Charles Dickens

1970, 23 July

Printer: Format International Security Printers
Designer: Victor Whiteley
Sheet Size: 10 x 5 and 5 x 10
Perf.: 13 1/2

• Plate 1A singles Canceled To Order. Note that the 1.25 Riyals sheet is also known with plate number 1B. Plate numbers are generally seen in CTOd sheets as they were sold at a fraction of the cost of a mint stamp. Most collectors did not collect plate blocks, because they were generally topical collectors and only interested in the stamps representing their topical field. Mint plate blocks are scarce and seldom seen as the mint sheets were/are broken up into single sets of stamps.

To commemorate the 100 anniversary of the death of Charles Dickens, Dubai issued a set of four stamps. Following Shakespear, Dickens is the most widely read English author in most of the world.

VALUES
60 dirhams - Portrait of Dickens. Plate number 1A
1 Riyal - Pen, paper, lamp, Dickens and skyline. Plate number 1A
1.25 Riyals - Dickens and Victorian street scene. Plate numbers 1A and 1B
3 Riyals - Dickens and books. Plate number 1A

• Half sheets of the 60 dirhams and 1.25 Riyals sheets. Both have been Canceled To Order with the release date of 23 July 1970 and each has a different plate number. Note that the cancelation that is printed on the stamp appear to be rotated. That is because the printing press had "floating" cancelers that would rotate every time it was impressed on a sheet. Each sheet had all the cancelations printed on it at one time.

1 October - Children's Day - 1970

20 May - U.P.U. Headquarters

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