Description

— New stock added —

Bardsey 1980 Royal Visit of the Prince of Wales Set in Sheetlet (4v, U/M)

1980 set from Bardsey, issued to commemorate the royal visit (in 1978) of the Prince of Wales. The set features four stamps (9½p, 12½p, 15p, 20p) in sheetlet format, depicting various island scenes.

U/M / Unmounted Mint / MNH / Mint Never Hinged.

About Bardsey

Bardsey (Ynys Enlli) is an island located two miles off the Llŷn Peninsula in North Wales, and owned by the Bardsey Island Trust since 1979.

Between 1979 and 1982, the Trust issued local carriage labels for its own postal operation, to supplement the one-day-a-week service provided by the British Post Office, and to help generate funds to support the Trust’s work managing the island. Fifteen well-designed issues were produced over this period, all printed by Format International Security Printers Ltd, though the extent to which they performed a genuine postal function is unclear. This excellent article includes further background and illustrations relating to Bardsey’s stamps.

In 2015, an attractive new £3 miniature sheet inscribed with the Bardsey name appeared, followed by a £1 stamp in 2016. However, these appear to be privately produced fantasy issues, rather than a resumption of ‘official’ Trust-issued Bardsey stamps.