Give blood, IPST - The Portuguese Institute for Blood and Transplantation

2019 sees Correios de Portugal releasing a new series of designs issued from all Newvision postal kiosks. Following on from the issuing policy begun in the early 2000s, the first series of 2019 is once again dedicated to a major social cause; in this case, the promotion of blood donation.

In fact, it is not the first time that a series of variable value stamps has been dedicated to this topic. In 2008, CTT dedicated a series marking the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Portuguese Blood Institute or Instituto Português do Sangue, IP (see article, also published in VARIABLE 11).

The Instituto Português do Sangue e da Transplantação, IP was created in 2012, from the merger of the Instituto Português do Sangue, IP and the Autoridade para os Serviços de Sangue e da Transplantação. Since that date, the IPST, IP is the official Authority responsible for ensuring and regulating, at a national level, the activities of transfusion medicine and transplantation.

			The new series consists of three designs by the Portuguese designer João Machado, and includes the IPST logo and motifs related to blood donation illustrating 'time', a 'drop' of blood and 'unity' or 'solidarity'. The first day of issue was April 29th 2019, although very few Newvision postal kiosks had the series on sale, on this date. Newvision E-Post 2000 machines supplied direct printing of stamps with seven programmed values (see table below) - five for non-priority mail or Correio Normal (0.53 - 0.70 - 0.75 - 0.86 - 0.91 EUR), and two for priority mail or Correio Azul (0.65 - 2.90 EUR). Additional postage values are also available from the E-Post 2000 M postal kiosks, which are fitted with scales.

The rolls of self-adhesive labels were printed by offset and manufactured by the Portuguese company Uinou, Unipessoal Lda. Label size is 55 x 30 mm. and includes a preprinted sequential number -in this case, inverted- on the back of the silicone coated backing paper. By way of interest, the series commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Instituto Português do Sangue, IP, issued in 2008, was the first to include this control number on the back of the labels.

A pictorial first day cover with the five-value set of stamps with one of the designs, and the Lisboa commemorative postmark. There are first day postmarks for Lisboa and Porto.

Nudibrânquios, Nudibranchs

After the fine series issued in 2017 (see article and VARIABLE 47) and 2018 (article and VARIABLE 49) depicting Portuguese moths, Correios de Portugal has this year launched another attractive series dedicated to a little known animal species.

This second variable value stamp series of 2019 is dedicated to the Nudibranchs or sea slug, a class of marine gastropod mollusc that has no shell. Its scientific name literally means 'naked gills', and at some point in its evolutionary history these sea snails became slugs when they lost their shells. For the most part, they spend their adult lives at the bottom of the sea, and their defense mechanism is based on their striking colouring, which warns predators of their toxicity.


The three excellent designs by the scientific illustrator and biologist Fernando Correia, from the University of Aveiro, show animals from three families that inhabit the Portuguese inland waters; Algarvia alba, in the Facelinidae family, Babakina anadoni, in the Babakinidae family, and Felimare picta, in the Chromodorididae family. Fernando Correia also designed the 2015 series depicting the dinosaurs of Portugal (see article, also published in VARIABLE 37). The new set of three designs went on sale at Newvision postal kiosks on September 24th 2019.

			Between June 4th and September 30th 2019, Correios de Portugal temporarily reduced the basic inland postage rate from 0.53 to 0.51 EUR. Between September 1st and November 30th,the Correio Azul domestic rate was also reduced from 0.65 to 0.62 EUR. Therefore, on the date of the first day of issue of this new series the basic set consisted of the five values for non-priority mail or Correio Normal (0.51 - 0.70 - 0.75 - 0.86 - 0.91 EUR) and two for priority mail or Correio Azul (0.62 - 2.90 EUR), as per the table below. However, many of the Newvision E-Post 2000 kiosks were never programmed with the revised temporary rates 0.51 and Correio Azul 0.62 EUR.

The rolls of self-adhesive labels were printed by offset and manufactured by the Portuguese company Uinou, Unipessoal Lda. Label size is 55 x 30 mm. and includes a preprinted sequential number on the back of the silicone coated backing paper.

Pictorial first day cover with the five-value set for normal mail, with the Babakina anadoni design, and the Lisboa commemorative postmark. As with the previous series, there are first day postmarks for Lisboa and Porto.