Date of Issue : 1 Dec 2003
Postmark : Taiwan R.O.C.
Denomination : NT$3.50 and NT$13.00
Stamp Size : 26 mm x 34 mm
Paper : Phosphorescent Stamp Paper
Printing Process : Offset Lithography
As shared earlier, I particularly like zodiac issues, and here's another zodiac stamp issue that I have decided to add to my collection. This stamp issue by Chunghwa Post, the official postal service of Taiwan, celebrates the Year of the Monkey 2004. Monkey, the ninth sign of the Chinese zodiac, symbolises intelligence and resourcefulness, combined with irreverence and mischief-making. The two stamps in this issue feature the mischievous monkey with one of its favourite fruits, the peach. Unlike Australia Post, Singapore Post and Thailand Post, whereby the annual zodiac stamps are issued in the same year of the animal sign, Chunghwa Post will issue the zodiac stamps earlier during Dec of the preceding year – for instance, this stamp issue for Year of the Monkey 2004 was released in Dec 2003.