You could get in the holiday mood with these festive illustrated stamps in 2019. Featuring native New Zealand flora and fauna alongside the traditional Nativity story, the stamps included illustrations of fern fronds and koru, pōhutukawa, harakeke, tī kouka and karaka. A beautiful kereru, or New Zealand wood pigeon, made an appearance on the miniature sheet and first day cover.
Issue information
Everyone could enjoy the Nativity scene in a uniquely New Zealand context with stylised, iconic silhouettes of New Zealand flora. The Christmas 2019 stamps were available in both gummed and self-adhesive formats.
Miniature Sheet and First Day Covers
The gummed first day cover included all five stamps, while the self-adhesive stamps including the two $1.30 stamps, the $2.60 stamp and the $3.30 stamp. The miniature sheet and the first day cover both featured the native kereru, or wood pigeon. The miniature sheet and miniature sheet first day cover featured branches of pōhutukawa. The gummed first day cover featured koru and ferns, while the self-adhesive first day cover incorporated karaka – New Zealand laurel – whose plump, orange berries are a favourite of kereru.
Product Listing for Christmas 2019
| Image | Title | Description | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Se-tenant Set |
Se-tenant set of two $1.30 gummed stamps. Individual stamps in this set were: Single $1.30 'Mary and Jesus' gummed stamp.Mary and baby Jesus appear here with a New Zealand fern frond and koru. Along with a fresh green background, the koru represent unfurling life and new beginnings.
|
$2.60 |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single $2.60 'Shepherd' gummed stamp.The shepherd plays a flute over a background of harakeke - New Zealand flax - which in Māori tradition is used for food, medicine and weaving. |
$2.60 |
 |
Single Stamp |
|
$3.30 |
 |
Single Stamp |
|
$4.00 |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single $1.30 'Mary and Jesus' self-adhesive stamp. |
$1.30 |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single $1.30 'Joseph' self-adhesive stamp. |
$1.30 |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single $2.60 'Shepherd' self-adhesive stamp. |
$2.60 |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single $3.30 'Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh' self-adhesive stamp. |
$3.30 |
 |
Miniature Sheet | Mint, used or cancelled gummed miniature sheet. | $12.50 |
 |
First Day Cover | First day cover with five gummed stamps affixed. Cancelled on the first day of issue. | $13.00 |
 |
First Day Cover | First day cover with four self-adhesive stamps affixed. Cancelled on the first day of issue. | $9.00 |
 |
Miniature Sheet First Day Cover | First day cover with gummed miniature sheet affixed. Cancelled on the first day of issue. | $13.00 |
 |
Self-adhesive Dispenser | Dispenser box containing 100 x $1.30 self-adhesive stamps. | $130.00 |
 |
Self-adhesive Booklet | Booklet containing 10 x $1.30 self-adhesive stamps. | $13.00 |
 |
Self-adhesive Booklet | Booklet containing 10 x $2.60 self-adhesive stamps. | $23.40 |
 |
Self-adhesive Booklet | Booklet containing 10 x $3.30 self-adhesive stamps. | $29.70 |
Single $1.30 'Joseph' gummed stamp.
Single $3.30 'Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh' gummed stamp.
Single $4.00 'Angel' gummed stamp.Technical information
| Date of issue: | 6 November 2019 |
|---|---|
| Number of stamps: | Five gummed and four self-adhesive |
| Denominations: | $1.30 x 2, $2.60, $3.30, $4.00 |
| Stamps, miniature sheet and first day covers designed by: | Donna McKenna Studio, Wellington, New Zealand |
| Printer and process: | Southern Colour Print, Dunedin, New Zealand by offset lithography |
| Number of colours: | Four process colours |
| Stamp size and format: | Gummed: 35mm x 34.55mm (horizontal); Self-adhesive: 25mm x 30mm (vertical) |
| Miniature sheet size and format: | 140mm x 90mm (horizontal) |
| Paper type: | Gummed: Tullis Russell 104gsm red phosphor gummed stamp paper; Self-adhesive: Arconvert (FSC) Securpost MC 90/KB85 P11p |
| Number of stamps per sheet: | 25 |
| Perforation gauge: | 14.286 x 14.47 |
| Special blocks: | Plate/Imprint blocks could be obtained by purchasing at least six stamps from a sheet. Barcode blocks were available in A and B formats. |
| Period of sale: | These stamps remained on sale until 5 November 2020. First day covers remained on sale until 1 January 2020. |