PISC Discussion Forums

G'day fellow members,
With Australia2013 fast approaching, I happened across an old PISC issue from the Pacific'97 show.
I wonder, has the PISC done many of these commemorative issues in the past?
Regards
Matt Green
(Sydney, Australia)

Hi Matt.
I presume that you are talking about the "Souvenir Card" that we produced for the Pacific 97 show in San Francisco. This was the first and only time that we tried something like this, and it was something of a mixed blessing. Steve Zirinsky offered to organise it and we arranged for the blank cards to be delivered to him in S.F. I organised the supply of stamps (the lowest current value from 4 of the territories supposedly) and bought them from Crown Agents. Do you have an example of this card, if so you will see the "not very deliberate" mistake. I ordered 1vt definitives for Vanuatu and paid for them, but unfortunately (or fortunately for all concerned) we were sent the top value 100vt (I think although it might be 200vt). So a gathering of those PISC members attending in Steve Zirinsky's hotel room to have a "lick & stick" session before the Exhibition opened and a rapid trip round the various country Bureau stands to get them cancelled with their exhibition cancellers. All PISC members got a free copy.
I still have the odd spare copy.
I do not think it would be as easy to do this today, for one very good reason, many of the territories have "sold" their stamp issuing programmes to US based so called "agencies" and they would not co-operate I am sure. I'm not even certain that Fiji (cash-strapped as usual) will be attending Melbourne and neither will many of the others.
Hope this helps. While you are logged in have a look at my first ever message posted yesterday on the subject of the Stanly Gibbons Western Pacific catalogue.
Best wishes.
Bryan.

Thanks Bryan,
Very interesting story, for everyone who wishes to see this item I have attached a scan of my own copy in my above early posting.
Cheers
Matt