COVER N. 365 - SAMOA

Postmark: Samoa Post, Salailua, Apia, Samoa 23.10.2023

Posted on the 23rd October; received on the 5th December 2023

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Another cover emerging from the middle of the Pacific Ocean, again courtesy of the Phantom.  Thanks a great lot Alex. Another country to the list!

When I first looked at the cover I thought that the souvenir sheet contained pictures of several types of snakes, but on closer inspection I realised that there is but one species in the four stamps, although the colour of the body and the markings on it vary immensely. Could it be that the snake is mimetic, or is the species so diverse?

Anyway, the Pacific Tree Boa is a species of boa that can be found in Melanesia and Polynesia, including, of course, the Independent State of Samoa. As all boas they are not venomous and kill they prey by constriction. The species is rather common and is IUCN classified as Least Concern.

The souvenir sheet containig four stamps (50 sene; 2; 2.7; 5 tala) was issued on 24FEB2015, by The Philatelic Collector Inc, the agency that, at the time, was authorised to issue Samoan stamps. This is probably not the case nowadays given the notice I've found on The Phillatelic Collector website, stating that they had ended their collaboration with the Samoan Post Office, which, in turn, clearly states on its website "Samoa Post has the exclusive right to printing of Samoan stamps."

Be it as it may, the fact is that the cover was accepted by the Samoan Post who aptly cancelled the stamps and circulated the cover.

The Postmark is a bit of a mystery too since it seems to have been issued at Salailua, a village on the Island of Savai'i, the largest of the Islands that constitute the State, but it also contains mention to Apia, the State's capital, located in  the neighbouring island of Upolu.