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On March 20, 1997, Vatican City issued a new series of ten definitive stamps featuring Papal Carriages and Automobiles. The stamps are horizontal, measuring 39.23 x 28.56 mm, and have a perforation of 12 x 11 ¾. They were printed by Helio Courvisier S.A. of Switzerland in rotogravure and offset, and were issued in sheets of 20. At the top of each stamp are the value, the words CITTA DEL VATICANO, and the Papal Tiara and Crossed Keys. The stamps feature reproductions of Papal carriages and automobiles from the Vatican Museums collection:
50 lire: Carrozza da Viaggio
100 lire: Graham Paige
300 lire: Berlina di Gala
500 lire: Citroen Lictoria VI
750 lire: Berlina di Gran Gala
850 lire: Mercedes Benz
1000 lire: Berlina di Mezza Gala
1250 lire: Mercedes Benz 300 SEL
2000 lire: Carozza da Viaggio
4000 lire: Fiat Campagnola
In addition to issuing the stamps in sheet format, a booklet of stamps was also released. The booklet contained four each of the 100, 300, 500, and 750 lire-valued stamps. Here is the cover of the booklet, and an example of one of the pages (showing the 100L Graham Paige):
A special historical section in the Vatican Museums houses a collection of Papal carriages and automobiles. These include both finely ornamented and elegantly simple carriages which were used by popes on both state and private occasions during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. With time, these majestic, gilded carriages were replaced by automobiles and transformed into museum pieces.
This article, written by Thomas I. Crimando, originally appeared in
Vatican Notes
in 1997 (Volume 46, Number 3, page 1). It has been lightly edited to include images of the stamps and booklet page for this release.
REFERENCES:
Thomas I.Crimando,
Vatican Notes
, Volume 46, Issue 3, page 1, 1997,
Papal Carriages And Automobiles
UFN, March 20, 1997,
Papal Carriages and Automobiles
Vatican Philatelic Society website, www.vaticanstamps.org, Stamp Database Search
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Papal Carriages and Automobiles
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