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Welcome

Join the excitingworld of Isle ofMan Stamps & Coins...Stamp collecting is one of the world’s most popular andenduring hobbies and getting started couldn’t be easier.

We have prepared this booklet to enable you to get themost out of this fascinating activity. If you’re new tostamp and coin collecting, returning to the hobby after anumber of years or have, perhaps, inherited a collectionfrom a relative, Isle of Man Stamps & Coins are theperfect choice.

Collecting Isle of Man stamps hasnever been easier!Imagine the delight as every issue arrives on yourdoostep. It’s easy for you to receive all our issues as theycome out by using our standing order account. Or youcan ‘pick and mix’ your issues and order when you want.

The choice is yours - we will do the rest.

Manx stamps - an introduction...The Isle of Man is a British Crown dependency, centrallysituated in the Irish Sea. Owing allegiance to HerMajesty Queen Elizabeth II as Sovereign Lord of Mann,we have our own Parliament, legal system, and since

1973 our own Post Office.

United Kingdom

Isle of Man

WHAT IS “MANX”?

The word ‘Manx’ relatesto a characteristic,inhabitant, or the nativelanguage of the Isle ofMan. Just as someoneborn in Ireland andEngland are called Irishand English respectively,people born in the Isle ofMan are called ‘Manx’. Artwork from the

Interceltiquestamp issue, 2008.

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Bringing you the best

Discovery and enjoyment...Isle of Man Stamp collecting is the perfect wayto discover what makes the Isle of Man sospecial - our talented stamp designers andartists are masters of presenting theseminiature ‘works of art’ perfectly whilst the storybehind the stamps are explored and written byour knowledgeable group of researchers whoknow the Isle of Man inside out.Collect Isle of Man stamps and we guaranteeyou will not only find out facts and snippetsabout the Isle of Man that you never knewbefore but you will also be astounded at thewealth of ‘Manx Connections’ around the world.

Many famouspeople,notable in thearts, literature,and the sciences, were bornin the Isle of Man. Naturethrives throughout theseasons, sport and sportingheroes abound, enterprise isencouraged and individualachievement regularly

exceeds expectationsfor a small country ofsuch modest size andpopulation.This diversity isreflected in ourworld-renownedstamp issues.

Artist Alan Bean, former NASAastronaut and engineer, providedthe images for the historic ‘Man onthe Moon’ issue.

Isle of Man Post Office was delighted to celebrate thehomecoming visit of the Bee Gees, Barry and RobinGibb. when Chairman Alan Crowe MLC presented themwith a framed set of stamps and crown coin celebratingtheir 50 years in show business. Each was declared aFreeman of the Borough of Douglas, along with their latebrother Maurice.

JOHN RHYS-DAVIESLord of the Rings stamp issue

LEWIS HAMILTONFormula One world championstamp issue

PAUL MCCARTNEYHappy memories of the Isle ofMan stamp issue

SIR NORMAN WISDOM2003 yearbook

VALENTINO ROSSILimited edition print

Collecting Isle of Man Stamps & Coins is an experience not to be missed

DID YOU KNOW...

The Bee Gees are Manx,born in the Jane CrookallMaternity Home,Douglas, Isle of Man.Their mother, Barbara,ran Union Mills SubPost Office at one time!

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History of stamps & coins on the Isle of Man

British Post Office roots...In 1767 His Majesty’s Postmaster General established a PostOffice in the Isle of Man and introduced a mails service to andfrom the Island. At first Douglas was merely a Sub Office but itrose to Head Post Office status in 1822. Administration ofpostal services remained under the control of the British Post Office (now Royal Mail) andup to postal independence the stamps used in our Post Offices on the Island were knownas regionals - featuring a small portrait of Her Majesty the Queen and a three legs symbolto signify the Isle of Man. Similar stamp designs were used in Wales and Scotland to signifynational identity.

Postal independence...On July 5th 1973 the Isle of Man PostOffice Authority officially became anindependent Postal Administration.Independence heralded the beginning ofIsle of Man stamps specifically designedfor exclusive use in the Isle of Man – thislandmark occasion resulted in a newcollecting area for philatelists and Manxstamps soon made their mark withcollectors all over the world.

Sharing our heritage

ROYAL APPROVAL

Her Majesty The Queenis an avid stampcollector and the Isleof Man Post Officesends a set of all itsissues to the RoyalPhilatelicCollection.

We have toobtain royalapproval forall our stampdesignswhich setsthem apartfrom othercountries.

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July 5th 1973 - The Isle of Man Post Office goes independent.Queuing outside the main Post Office at Regent Street, Douglascontinued all day.

Pictured above is ourViking stamp mosaic byGeorge Dereford whichhas been salvaged fromour old Circular RoadHeadquarters prior tofinding a new home inour brand new StampHQ in Braddan.

Isle of Man Coins...As well as its stamps, the Isle of Man also

creates acclaimed coin issues. Pobjoy Mint, theMint appointed by the Isle of Man Treasury, hasbeen striking coins for the Isle of Man for over 25years and Manx coinage is amongst the mostinnovative in the numismatic world.

Although a British Crown Dependency the Isle of Manhas its own coins as well as postage stamps. As Head of State, an effigy of HerMajesty Queen Elizabeth II, Lord of Mann sculpted by Ian Rank-Broadleyappears on all Isle of Man coins.

Many coins from the Isle of Man have won prestigious awards including thePenny Black, the world's first pearl-black coin that won the 1990 Coin of theYear Award, the 1984 Best Gold Coin, the Isle of Man Gold Angel which, like theongoing cat collection (the Alley Cat also winning Coin of the Year) is still verypopular with both collectors and investors in Gold bullion.

Other awards received include the Currency Converter coin winning MostInnovative Coin and the Tutankhamun coin being selected as Most Artistic in

a recent competition in Russia.

To use a boxing term, the Isle of Man ‘punches above its weight’ in theNumismatic world.

Apart from very popular commemorative coins, the Isle of Man issuesits own very distinctive circulating coins which are available in uncirculatedcondition in a full colour pack illustrated with images from the Island.

Working with the Pobjoy Mint, the Isle of Man hasproduced a wide range of innovative and attractivedesigns. Collectable coins include regular TT andChristmas 50p circulating pieces as well as preciousmetal issues produced in silver, gold and platinum. Allproof collectors coins are struck four times to achievethe sharpest possible impression, then submitted to amicroscopic inspection to ensure that only coins ofthe highest quality are encapsulated and boxed,along with their Certificates of Authenticity, beforebeing supplied to discerning collectors.

A wealth of history

Isle of Man Stamps &Coins offers a number ofrecent coins for sale,mainly in cupro nickeland silver. For a widerrange, particularly ingold please visit thePobjoy Mint website atwww.pobjoy.com orcall 01737 818182.

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Isle of Man Stamps & Coins

Who are we?What do we do?Personal customer service...From postal independence through to thepresent day our main aim has been to provide the best possibleservice to our collectors. As a result many account holders arenot simply customers but friends of Isle of Man Stamps & Coins.It gives us tremendous pleasure to welcome visitors to ouroffice or to get letters of appreciation from satisfied customers.

The staff of Isle of Man Stamps & Coins pride themselves onproviding a very personal service to all our customers. We avoid answerphonespreferring to handle your enquiries, no matter how small or complex, in a friendly andefficient manner. Most of the staff have worked in Stamps & Coins for over 15 years, so ourknowledge is deep rooted and extensive. In addition, we have a very good network ofexternal contacts within the stamp and coin world which we are happy to share with you.

We collect too...Our recent move to new offices means that we can now display some of our postal history.We have gathered items which were previously on display at our first home Regent StreetPost Office and then Circular Road HQ. We hold the items in very high esteem and seeingthe wide range of themes featured within our stamp issues - and the differing formats -really helps us to appreciate what a wonderful collection you can assemble, whethertheme-specific or selected from our new issue programme. From our office we cover allaspects of servicing your account and preparing our issue programme, our small closeteam can therefore respond very quickly to your needs.

We work for you...We produce and assemble aselect range of value-addedproducts such as the yearcollections, presentation packsand first day covers.

We supply 10,000 customerswith their standing orderrequirements four times per year and once per year for the yearcollections and album pages.

We also supply supplementary orders far in excess of 20,000 peryear, despatched to over 130 countries worldwide annually.

In addition to stamps and coins we also offer a wide range ofalbums and accessories to suit most needs.

Contact us today

Andy Sykes in action,postmarking

Carlo busy at work!

DID YOU KNOW...

Founder of the RNLI SirWilliam Hillary lived onthe Isle of Man aftermarrying his Manx-bornwife. It was on the Islandthat his vision to saveships at sea was born.

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Isle of Man Stamps & Coins - Exceeding all your expectations!

What you say aboutIsle of Man Stamps & Coins...Mrs Ben-Yoseph wrote...

“I am very pleased that you issued Internment Camp Art asa stamp issue in September 2010. I joined your PhilatelicBureau following enquiries I made regarding theinternment of my father on the Isle of Man during 1940.

He ran a sock darning business while interned and hislogo was your 3 legged symbol which he darned onto socks!”

“I have collected Manx stamps since Postal Independence in 1973.

In all of this time, I have never failed to be amazed at the wide range ofsubjects covered and by the sheer quality of their designs andpresentation. Even now, I look forward to the latest releases whichalways give an insight into life on the Island.”

John Nottingham

Thank you so much for sending the back issues of the newsletter. I've been away for a few days and came back to find themawaiting me, I so look forward to reading them. There was also the order I placed, which included the sheet for the Isle ofMan Railways and Tramway. This is absolutely delightful. I have very happy memories of holidays on the Island, whenwe certainly made the most of the various forms of transport!

A. Polden, Bucks

“The Isle of Man is the perfect collecting country for people like myselfwho want to have a basic stamp album but also to branch out intoother collecting themes such as stationery, special handstamps,slogans and postal history via the secondary market. It is relativelyyoung in postal terms which makes it easy to source and build up avery interesting and varied collection.

The staff have such a deep knowledge across many topics and arealways willing to help me to further my particular interests for which Iam very grateful”.

D. Plant, Staffs

Some of the many designers andcontributors that help with ourstamp issues:

Stacey Smith, Eddie Cassidy, RobertKelly, Carola Rush,Kerry Kemp, Yvonne Cresswell,Dave MacDonald, Peter Hearsey,Stan Basnett, Keith Woodcock,Pete Jones, Jeremy Paul, Nigel Kemp, Emma Cooke.

Join now

How to order...We have an account to suit you...

Standing Order Account...Don’t miss a single new issue – open a standing order account - all items are suppliedpost-free with a complimentary newsletter each time we make a despatch.

You can even sign up for direct debit via a credit ordebit card and we take care of ensuring your accountis funded for all your requirements.

Collector Account...Join our mailing list for regular updates by post oremail then place your order as and when you please.

Telephone Orders...+44 (0) 1624 698430If you prefer to buy over the phone we have a

dedicated customer servicesteam that will be glad to helpand provide assistance.

If you frequently buy Isle of Manstamp products and wish to setup a regular order orsubscription our helpdesk willbe happy to guide you throughthe process.

Subscriptions or regular ordersensure you don’t miss out on the chance to buy some of our mostcollectable products.

DID YOU KNOW...

Archibald Knox, famousManx artist, designed forLiberty’s of London.

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Join our mailing list todayto enter a monthly prizedraw. FREE starter pack.

DESPATCH OF ORDERS

We endeavour to despatchall orders within 7 workingdays. All items are sent byfirst class post, (or SpecialDelivery if your order valueis over £70) at no extra costto you.

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visit our website

24 Hour Stamp ShopOur fully secure online shop is alwaysopen! All our current products areavailable to view and buy and the siteincludes an archive of issues which havegone off sale and an area detailing ourservices to the collector.

In our news section you can keep up to date with all that’shappening within Isle of Man Stamps & Coins and the Isle of ManPost Office in general.

We are always pleased to hear from our collectors - emails atstamps@iompost.com are regularly reviewed during working hours andwe pride ourselves on our prompt service.

You can order from us with complete confidence, we accept most majorcredit cards and PayPal.

As a department of the IOM Government we are verysecurity conscious - all registration, logon and accountupdating pages related to ordering are protected withVerisign security over the secure HTTPS protocol.

Stay In Touchfacebook.com/isleofmanstampsandcoinsFor all the latest news and comments.

twitter.com/iomstampscoinsExchange quick and frequentmessages.

www.iomstamps.com

KEEPING YOU UP-TO-DATE

FREE magazine withEVERY order.

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DID YOU KNOW...

Basking Sharks frequentthe waters around theIsle of Man.

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Lasting gifts to treasure

Gifts for everyone...Isle of Man Stamps & Coins hassomething for every taste...

First Day Covers and Special CoversPostmarked with a unique handstamp to prove itsauthenticity, the first day cover is the classic gift for all typesof stamp collector or budding enthusiast.

Why not start a collection for someone today!

Presentation PacksStamps don’t just markspecial occasions, theyrepresent artisticachievements in their ownright. Presentation packs aretailor-made to showcase eachstamp issue, they contain afull set of mint stamps, neatlyprotected by a plastic sleeve,

with associated text crammed with useful facts andbackground information. Accessible and easy to collect and store, it’s no surprise thatpresentation packs are highly popular as gifts.

YearbookThis illustrated hardback book is produced to the higheststandard of quality. Beautifully designed, and including everysingle special stamp issue released during the year, it makes atruly special gift. This handsome volume includes the detailedstory behind the stamps. With dozensof carefully selected and oftenexclusive illustrations, the reader istaken deeper into each and everystamp issue.

Commemorative FoldersOur commemorative folders combine

informative text with exemplary design and can contain specialsheets of stamps, postcards and/or coins. We hope you willagree that our folders offer extra interest, great value andcollectability. Written by experts in their field and designed andproduced with great care they are bound to please.

Isle of Man Stamps & Coins - Exceeding all your expectations!

Capital: Douglas

Population: 80,058 (2006 Census)

Land Area: 572 sq. km/ 221 square miles

Location: The centre of the Irish Sea -50 km (31 miles) from Ireland and 50 km(31 miles) from the U.K.

Longest River: Sulby (17 km/ 10.5 miles)

Highest Peak: Snaefell (621 m/ 2036 feet)

Head of State: Her Majesty the Queen

Status: An internally self-governingdependent territory of the Crown which isnot part of the United Kingdom

Parliament: Tynwald

Currency:Manxpounds andpence(equivalentto GBpounds)

Languages:English andManx Gaelic

Coat of Arms of the Isle ofMan: The Coat of Arms ofthe Isle of Man (morecorrectly referred to as theArms of Her Majesty inright of the Isle of Man)

were granted by Her Majesty by RoyalWarrant dated 12th July 1996.

The Raven is a bird of legend andsuperstition and there are a number ofplaces on the Island which include raven intheir names. The Island has a strong Vikingelement in its history and Odin, the NorseGod, was, according to mythology,accompanied by two ravens. During theMillennium Year of 1979, a replica of a Vikinglongship was sailed from Norway to the Isleof Man by a mixed Norwegian and Manxcrew. The longship, which is now preservedon the Island, is called 'Odin's Raven'.

Motto: The motto 'Quocunque JecerisStabit', which translates literally as‘whithersoever you throw it, it will stand’,continues to feature on the Coat of Arms.This motto has been associated with theIsle of Man since about 1300.

Flag: The Three Legs of Man: The three legssymbol seems to have been adopted in theThirteenth Century as the armorial bearingsof the native kings of the Isle of Man. Tynwald Day, St. Johns

Call today +44 (0) 1624 698340

Isle of Man Factfile

MANX NATIONAL ANTHEM(ARRANE ASHOONAGH DY VANNIN.)

O LAND of our birth,

O Gem of God's earth,

O Island so strong and so fair;

Built firm as Barrule,

Thy throne of Home Rule

Makes us free as thy sweet mountain air

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Follow us onfacebook.com/isleofmanstampsandcoinsfor all the latest news and comments.

twitter.com/iomstampscoinstwitter is a free service that lets you keep in touch with peoplethrough the exchange of quick, frequent messages.

John Nicholson, artist and designer of Manx stamps and currency.

OUR GUARANTEE OF SATISFACTION TO YOU...

If you are not completely satisfied with any aspect of our product we are happy for you to return the items tous for a complete refund, exchange or alternative product without question, providing the matter is broughtto our attention within one month of the date of invoice. For standing order despatches we are happy toexchange or refund up to two months from the invoice date.

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Isle of Man Stamps & Coins • PO Box 10M • Isle of Man Post OfficeDouglas • Isle of Man • IM99 1PB • British Isles

Email stamps@iompost.com Phone +44 (0)1624 698430

Fax +44 (0)1624 698434

www.iomstamps.com

Snapshots of the Isle of Man

Douglas Promenade

Join the exciting world of Isle of Man Stamps & Coins

Groudle Glen

The Mull Circle

View from Snaefell

The Grandstand

Peel