurs shown on the stamps are "classical", well known to wide public, but fossils of none of them are found in Spain. The dinosaurs are depicting at "children draw" style, another weakness of these stamps is the price. Euro 2 each it is very expensive even for European country and make their postal usage very limited. Seems as they issued with a purpose to be sold for collectors, rather to be used on letters, therefore these stamps are marked as undesired.

These stamps, as well as the book "A dinosaur in your mailbox", presented to a public on 47º Expo National stamp fair in Madrid. This year, the main theme of the fair was linked to these prehistoric animals, with the intention of attracting the children and young people in addition to those interested in philately.


Images above are from Dinoweb website

Official description of these stamps is:
"The Earth was once inhabited by strange prehistoric creatures that suddenly died out around 65 million years ago. They were the dinosaurs or "terrible lizards", a compound Greek word first used by scientist Richard Owen in 1842. This stamp series will continue next year and is issued using novel printing techniques such as phosphorescent stamps, scale textures, 3D and Augmented Reality (AR).

The Ankylosaurus or "fused lizard" had armour-like skin and a tail ending in a kind of club. It could measure up to 9 metres long and weigh 6 tonnes. It was a quadruped, with the hind legs longer than the forelegs, a low, very wide body, and a wide triangular head. It was a herbivore with small teeth and no molars..

Tyrannosaurus was one of the largest predators and the most famous dinosaur. It could reach over 12 metres long and weigh 8 tonnes. It had an enormous skull and a long, heavy tail with over 40 vertebrae which helped to balance its body. A bipedal carnivore, its upper limbs were small while its legs were very long in proportion to its body. It was an excellent hunter with a short, muscular, S-shaped neck.

The Triceratops , or "three-horned face", is distinguished by the frill on the back of its skull and its three horns, one on the snout and two over the eyes, which could be over one metre long. It had a large, robust body and four sturdy legs. Its head was a third of its length. It was a herbivore.

Diplodocus was one of the longest dinosaurs at up to 36 metres. It had four sturdy legs, slightly shorter in the front than the rear, a long neck and an extremely long, whip-like tail.

Dinosaurs dominated the Earth during the Mesozoic or Secondary era. Although now extinct, the fossils found on every continent and the work of scientists have enabled us to discover how these animals lived." written by Yolanda Stephanie. Library of Postal and Telegraph Museum

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