Two years after Spain 2004 in Valencia, the F.I.P. granted again the organization of a World Philatelic Exhibition to Spain. Malaga was finally the chosen city. During one week the city center was transformed to welcome the philatelic event and the half million (...) of expected visitors.

With the suggestive motto "La mar de sellos" - "A sea of stamps", (but also with an alternative meaning in Spanish, "A lot of stamps"), Spain 06 - World Philatelic Exhibition was held from the 7th until the 13th of October 2006 in Malaga.
Unlike Valencia, where all the event was developed in the site of the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, in Malaga they chosen to distribute the different exhibition, institutional and commercial areas by different public spaces public in downtown. With this important decision the organization reached one of its main objectives, to bring philately to the public, but it also supposed an great challenge.
Spanish Posts - Correos carried out an impressive all-level resource display, human and material, and the Malaga inhabitants responded very well. The expectations were fulfilled.

Spain 2006 take place in 8 different areas, perfectly signalised with large information boards, that could be visited on foot in an pleasant stroll. With the exception of the halls in the official hotel, in no case existing or conventional exhibition spaces in the city were used, but instead the Exhibition will be spread out in temporary glass-walled and air-conditioned marquees positioned in different parts of the city.

The organization of the Exhibition required a great logistical deployment for setting up the temporary structures and other urban furniture, but also the necessary human resources: security and maintenance teams, stewardesses and many employees of Correos in the 4 points of sale of philatelic material and stamps cancelling.

The current article will not detail the 800 world-wide displayed collections, is not our objective nor of our site, other philatelic publications will give enough information about it.

Starting a virtual stroll by the Exhibition, one of the chosen spaces was located in the Avenida de Andalucia, near the entrance of a well-known commercial center. There were the Thematic Philately, Maximaphily and open class exhibits, as well as one of the points of philatelic sales and postmarking. Two hundred meters to the north, another tent in the Plaza de Santo Domingo, next to the river, displayed the Youth Philately collections along with the One Frame exhibits.

Coming back to the Avenida de Andalucia, and after a short stroll until the Alameda Principal, they setting up the institutional marquees of Logista and the Fabrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre, as well as an attractive exhibition about mobile and pull-down books. A good move of the organization.

Crossing the Alameda, in the centric street Marques de Larios, the commercial heart of the city, they had settled a pavilion with a exhibition of different objects gave up by some artists and personages appearing in the souvenir-sheets Spain 06, as well as the commercial fair, with 44 stands of philatelic dealers and postal administrations.

At the end of the street, in the Plaza de la Constitucion, they built the Philatelic Service institutional marquee, with a press room for the daily presentations of stamps and conferences. Here there was located another point of sale for philatelic material and postmarking, with one of the franking scales issuing ATMs with the commemorative text of the Exhibition.

Invitation to the presentation of the stamp dedicated to cinema and images of the presentation with the actress and presenter Concha Velasco, and of the presentation of the stamp dedicated to fashion with the designers Victorio & Lucchino, and the Fomento Minister Magdalena Alvarez

Next to this marquee, another tent displayed the Court of Honour, where some of the best world-wide philatelic collections were exhibited. Among them, a specially interesting collection about Malaga and its international postal relationships throughout history.

Coming back to the Alameda, in Plaza de la Marina they built another large marquee with an exhibit of the Spanish Postal Museum and the thematic exhibition about the evolution of the writing in the history, A walk through handwriting. Another great move with a large success among Malaga inhabitants and visitors.


But the main construction of the Exhibition was built in the esplanade next to the access of the Port.

It was a large temporary marquee of 5000 m2 in two floors presenting two thirds of the collections, as well as a zone for reading the philatelic Literature and different rooms for the juries and the special customs post. The access to this large pavilion was through a double-height space with the ramps to access the upper floor. Here there was also the Correos institutional stand, with another point of sale and postmarking, and the second franking scale.

Finally, maybe so far from the rest of exhibit zones, another pavilion in the Alcazabilla street, next to the entrance to the Alcazaba or Muslim Fortress, displayed the collections of Aerophilately and Astrophilately, as well as the 4th point of sale of philatelic material and stamps cancelling.

Detail of the general Exhibition postmark and point for stamp cancelling in the Plaza de la Constitucion marquee.
In addition to the general postmark, during the Exhibition they used upto 8 different postmarks for the 1st day of issue of the souvenir-sheets and prefranked cards released in the occasion of Spain 06.

The ATMs in SPAIN 06

Besides other stamps, different philatelic items and postmarks, Correos decided the issue of an ATM or variable value stamp commemorating the World Philatelic Exhibition - Spain 06 (See the model 130 - Spain 06).
This reduced printing issue was used for the first time in some post offices during the summer of 2006 and, of course, it could be also obtained in Malaga during the Exhibition.

For this purpose they installed 2 franking scales Epelsa in the 2 main post stands, in Plaza de la Constitucion and the Port marquee.

In the temporary post office of Plaza de la Constitucion they installed the scale Epelsa ET-RLT with the number 0982, whereas in the Port the balance in service was Epelsa ET-RLb with number 5061, both issuing ATMs with the printing variety 5 digits small and a continuous commemorative text: EXPFILATESPAÑA06.

ATMs, stamps with date and adjust labels for the 1st day of issue of both scales

 

Because of the configuration and the printing characteristics of both types of balances, the commemorative text appears after the machine number in the stamps issued by 0982, and with some millimetres of distance in the case of 5061. Also the position of the date, in the variable value stamps with date or adjust labels, differs in the issues of both balances.
Similarly the mention to the World Philatelic Exhibition appears in the receipts on thermal paper issued by this machines, and again its characteristics are different because they are two types of scales working in two different programming environment. The first receipt at right was issued by the stand-alone balance 0982, whereas the longer is for the machine 5061 connected to the Correos software system called Iris.

We would like to emphasize the warm attention given by the employees using both machines, that at same time carried out the surprising and inexplicable guideline established from Correos by which they were only allowed to issue stamps with 4 unique values: the 3 basic franking values for domestic, Europe and rest of the world letters up to 20 g., 0.29 - 0.57 - 0.78 EUR, and the tariff of domestic registered mail up to 20 g., 2.39 EUR.

During the Exhibition it was not possible to obtain, for example, ATMs with the smallest value 0.01 EUR or other values different than the previous ones. This decision caused some discussions for example, when somebody tried to complete some franking with ATMs of the Exhibition or to post a heavier shipment, by express mail, etc..
On the other hand, there was no problem in obtaining adjust labels (...).

In addition to the 2 franking scales installed in the Exhibition, on Saturday 7th it was also possible to obtain the ATM issue Spain 06 in only one of the franking scales in service in the Malaga Main Post Office (right image), model Epelsa ET-RLa -5 digits large and number 3354-, although with no type of commemorative text. This machine was issuing stamps on paper Spain 06 until Monday 9th at 11 in the morning. At this hour the managers decided to replace the roll of labels for another design, so that all the issues of Spain 06 design were printed only from the Exhibition temporary post offices. At same time they prevent the abuses of some inland and foreigner collectors who, in front of the refusal of the issue of 1 cent. ATMs in the Exhibition, went to the Main Post Office with large orders.

Also closely related to our study field, in the Correios de Portugal stand, in the Marques de Larios street, they sold the latest Portuguese ATM issues, Animais Domesticos and Alternative energies, in the different printing varieties. A special commemorative postmark was used also in the stand.

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