Cook Islands, 200 Different Stamps

From the South Pacific to the Moon —
200 Different Stamps from the Cook Islands

Fifteen islands scattered across two million square miles of the South Pacific — that's the Cook Islands. Captain James Cook first sighted them in 1773, and the archipelago has borne his name ever since. Today these islands are an independent nation in free association with New Zealand, renowned for crystal lagoons, Polynesian culture, and — among collectors — some of the most varied and visually stunning stamps ever issued by any small country on earth.

Two hundred stamps gives you the full sweep of what the Cook Islands produced: royalty and space travel, Pacific history and world art, birds and flowers, overprints and commemoratives. It's a collection that rewards both the beginning collector and the specialist.

Selections will vary, but here are some of the stamps and themes you may find in your packet:

• Apollo moon landing commemoratives — the Cook Islands had a unique connection to the Apollo program. Multiple splashdowns occurred in or near Cook Islands waters, and the nation issued striking commemorative stamps for the missions — including a souvenir sheet marking the tenth anniversary of man's first landing on the Moon. The stamps often feature the crew, the lunar module, and the Earth from space in vivid color. Space topical collectors consider these essential Cook Islands issues.
• Queen Elizabeth II definitives — as a Commonwealth realm, the Cook Islands issued multiple definitive series featuring Queen Elizabeth II portraits across the decades. From the early engraved portraits of the 1950s and '60s to the airmail issues inscribed "Cook Islands," these stamps document the long reign of a monarch whose image appeared on more stamps worldwide than any other person in history.
• Internal self-government commemorative — in 1965, the Cook Islands became self-governing in free association with New Zealand, and the event was marked with stamps. Seeing the word "Internal Self-Government" inscribed on a postage stamp is a vivid reminder of how postal history captures political milestones that history books might only briefly note.
• Map and flowers definitives (5c) — a colorful stamp depicting the Cook Islands archipelago spread across the Pacific alongside the white tiare flower, the national bloom of the Cook Islands. Tiare Māori, as it's known in Cook Islands Māori, is woven through the islands' culture, ceremony, and identity.
• Westminster Abbey architectural stamp — among the British Commonwealth commemoratives you may find a beautifully detailed stamp depicting Westminster Abbey, issued to mark a major royal occasion. It's a reminder of the Cook Islands' close ties to the Crown even as it charted its own political course.
• New Zealand overprints — early Cook Islands stamps were New Zealand issues overprinted "Cook Islands" for local use. These transitional stamps, carrying the history of two postal administrations in a single design, are fascinating items for Commonwealth specialists.

Two hundred stamps from fifteen islands, one vast ocean, and a postal history that stretches from colonial overprints to the surface of the Moon. Every packet is different — order today and see what you get.