Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
09:00:32am
"The Sovereign Military Order of Malta is a fully recognised entity within the United Nations and has a similar status to the Vatican City State and Palestine, having been recognised by over 100 countries. "
I ran into this yesterday and am curious if stamps were ever issued.
Login to Like
this post
yes. I have a few of them, but never considered them legitimate stamps. More like cinderellas
Login to Like
this post
It would be nice to see scans if possible!
Login to Like
this post
10:29:20am
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_ ...
If anyone is interested here's a link to a bit of information about the area and if you do a Google you can see their stamps. At least now if I run into them I'll know what they are. I always thought Vatican City was the World's smallest independent country but I'm not even sure if this qualifies as a country!
Login to Like
this post
"It would be nice to see scans if possible!"
You can go to https://www.orderofmalta.int/stamps/?lan ... , go to page 66 and then work your way to page 1 in order to see all the stamps issued by the Order, starting with the first issue in 1966. For some reason, the stamp section of the official homepage of the Order ends in 2021. I do not know if there have not been any new stamps since then, or that they simply stopped making updates.
Login to Like
this post
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM) is a Catholic Church religious order that serves the poor, sick, refugees, and marginalized communities, and a sovereign subject of international law.
The (SMOM) headquarters is the Magistral Palace, also known as Palazzo Malta, located at Via dei Condotti, 68, Rome, Italy. Since the Italian government has granted the palace extraterritorial status, similar to embassies, I would assume that is the extent of their "territory".
However, the SMOM is not a member of the Universal Postal Union. SMOM mail can only be posted at the Magistral Post Office in Rome, Italy (similar to UN mail being posted only in New York or Geneva offices). Stamps of the SMOM are postally valid in some countries, but not in others. The SMOM has signed postal agreements with over 50 countries, including the Vatican City State. Most postal agreements are with countries in which the order does charitable work. Mail with SMOM stamps can be sent to these countries. The stamps are usually classed as 'cinderella' stamps as they do not have postal validity throughout the world (Note: Even though the UN is not a member of the UPU, all of the UN member countries are members of the UPU. Therefore, their stamps are universally valid).
So, IMHO, Vatican City is still, territorially, the smallest valid stamp issuing entity.
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
01:09:15pm
Thanks Terry and Jansimon! I now know a bunch of stuff I didn't know before and that's great!!!!
Login to Like
this post
My only stamp from SOOM.
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
Back when I had a bunch! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
08 Jan 2025
09:00:32am
"The Sovereign Military Order of Malta is a fully recognised entity within the United Nations and has a similar status to the Vatican City State and Palestine, having been recognised by over 100 countries. "
I ran into this yesterday and am curious if stamps were ever issued.
Login to Like
this post
Approvals
re: Did this "country" ever issue stamps?
yes. I have a few of them, but never considered them legitimate stamps. More like cinderellas
Login to Like
this post
re: Did this "country" ever issue stamps?
It would be nice to see scans if possible!
Login to Like
this post
Back when I had a bunch! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
08 Jan 2025
10:29:20am
re: Did this "country" ever issue stamps?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_ ...
If anyone is interested here's a link to a bit of information about the area and if you do a Google you can see their stamps. At least now if I run into them I'll know what they are. I always thought Vatican City was the World's smallest independent country but I'm not even sure if this qualifies as a country!
Login to Like
this post
Approvals
re: Did this "country" ever issue stamps?
"It would be nice to see scans if possible!"
You can go to https://www.orderofmalta.int/stamps/?lan ... , go to page 66 and then work your way to page 1 in order to see all the stamps issued by the Order, starting with the first issue in 1966. For some reason, the stamp section of the official homepage of the Order ends in 2021. I do not know if there have not been any new stamps since then, or that they simply stopped making updates.
Login to Like
this post
re: Did this "country" ever issue stamps?
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM) is a Catholic Church religious order that serves the poor, sick, refugees, and marginalized communities, and a sovereign subject of international law.
The (SMOM) headquarters is the Magistral Palace, also known as Palazzo Malta, located at Via dei Condotti, 68, Rome, Italy. Since the Italian government has granted the palace extraterritorial status, similar to embassies, I would assume that is the extent of their "territory".
However, the SMOM is not a member of the Universal Postal Union. SMOM mail can only be posted at the Magistral Post Office in Rome, Italy (similar to UN mail being posted only in New York or Geneva offices). Stamps of the SMOM are postally valid in some countries, but not in others. The SMOM has signed postal agreements with over 50 countries, including the Vatican City State. Most postal agreements are with countries in which the order does charitable work. Mail with SMOM stamps can be sent to these countries. The stamps are usually classed as 'cinderella' stamps as they do not have postal validity throughout the world (Note: Even though the UN is not a member of the UPU, all of the UN member countries are members of the UPU. Therefore, their stamps are universally valid).
So, IMHO, Vatican City is still, territorially, the smallest valid stamp issuing entity.
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
Back when I had a bunch! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
08 Jan 2025
01:09:15pm
re: Did this "country" ever issue stamps?
Thanks Terry and Jansimon! I now know a bunch of stuff I didn't know before and that's great!!!!
Login to Like
this post
re: Did this "country" ever issue stamps?
My only stamp from SOOM.
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.