Issue date: 06 Feb, 2015
EPHEMERIS
Three stamps from the Commemorative Stamps series, with the "ñ" of Brand Spain, recall different events in the country's history.
The stamp dedicated to the 250th Anniversary of the Real Colegio de Artillería (1764-2014) commemorates the founding of this academic institution in the city of Segovia. More recently known as the Academia de Artillería, it is the oldest officers' training academy in Spain. More than three hundred classes of gunners have graduated from it, including distinguished figures of the Spanish Armed Forces. The academy was originally based in the Alcázar, until a fire in 1862 forced it to move to the monastery of San Francisco. Over its 250 years of history, the Academia de Artillería has adapted to progress and change, and is now involved in important R&D work in the arms field.
The stamp juxtaposes an image of 19th century artillery uniforms with another showing a present-day battery in action.
In 1814, the soldier and Liberal politician Juan Prim was born in Reus, and this stamp marks the 200th anniversary of his birth. As a soldier, he took part in the First Carlist War, the Hispano-Moroccan War and the Spanish expedition to Mexico. He was a progressive and proclaimed the "Spain with honour" manifesto alongside Práxedes Mateo Sagasta and Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla, becoming one of the most influential men of his time. Among other government posts, he served in the War Ministry and was the President of the Council of Ministers. He also proposed the coronation of Amadeo I. He died in Madrid in 1870, after an attack.
The stamp is illustrated with an engraving of General Prim. In the background is a watercolour of a rose, the symbol of Reus, his home town.
The stamp dedicated to 500 years of Sanidad Militar Española pays tribute to the Spanish military healthcare organisation which has played a fundamental role in saving lives and caring for the sick and injured in armed conflicts since the time of the Catholic Monarchs. Throughout its long history, the technology of military healthcare has evolved, making important contributions to general medicine.
The stamp's blue background is taken from the cloak of the Virgen del Perpetuo Socorro, patron saint of military healthcare. The composition is completed by silhouettes of soldiers in battle, ambulances and the symbol of the city of Granada, where an exhibition is being held on the same subject.
Rate A - €0.75. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, up to 20 g.
Rate A2 - €0.85. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, between 20 g and 50 g.
Rate B - €1.65. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to Europe (including Greenland), up to 20 g.
Rate C - €1.75. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the rest of the world (except USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand), up to 20 g.
Rate D - €2.10. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, up to 20 g.