International Reply Coupon

An international reply coupon (IRC) is a coupon that can be exchanged for one or more postage stamps representing the minimum postage for an unregistered priority airmail letter of up to twenty grams sent to another Universal Postal Union (UPU) member country. IRCs are accepted by all UPU member countries.

UPU member postal services are obliged to exchange an IRC for postage, but are not obliged to sell them.

The purpose of the IRC is to allow a person to send someone in another country a letter, along with the cost of postage for a reply. If the addressee is within the same country, there is no need for an IRC because a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) or return postcard will suffice; but if the addressee is in another country an IRC removes the necessity of acquiring foreign postage or sending appropriate currency.

History

The IRC was introduced in 1906 at a Universal Postal Union congress in Rome.  First issued on 1st October 1907, an IRC could be exchanged for a single-rate, ordinary postage stamp for surface delivery to a foreign country, as this was before the introduction of airmail services. An IRC is exchangeable in a UPU member country for the minimum postage of a priority or unregistered airmail letter to a foreign country.

Design & Cycle

Since 1906, the appearance of the IRC has changed several times, with 9 different models, 21 different iterations (changes to the basic model) and 5 special anniversary coupons (for the 100th  110th & 115th  anniversaries of the IRC and the 140th &  145th  anniversary of the UPU)

Model 1

1907 – 1929

Rome 

The first IRC design depicted a female figure flying from the Eastern to the Western hemisphere holding a letter and preceded by a small bird.

Model 2

1929 – 1966

London 

The London Congress of 1929 introduced a completely new design (by Franz Helbing) from 1 July 1930, with stylised columns to left and right, all in blue over a pale yellow-brown globe.

Model 3

1966 – 1974

Vienna 

The Vienna Congress of 1964 introduced on 1 January 1966 the third design which was virtually devoid of any ornamentation. The designer was Donald Brun. The circles were one above the other. The yellow security underprint showed (faintly) the main part of the UPU monument (letter-bearing female figures flying around the globe) on the upper one, and the then UPU International Bureau building in the lower. The centre showed a globe (fringed by vertical bars) with a large bird flying upwards.

Model 4

 1975 – 1990

Lousanne 

The Lausanne Convention came into effect on 1 January 1975, and introduced a fourth design. This stretched the centre of Donald Brun’s underprint on the Vienna design to cover the whole coupon. This had simply a text, and a thin framing including date stamp circles in blue on the front, and the yellow colour dominates. The text was only in French (apart from the languages on the back) and the obligation to show a country name or selling price was removed; if either was shown it was in red.

The UPU “logo” of a globe with female figures flying around it appeared in the top-left corner.

Model 5

2002 – 2006

Beijing 

The Beijing Convention, effective from 1 January 2002 5 introduced the most radical changes to IRCs that have occurred since they first appeared. They were doubled in size, to 148x105mm (A6) and printed on stiffer paper that could be processed by machine. The front was lightly printed in blue, with a picture of a girl holding a letter in front of a lake with a mountainous background.

2007 – 2009 

Beijing No2 

2007 – 2009 

Beijing No2 – 100th Anniversary of IRC

Model 6

2009 – 2013 

Nairobi 

Model 7

2014 – 2016

Doha Cycle

2014 

Doha – 140th Anniversary of UPU

Model 8

2017 – 2021 

Istanbul 

Viet Nam emerged victorious from the ten countries participating in the latest competition, held on 7 October 2016 during the UPU Congress for the 2017–2021 period in Istanbul (hence the new IRC name "Istanbul model").

Graphic artist Nguyen Du's design featured a pair of hands and a dove against an Arctic backdrop to represent sustainable development in the postal sector. The image of the yellow stamp on blue represents the future of the Post.

2017 

Istanbul – 110th Anniversary of IRC

2019

Istanbul – 145th Anniversary of UPU

Model 9

2021 – 2025

Abidjan 

The traditional international drawing competition organized to select the illustration of the IRC Abidjan was launched in late 2019 under the theme "Preserve the Ecosystem - Protect the Climate" in reference to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 13 and 15. 

Despite the global health situation related to the Covid-19 pandemic, 9 designated operators from UPU member countries participated in the competition.

The drawing represents a tree formed by two hands surrounding the foliage and a group of birds, all placed on the globe symbolizing the ecosystem.

This drawing has a special character because of the young age of the artist, Miss Valeryia Tsimakhavets, who has just celebrated her 15th birthday.

2022

Abidjan – 125th Anniversary of IRC

Italy : Polizia di Stato

10 May 1986

Law enforcement in Italy is centralized on a national level, carried out by multiple national forces, helped by few limited local agencies. The Italian law enforcement system is considered complex, with multiple police forces and other agencies taking part in different duties. Policing in the Italian system refers to the duties of "full-powered officers" coming from the four national main forces: Polizia di Stato (State Police), Carabinieri, Polizia Penitenziaria and Guardia di Finanza (Financial Guard). While the duties of these four corps' include investigating and arresting, other local forces carry out limited duties.

12 Dec 1997

12 April 2002

10 April 2022

The Polizia di Stato (State Police or P.S.) is one of the national police forces of Italy. Alongside the Carabinieri, it is the main police force for providing police duties, primarily to cities and large towns, and with its child agencies it is also responsible for highway patrol (autostrade), railways (ferrovie), airports (aeroporti), customs (together with the Guardia di Finanza) as well as certain waterways, and assisting the local police forces.

It was a military force until 1981 when the Italian State Law 121 was passed. This converted the State Police to a civil force, which is in contrast to the other main police forces of Italy: the Arma dei Carabinieri, which is a military police (gendarmerie) force[2][3] and the Guardia di Finanza, the Italian customs and border protection police that also falls in the military corps category.

Thailand 2000s New Year "Flowers"

 

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

Israel 2003 Lily ( My Own Stamp )

 Since Israel's independence, the production of garden plants and cut flowers has grown significantly. Today, with export of more than 200 million dollars, Israel is one of the larger suppliers to the world market.

 Lilies are 100 bulbous plant species, native to the Northern Hemisphere. They flower in spring and summer on a leafy stalk that carries 5 to 7 bell-shaped or bowl-shaped, large, often fragrant, flowers in many colors. The beauty of the gradually opening up flowers made the lily a garden ornamental as far back as ancient times.

 Since 1928, breeders have created hundreds of different hybrids, making lilies one of the most common cut flowers and flowering pot plants.

The study of the methods of environmental control of flowering has today facilitated an almost industrial production of flowers from these hybrids. 

The “Asiatic” hybrid species is illustrated on the stamp. 

Many thousands of cultivated lily bulbs and flowers are exported from Israel world – wide.

1 July 2003 : My Own Stamp

24 Feb 2002 : Special Sheet

24 Feb 2002 

Israel 2002 The Menorah

 

 

 

 

Different and varied artifacts were found in the Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem as were found in other ancient places of worship. Three objects were particular only to the Jerusalem Temple: The Table of Showbread, incense altar and the seven-branched menorah made of pure gold. The menorah became the symbol of the people of Israel. The Bible contains descriptions of both the seven-branched menorah and the menorah in the vision of the prophet Zechariah, (Exodus 25 31-40,37 17-24; Zechariah 4 1-7). With the destruction of the First Temple by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon (586 B.C.E) the menorah was taken, along with other treasures, from the Temple to Babylon and its fate was unknown.

When the Second Temple was built a new golden menorah was made, probably from the original mold, and this was sanctified for hundreds of years until the destruction of the Second Temple by the Roman army led by Titus (70 C.E.)  The Roman army paraded with the sacred vessels in their triumphal procession throughout the streets of Rome.   An illustration of the procession was engraved in a stone victory arch, which was built in Rome and shows the Judean prisoners carrying the sacred vessels with the seven-branched menorah in the center.

According to written descriptions, the sacred menorah had a tripod base and this is how it is illustrated in hundreds of works of art, as a symbol of Judaism, for generations after the destruction of the Temple. Illustrations from the Second Temple period were found in the archeological excavations of the Jewish quarter and include an engraving of the menorah, with a tripod base, on the wall of one of the houses.

 The menorah on the Arch of Titus actually shows a solid base and not a tripod base. In addition ,animal reliefs appear on the engraving – something that did not exist in Jewish art of the Second Temple period and certainly not on holy objects of the Temple. The Romans might have added pagan images to the menorah.
 A few months after the declaration of the State of Israel, (15 May 1948) the first Israeli government decided on the country’s emblem and flag (10 February 1949). It was natural that the seven-branched menorah be chosen as the emblem of the re-born State, since, more than anything else, it was the symbol of the Jewish people from the time of the Second Temple. Indeed Professor Michael Avi-Yona, one of the great scholars of ancient Jewish art, recommended the menorah from the Arch of Titus for the State’s emblem. Graphic artists, Gabriel and Maxim Shamir designed the emblem. Professor Avi-Yona chose the Titus Arch Menorah since the procession in Rome represents the destruction of Jewish independence and two thousand years later independence was renewed. The State’s emblem was therefore based on the Titus Arch Menorah with the animals slightly blurred but the base as a whole and not a tripod. Two olive branches surround the menorah on the emblem. This motif was taken from the Book of the Prophet Zechariah which tells of the prophet’s vision of menorah and olive branches. The word “Israel” is written beneath the menorah on the emblem. This is the name of the new country but also relates to Jewish inscriptions found in synagogues at the time of the Mishna and Talmud and also relates to the inscription “ Shalom al Yisrael” which appears under the seven-branched menorah on the mosaic floor of the Jericho Synagogue from the 7th/8th century.

Fontana di Trevi

The Trevi Fountain (Italian: Fontana di Trevi) is an 18th-century fountain in the Trevi district in Rome, Italy, designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi and completed by Giuseppe Pannini in 1762 and several others. Standing 26.3 metres (86 ft) high and 49.15 metres (161.3 ft) wide, it is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous fountains in the world.

Italy : 10 Nov 1973

France : 12 Nov 2002

Israel 2002 Months of the Year

 
The Jewish year incorporates both the lunar and solar calendars. The Bible does not give names to the months, but rather assigns them ordinal numbers: "the first month" (the Exodus from Egypt), "the second month," and the like. As time שפשפpassed, they were given Hebrew names that all but four were subsequently lost. During the Babylonian exile, the Jews began to call the months by the Babylonian -Akkadian names that are mentioned in the later Biblical books and that are still used to the present day. During each month the sun is situated in a special constellation of stars known as the mazal (sign of the Zodiac) of the month.

 
 
Tishrei.  Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, falls on the first and second days of this month. The Torah mandates hearing the shofar (ram's horn) on this holiday. It is customary to eat apple and honey symbolizing a sweet year and pomegranate seeds symbolizing abundance of merits. On Yom Kippur, Tishrei 10, a fast is observed in order to atone for sins. The Festival of Sukkot begins on Tishrei 15 and continues for seven days in commemoration of the booths (sukkot) in which the Israelites dwelled when wandering in the wilderness until their entry to the Land of Israel. Sukkot is immediately followed by Shemini Atzeret, that in the Middle Ages was given the additional name of Simhat Torah, for the joy (simhah) that accompanies the conclusion of the annual cycle of the reading of the Torah in the synagogue and the beginning of a new cycle. In nature: the soil is prepared for the planting of winter crops.
 
 
Heshvan (Marcheshvan). The name Marheshvan in Akadian means "the eighth month." The Jewish sources explain the addition mar as meaning a drop of water, or because the month is "bitter" (mar) because it contains no holidays and because bitter calamities occurred during it, such as the beginning of the Flood. In nature: the first leaves fall from the trees, and the winter grains are sowed.
 
 
Kislev. The holiday of Hanukkah begins on Kislev 25. On this date in 164 BCE Judah Maccabee conquered Jerusalem and purified the Temple. The Hasmoneans found a small cruse of oil that would not burn for even a single day, but miraculously lasted for eight days. These eight days are commemorated by the kindling of lights. It is customary to eat foods prepared in oil - donuts and potato pancakes ("latkes"), and to play with spinning tops ("dreidels"). In nature: many annual plants sprout.
 
 
Tevet. Tevet 10 is a fast day, commemorating the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem in 588 BCE by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, a siege that lasted two years, until the 9th day of Av, 586 BCE. In nature: the citrus season.
 
 
Shevat. Shevat 15 (Tu bi-Shevat) determines the taking of terumot (offerings) and tithes from fruit for the Temple. In the 16th century the Kabbalists of Safed instituted the Tu bi-Shevat Seder, an "ordered" meal resembling the Passover Seder. In the 19th century, the first Zionists initiated the practice of planting trees, a custom that was established in the Jewish agricultural settlements in the Land of Israel, and contributed to the building and growth of the Land. In nature: the almond trees blossom and the fields of grain are yellow with mustard flowers
 
 
Adar. Purim, marking the liberation of the Jews of Persia, 5th century BCE, is celebrated on Adar 15 in walled cities and Adar 14 in other cities. The obligatory practices of the day include: reading the Book of Esther, sending "portions" of food to other people, gifts to the poor, and the Purim festive meal. It is customary to eat three-cornered filled pastries ("hamantaschen") and to masquerade. In nature: wildflowers are at their peak.
 
 
Nisan. The Bible marks Nisan as the first month of the year, because in this month the Israelites went forth from Egypt.  Pesach (Passover) begins on Nisan 15, and continues for seven days, in memory of the Exodus from Egypt; thus another of its names, the Festival of Freedom. It is also called the Festival of Matzot (unleavened bread) because the Exodus was conducted in haste, and the Israelites had no time for their bread to rise, and therefore ate it unleavened. The Omer (literally, sheaf) is counted from Pesach to the Festival of Shavuot, and mourning practices are observed until Lag Be-Omer, the "33rd day of the Omer": men do not shave, haircuts are forbidden, and weddings are not conducted, to commemorate the deaths of 24,000 pupils of Rabbi Akiva between Pesach and Shavuot in the 2nd century CE. In nature: the beginning of the barley harvest.
 
 
Iyyar Lag be-Omer, the 18th day of Iyyar, marks the death of  Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai. Children light bonfires and play with bow and arrow. One of the explanations for the lighting of bonfires is connected to the manner in which Simeon bar Yohai departed from the world, accompanied by a great fire that surrounded his bier. Jewish tradition asserts that on Lag be-Omer the deaths of Rabbi Akiva's pupils ceased, and so the mourning practices come to an end, and many couples are wed on this day. Ashkenazi Jews also do not wed between Lag be-Omer and Shavuot, to commemorate the destruction of the European Jewish communities during this time of the year in the Crusades. In nature: the first blossoming of plants alongside rivers and streams, such as oleander
 
Sivan. Shavuot, that completes the count of seven weeks (shavuot) from Pesach, falls on the Sivan 6. The Festival is also called the Day of the First Fruits (since the first fruits of the Seven Species were brought to the Temple on Shavuot); the Harvest Festival (since this marks the beginning of the wheat harvest); the Festival of the Giving of the Torah (since, according to Jewish tradition, the Torah was given on Sivan 6); Atzeret ("gathering" for the Festival); In nature: the beginning of the wheat harvest and the first summer fruits ripen
 
Tammuz. A fast is observed on Tammuz 17, to commemorate several sad events, including the smashing of the Tablets of the Law by Moses, following the sin of the Golden Calf and the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem by the Romans during the time of the Second Temple. In nature: the open fields turn yellow and weeds are in full bloom.
 
 
Av. A fast is observed on 9th of Av, in memory of the calamitous events that occurred on this date, including the destruction of both the First and Second Temples. Av 15 is a holiday celebrated by dancing; on this day unmarried maidens dressed in white garments danced in the vineyards, and whoever did not have a wife sought one there. This is the origin of the custom to conduct weddings on this day. In nature: the beginning of the summer crops harvest and grapes are picked for wine.
 
 
Elul.  Jews of Sephardic and Oriental origin rise early each day during this month for the recitation of the penitential Selihot prayers, in preparation for the High Holy Days. Ashkenazi Jews begin to recite Selihot only towards the end of the month, before Rosh Hashanah. It is a popular custom to send New Year's greeting cards to friends. In nature: cotton, olives, and dates are harvested.

UN 2002 World Heritage Sites : Italy