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On April 3, 1933, Vatican City issued its only set of semi-postal stamps. They were engraved on unwatermarked paper and depict the orb and cross in an oval. Values are: 25-plus-10 centesimi, green; 75-plus-15c, scarlet; 80-plus-20c, red-brown, and 11/4-lire-plus-25c, ultramarine. The surtax was used to help defray costs of Holy Year expenses. The Holy Year of 1933 was a special one, that is, it was not the one proclaimed every twenty-five years. This Holy Year, the first since the Vatican City became an independent nation, marked the nineteenth centennial of the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ. In addition to commemorating this event, the jubilee had as one of its main reasons the praying for continued peace in the face of war that was fast approaching. |
| (National Philatelic Museum, Volume VII, Number 1, 1954, pages 61-107) We are greatful to the Cardinal Spellman Philatelic Museum for allowing the Vatican Philatelic Society to use the copyrighted text on our website. |
