| SPAIN.
Thermal ATM issues 2OO4 |
T100
(108) |
| Spain
2004. World Philatelic Exhibition (Royal wedding) |
 |
|
Date
of issue :
|
|
May 22, 2004 - Valencia
(Phil.S.:
) |
|
|
|
47 x 26,5
mm. - Format type 3 |
|
Paper
:
|
|
Thermal phosphorescent
self adhesive |
| Printing
process : |
|
4-colours offset and
invisible ink |
|
Imprint
:
|
|
Thermal on
black |
|
|
|
0,01
€ to 99,99 € / Set Ph.S.: 0,27-0,52-0,77 € |
|
Design
and printer :
|
|
RCM-FNMT.
Real Casa de la Moneda - Fabrica
Nacional de Moneda y Timbre |
|
Printing
:
|
|
1.000.000
of labels (approx.) |
|
| Click
on the image to enlarge it |
| MAIN
PRINTING VARIETIES |
| Epelsa 4 large |
Epelsa 4 small |
Epelsa 5 large |
Epelsa 5 small |
Epelsa LF - 5 small |
|
|
|
x |
x |
|
|
| More information
: Printing varieties |
|
Note.
With the same paper exist
also self adhesive stamps (no ATMs) with 3 pre-printed face
values 0,27-0,52-0,77 EUR
More
information - See detail |
| Saturday
May 22th, 2004
will remains in the memory and the history like the day in which the future
inheriting of Spain's Crown Prince Felipe de Borbon married the
television journalist Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano. |
 |
|
|
The same day of the Royal
Wedding in Madrid the World Philatelic Exhibition - Spain
2004 was inaugurated in Valencia and Spanish Correos
decided to commemorate both events with different philatelic products.
One of them is this special ATM issue, not expected initially in
the calendar of the year models.
The new issue have a reduced
printing (1.000.000 of units approx.) and it was on sale from May 22th
in the franking balances installed in the Exhibition, and
from May 24th also in the Madrid post offices.
| SPAIN
2004. World Philatelic Exhibition |
 |
With
the motto "La Valencia of sello" (The Valencia of stamps)
the World Philatelic Exhibition - Spain 2004 was celebrated in this
city from May 22th to 30th.
The organization of this
world-wide exhibition was granted during the FIP 67th Congress celebrated
in Seoul in 2002, and has been sponsored by Sociedad
Estatal Correos y Telegrafos, S.A. in collaboration with the Spanish
Federation of Philatelic Societies (FESOFI). |
|
|
Spain 2004
was celebrated in the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias
(City of Arts and Sciences), a magnificent playful and cultural complex
projected by Valencian architect Santiago Calatrava.
 |
The
philatelic exhibition included 966 world wide collections, and could be
visited in the two plants of the Umbracle, a building originally
destined to parking in front of the Museum of Sciences. Here was
also the stand of the Philatelic Service.
Between both buildings,
the Paseo de Arbotantes displayed the 150 stands of traders
and postal administrations. |
|
|
In the hall Arqueria
of the Museum of Sciences they were possible to be found the stands
of Correos (Spanish Post), RCM-FNMT (National Spanish
printer for values) and Logista (distributor of stamps) as well
as the Court of Honour, where some of the most important world-wide
philatelic collections were exhibited.
 |
 |
 |
| One of the gates to the
Exhibition |
Paseo de Arbotantes
with the traders |
The stand of
CORREOS |
|
|
|
 |
For
the ATM issue, the inauguration's day the Philatelic Service
had in his stand a franking balance EPELSA ET-RL / T from the Valencia
Main Post Office with number 0410.
Unfortunately the printing
was poor quality and, in addition, a part of the ATMs issued the
first day showed a displaced face value printing to the right.
Even so, all the inauguration's
day were large queues of collectors interested to obtain ATMs. |
|
|
After the enormous and unexpected
interest for the new ATM issue, in Monday May 24th they installed
two
more franking balances: one in the postmark point of Zone 2
- traders stands in the Paseo de Arbotantes (number
0634)
and the second one in the stand of Correos (number
1411).
 |
 |
 |
| Postmark point - Zone 2 |
... and the scale
0634 |
The scale 1411 in
the stand of
CORREOS |
|
|
|
This day also the first unit
was repaired to improve the printing quality and the three balances were
configured to print an allusive text on the ATMs (see the small
differences in the text in the next table).
| Nr. |
|
Text |
Situation |
Dates in service |
|
| 0410 |
|
(without text) |
Umbracle - Philatelic
Service Stand |
22 and 23.05 |
 |
| 0410 |
|
VCIA.EXP.FILATELICA |
Umbracle - Philatelic
Service Stand |
24 to 30.05 |
 |
| 0634 |
|
VCIA EXP.FILATELICA |
Trader Stands - Zone 2 -
Postmark point |
24 to 30.05 |
 |
| 1411 |
|
VCIA. EXP.FILATELICA |
Arqueria, Museum
of Sciences - Correos |
24 to 30.05 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
After the inauguration the Philatelic
Service gave special instructions to the postal employees so that they
did not accept orders of ATMs with lower value to 0.27 EUR,
reason why the ATMs with minimum values with the 3 balances
including the text exist but they are rare.
 |
Also
the receipts issued by the 3 franking balances from May
24th included a reference to the Philatelic Exhibition.
All it can be considered
as an exceptional case with the thermal ATM issues in Spain, because
other balances were installed in other philatelic manifestations with related
emissions (Philatelic Exhibition Aranjuez 2001
- 150 Years of the Railway, for example), but until now never arrived
a so important interest from the Spanish Philatelic Service for
this issues. |
|
|
 |
 |
The
sale of stamps, pre-printed sets and ATMs, as well as you the First
Day Covers, were constant during every day in the Philatelic Service
and Correos stands. |
|
|
|
 |
 |
They
installed some postmark points in all the Exhibition area. Every
day was issued a stamp or set with their special postmark. |
|
|
|
Madrid had some important
problems with traffic, but it was also a popular celebration the days before
the wedding.
 |
 |
Many
streets were decorated and some of the monuments and the more representative
buildings of the city were specially illuminated, like the main Post
office in the Cibeles. |
|
|
|
| The
passion and interest for the wedding arrived to all the sectors of the
society. Also the train tickets in Madrid showed a special
design during the days before the Royal wedding. |
 |
|
|
In commemoration of both
events Correos decided the issue of 4 different philatelic
products: ATMs, cards with pre-printed sets of 3 adhesive
stamps and "traditional gummed" stamps, all of them presented
and put in circulation in May 22th, and the souvenir sheet "Monarchy"
issued on May 24th.
 |
With
the same design and format, the collectors can choose between the ATMs
of any value printed with franking balances, or the cards with the
pre-printed series of adhesive stamps with the 3 basic values
of franking 0,25-0,52-0,77 EUR (left image).
These cards with
the pre-printed sets were manufactured by the RCM-FNMT are
can distinguished very easily of the models made by SIGNE because
they still include the perimetral paper.
Possibly because the haste
in the manufacture of this issue, most of pre-printed series appear
in a support with cutting errors, defective and very displaced cuts
that in some cases leave the stamps without the vertical undulations. In
some of the series appears a small black vertical line in the inferior
angle (right image).
Both ATMs and the
pre-printed series were of much interest between the collectors,
and the day of the inauguration of the Exhibition the 500 pre-printed
series on sale were totally sold out in a few hours. The second remittance
were also sold out the next Friday 28 of May. |
 |
|
|
|
The third issue is a
gummed stamp reproducing the Coat of Arms of Prince Felipe
and the word Felicidades (Congratulations) in Spanish, Catalan,
Galician and Euskera languages.
 |
This stamp has been reason
for great controversy, because only a few days before its official issue
was ordered the removal of all the stocks from all the post offices of
a similar issue (right image), but only with the word Felicidades
(Congratulations). |
 |
|
|
|
 |
Finally,
the souvenir sheet "Monarchy" issued the May 24th. It includes
3 stamps and 3 labels without postal value. And the stamp
with the 1st national franking value (0.27 EUR) reproduces the same image
that has been used for the ATMs and the adhesive stamps.
(Image reduced 50%) |
|
|
| And
in addition, like in all the commercial fairs, many other postal products
related to Spain 2004 and Royal wedding were put on sale,
as the postal stationery edited by ANFIL or the double
pre franked postcards (FESOFI). |
 |
 |
The
Philatelic Service also issued in 2003
a stamp (left) and a souvenir
sheet (right - image reduced 50%), announcements of Spain
2004.
Also, during the Exhibition
every day they presented a new series, souvenir sheet or
stamp related to it, and -of course !- its special postmark. |
|
|
|
| Two
months before the wedding, J. Roig from Sagunto, a philatelic
now also enthusiastic for the ATMs, made this nice proposal that
can be considered the precedent of the future issue Royal Wedding. |
 |
|
|
 |
Correos
edited an Official Cover - First Day of Circulation (Size:
169 x 100 mm.) for the commemorative issues related
to the wedding of Prince Felipe, and it could be used to prepare
the ATM First Day Covers.
In Valencia, and also
in other Spanish cities, special postmarks of first day of issue
were prepared. |
|
|
In the images we can see the
First Day Covers with an ATM of value 0.27 EUR (1st.
national franking) and with the set of adhesive stamps composing
the pre-printed series.
 |
Commemorative
cover Spain 2004,
with an ATM from the balance 1411 (in use from May 24)
and the Exhibition Main postmark. |
 |
|
|
|
| Paper
and design varieties, errors ... |
Like all the other papers
manufactured last years by the RCM-FNMT, the adhesive labels of
this model show a cyclical manufacture error. The design
move downwards on each label and jump to the starting point each 21
supports.
The images show the 2 extreme
positions:
| 1 = 22 |
 |
| 21 |
 |
|
|
More
information ...
ATM
Web - Spain and Latin American Postal Services: http://www.ateeme.net
©
J. Jove - M. Sans.
ATEEME. Variable value stamps study group
All
rights reserved. This page was created : 19.05.04. Last updated : 01.06.04
|
