Post by khj on Nov 13, 2021 2:49:51 GMT -5
Vatican City is a city-state inside of Rome that was established by the Lateran Treaty of 1929 (yeah, they issued stamps the same year, because we all know issuing stamps selvedge is an all-important ecclesiastical rite of passage/establishment). Even though St. Peter's Basilica is really big, the Vatican City enclave itself is really really small. The 2019 population statistics was 825 (453 residents + 372 non-resident citizens). Compare, the average daily number of tourists is almost 20K!
Quick-bit: according to many sources, Vatican City is the smallest state in the world by both area (0.49 sq km / 0.19 sq mi) and population (825, or 453 depending on how you count). I'm not sure what they are using as a criteria, as there are obviously smaller ones in either land area or by population. They aren't a member of the UN, although they are a member of the UPU. But Pitcairn Islands is a UPU member and has a population of 40 (yeah, and they still issue postage stamps; like I said, it's a rite of passage to establish credibility). I guess Pitcairn isn't considered a "state"? Some people feel that way about Louisiana.
I've actually got 3 sets of Vatican City hingeless albums. Shown below, the left 2 black albums in dustcases are Schaubek. Next to them are 2 burgundy Borek albums, and then a lone green Marini album.
Only the Schaubek album starts from the Papal States. The Borek and Marini albums only start at 1959 with accession of Pope John XXIII. Why the Borek and Marini albums? I don't like split-back mounts, and Schaubek uses them. It's a pain to insert stamps so they are centered properly. Supposedly the stamps shift less, but they still shift inside the mount over time. It takes so long to re-center each stamp, so I prefer top-loading mounts. Worst of all, split-back mounts are not practical if you collect selvedge. I hate folding the stamp over to get the selvedge to fit in the mount!!!
So it will be a mish-mash of Schaubek pages, followed by Borek, and then back to Schaubek... I use the Marini for my duplicates, because Marini has a single clear top-loading strip all the way across the row, like Lindner (but not as a separate foil, as Lindner does).
Quick-bit: according to many sources, Vatican City is the smallest state in the world by both area (0.49 sq km / 0.19 sq mi) and population (825, or 453 depending on how you count). I'm not sure what they are using as a criteria, as there are obviously smaller ones in either land area or by population. They aren't a member of the UN, although they are a member of the UPU. But Pitcairn Islands is a UPU member and has a population of 40 (yeah, and they still issue postage stamps; like I said, it's a rite of passage to establish credibility). I guess Pitcairn isn't considered a "state"? Some people feel that way about Louisiana.
I've actually got 3 sets of Vatican City hingeless albums. Shown below, the left 2 black albums in dustcases are Schaubek. Next to them are 2 burgundy Borek albums, and then a lone green Marini album.
Only the Schaubek album starts from the Papal States. The Borek and Marini albums only start at 1959 with accession of Pope John XXIII. Why the Borek and Marini albums? I don't like split-back mounts, and Schaubek uses them. It's a pain to insert stamps so they are centered properly. Supposedly the stamps shift less, but they still shift inside the mount over time. It takes so long to re-center each stamp, so I prefer top-loading mounts. Worst of all, split-back mounts are not practical if you collect selvedge. I hate folding the stamp over to get the selvedge to fit in the mount!!!
So it will be a mish-mash of Schaubek pages, followed by Borek, and then back to Schaubek... I use the Marini for my duplicates, because Marini has a single clear top-loading strip all the way across the row, like Lindner (but not as a separate foil, as Lindner does).
