Guernsey Post cancels planned crypto stamp issue

By David Hartwig

Guernsey Post canceled a planned crypto stamp issue originally scheduled for July 24, according to a Sept. 27 article on the BBC website.

The BBC said the financial regulator raised concerns and that the £10 Guernsey Goat crypto stamps did not meet the requirements of a 2022 law.

Guernsey Post chief executive Boley Smillie said: “Our proposed crypto stamps have been considered to be a virtual asset by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission and that means they would be unlikely to licence Guernsey Post for the sale of this type of product.”

Crypto is short for cryptocurrency, a currency that exists only digitally. These stamp issues usually carry high denominations and typically see very little use in the mail.

The Philatelic Foreword of the Sept. 30 issue of Linn’s said the stamp, which was indefinitely delayed at the time of publication, would not have been eligible to be used for mailing.

“So, is it a stamp?” Linn’s editor-in-chief Jay Bigalke asked. “Nope. Postal officials consider it to be a product. Stamp catalogers would consider this a cinderella, a stamp-like label.”

“So, what do stamp collectors do?” Bigalke went on to ask. “Scott catalog editors most certainly will not list the issue, but might footnote it in case someone is trying to locate the item at a future date.”

Now it appears that collectors and the Scott editors will have an easier decision to make about the Guernsey Goat issue, because the BBC said Guernsey Post now plans to release the issue as traditional postage stamps on a souvenir sheet.

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