COVER N. 714 - BRITISH CROWN DEPENDENCIES - BAILIWICK OF GUERNSEY - SARK

Postmark: Sark Guernesey Post 06.05.2026

Posted on the 6th May;  Received on the 12th May 2026

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I love it whenever my letterbox is graced with mail from a "never before" origin.  I started this blog 5 years ago (man, time does fly...) with the aim of receiving mail from as many different origins as possible and I think I can be very happy with the results thus far achieved.

But I have again to acknowledge, and most of all be grateful for the fact,  that what I may look upon as a personal success is, most of the times, but the result of the generosity and kindness of some like minded collectors, whom I hope they will not mind me calling them "friends", who, from the very beginning of this blog, did their best to help me on the track to reach my goal.

One such kind friend is Monsieur Roland Montagne, the coordinator of the London Cover Circuit Club, who has made it possible for me to list here on these pages covers from places that would be out of my most optimistic expectations.

Recently he again surprised me with a couple of covers that inaugurated two more lines on the origin list, so i take the opportunity pour  vous remercier pour toute votre soutien et generosité, cher ami; un grand merci, Roland!

Sark... the small channel island which up to 2008 was the last feudal state in Europe, being administrated under a system of Seigneur and Tenants that went back to 1565, when Queen Elizabeth I granted the Island as a fief to  Helier de Carteret, Seigneur of St. Ouen in Jersey, provided that he kept the island occupied by forty men who were of her English subjects or swore allegiance to the Crown.

The direct descendants of these first Seigneur and tenants still live on the island which now has replaced the direct allegiance to the Seigneur by a parliamentary regime, with 18 locally elected parliament members (Conseillers, 28 originally), although the Seigneur still holds the hereditary title as constitutional head of the island.

Sark, which administratively is part of the Bailiwick of Guernesey, is also famous for its other modern day eccentricities, like the total ban on motorised vehicles, only tractors, bicycles,  horse-drawn vehicles and electric buggies for the elderly or disabled, being authorised on its roads.

Sark issued its own stamps for the first time in 2025. The second issue, dated of 03SEP2025, is a definitive set comprising 15 values (1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 20; 50 Pence; 1; 2; 4 Pounds), illustrated with photos of local wild flowers.

On the cover we have the 4 and 50 Pence and the 1 Pound stamps, of this issue, bearing photos respectively of:

Sand crocus (Romulea columnae),l a member of the  Iridaceae family, occurring  from western Europe to the Mediterranean;

Ox-eye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare), a member of the Asteraceae family, native to Europe and the temperate regions of Asia;

Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum), a member of the Caprifoliaceae family, native to much of Europe, North Africa, Turkey and the Caucasus.

Postmark from the Post Office at Sark.