Home
As we prepare this Daily Email entry for distribution, it is with great anticipation that today, to paraphrase President Gerald Ford, "our long WAITING nightmare is over". Vatican City collectors have been in the dark and frustrated for close to a year, waiting to purchase stamps and philatelic materials through the Vatican's Philatelic and Numismatic Sales Office, or CFN. The website went down for "site maintenance" in late October. In February, we received notices to update and validate our accounts with CFN, a tedious and painstaking process. And we waited some more, as many of us are still unsure as to whether our new accounts have been accepted. We have missed the timely purchase of stamps and covers for Christmas, the start of the Holy Year of 2025, Easter, the death of a pope (and the Sede Vacante issue), and the election of his successor. The word "frustration" does not adequately describe "The Wait". Last week, there was finally some ray of hope (appropriate in the Jubilee Year of Hope, right). The dreaded message on the CFN website changed from "Site Maintenance" to a countdown of days, pointing to July 24 for the resumption of sales activity on the website. The daily countdown at least shows something is happening (we hope) after seeing the same old message for all these months. There is a new name ("Zecca Stato Citta Del Vaticano", or "Mint of the Vatican City State") and a new CFN logo. We are hoping something is really happening. So with great anticipation, here we are, July 24. The countdown should be over. The website should be up and running. We hope. So click the button below to access the current display from the CFN home page. WE HOPE it is not the same old stuff, but a new, improved and ACTIVE website so we can begin replenishing our collections with new Vatican stamps, folders, covers and all we have been waiting for since last fall. We hope the "wait and see" time is over. Hope springs eternal, and, perhaps with a little divine intervention, The Wait is finally over. |
