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World Youth Day, Lisbon Reissued Stamp: Scott 1829 (2023) Undoubtedly the most interesting story of the year in Vatican philately has been that of the World Youth Day Issue, commemorating the 2023 celebration in Lisbon, Portugal. Let’s recap the events and look at how the philatelic literature has handled the controversy. On May 16, the Vatican released the initial World Youth Day 2023 stamp. As described and reported at the time, the stamp depicted Pope Francis leading a group of young people up a ramp of a monument and pointing toward the World Youth Day logo. The image of the monument was strikingly similar to that of the Discoveries Monument in Lisbon, which depicts the images of many of Portugal’s famed explorers from its era of global colonization. Within two days of its release, the stamp was withdrawn from sale due to protests surrounding the depiction of the monument, which is viewed negatively by many in Portugal. According to Vatican News: The Governorate of the Vatican City State withdrew [the stamp] after the design drew negative comments because it ‘recalls a colonial past very distant from Pope Francis’ message of universal fraternity.’ A replacement WYD stamp was issued on July 6, 2023, and is illustrated at the top of this article. The new stamp uses the World Youth Day logo as its image. It is unknown exactly how many of the original design stamps were sold and entered the philatelic market. The total run of stamps was 45,000, and some estimates place the number of stamps sold at around 2000. The withdrawal created a rare and valuable philatelic item, with some of the stamps being sold on Ebay and by others for prices exceeding $900 (roughly 300 times the stamp’s face value of 3.10 euro). One question that has come up regarding the stamp: would the international philatelic publications assign the withdrawn stamp catalog numbers? VPS member Patrick Moore reported that German philatelic publication Michel-Rundschau, in its latest release, shows that the Michel Catalog has assigned the stamp a number (Vatican Mi. 2085). The current catalog listing does not provide any pricing for stamp. VPS Webmaster Marvin Lanahan noted that the latest issue Linn’s Stamp News reports that Scott has assigned the reissued stamp a number (Vatican Scott 1829). Curiously, the stamp immediately before Scott 1829 is listed as Scott 1827—there is currently no stamp assigned Vatican Scott 1828. Perhaps that slot is being reserved for the withdrawn stamp. We will try to keep you posted of news regarding this issue as the saga of the World Youth Day stamp continues. We invite VPS members to contact the Website Team, either via the Chat Box on the VPS website or by clicking on the comment box below, should you have any news or comments to share regarding the topic. REFERENCES Kevin J. Jones, Catholic News Agency, May 19, 2023, Vatican withdraws World Youth Day 2023 stamp after criticism in Portugal Vatican Notes, Volume 71, Number 397, Third Quarter, 2023, page 56, Withdrawn 2023 Vatican City Youth Day Stamp Michel-Rundschau, November, 2023, page 40, Vatikanstadt new stamp listings Linn’s Stamp News, November 23, 2023, Vatican City new stamp listings |
