Details:
Cuba 1957 - Sc 588-89 (EDIFIL 733-34) - 1957 Christmas stamps. Stamps issued to celebrate the 1957 Christmas holiday. These are unused, original gum, never hinged, right margin blocks of 4 with perfect (XF) centering. The First Day of Issue cachet was applied in green, once, to each block of 4 but because of the multicolor design of the stamps, they are very hard to see. We have never seen unused stamps like these, cancelled with the First Day cachet. They are technically unused but by the same token not mint, so they have been priced accordingly. The 2012 EDIFIL does not price these as blocks of 4 but prices them as singles at € 10,50 per set or € 42,- (US $ 54.00) for the four sets as singles. Scott prices them at US $ 9.00 per set or US $ 36.00 for the four sets.
By the way, the reason why these stamps are inscribed 1957 - NAVIDADES - 1958 is not that they were issued to be used on two consecutive Christmas holidays, but on the same Christmas holiday. This reflects the fact that Cuban kids get (or used to get) presents from Santa Claus on the morning of December 25th (of 1957 in this case) and from the Three Kings on the morning of January 6th (of 1958 in this case) so the Christmas celebration extended from December to January 6th of the next year. Cuban kids were very lucky back then!
|