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 Holy Year Semi-Postal Issue Scott B1-B4 (1933) On April 3, 1933, Vatican City issued its first set of semi-postal stamps. Illustrated above, these stamps were issued to help defray the costs of the special Holy Year of Jubilee celebrated in 1933, marking the 1900th anniversary of the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. All the stamps of this issue picture the globus cruciger, or orb and cross , where the cross represents Christ's dominion over the world, represented by the orb. Stamps B1 and B2 share the same design, and stamps B3 and B4 do as well. What is a semi-postal stamp? How do we identify a stamp of this type? As defined by the United States Postal Service, a semi-postal stamp pays a: "specific postal rate…plus an amount to fund causes that have been determined to be in the national public interest."The definition can be applied to the stamps of this Vatican City issue. The semi-postal stamps show two denominations: one for a standard postage rate and a second serving as the surcharge. The proceeds from the surcharge are earmarked for the cause tied to the issue. On the Vatican stamps above, the postage rate is in the lower left corner, and the surcharge is in the lower right corner. The four stamps of this issue are denominated at follows: B1: 25 centesimi plus 10 centesimi B2: 75 centesimi plus 15 centesimi B3: 80 centesimi plus 20 centesimi B4: 1.25 lira plus 25 centesimi Vatican City has issued one other semi-postal stamp, Scott B5. Released in 2010, this issue supported the country of Haiti following the devastating earthquake that rocked the island nation on January 12 of that year: 
Haitian Earthquake Relief Issue Minisheet Scott B5M (2010) Vatican City has issued other stamps to call attention to relief efforts across the globe, including the 1999 issue focusing on refugee relief in Kosovo (Scott 1117), earthquake relief in Italy (where the souvenir sheet for the 40th anniversary of Caritas International from 1990—Scott 853-856—was overprinted in 1997), and Scott 1266 from 2004 for Children Victims of AIDS. However, these stamps are not considered semi-postals since no surcharge was attached to the standard postage rates on the stamps. REFERENCES: |
