2003 (15 Commemoratives) - ECHO'S PHILA HOUSE

03-1 Tk.6 Two books tied with red ribbon and a bow
1 stamp

CCMs: Yes
Plate #: No
Sheet: 100
Quantity Printed: Unknown
Designer: Anowar Hossain
Printer: The Security Printing Corp. (BD), Ltd., Gazipur
FDC: Yes. Commemorative postmark
Pmks.: Chittagong, Dhaka (black, blue, purple, red and green), Rajshahi
Insert: Shiny white card stock printed in blue.

This envelope is missing much of the blue printing, which includes the writing on either side of the Post Office logo, which is very faint.

03-2 Tk.5 Portrait of Jasimuddin
1 stamp

CCMs: Yes
Plate #: No
Sheet: 100
Quantity Printed: Unknown
Designer: Amirul Islam Sikder
Printer: The Security Printing Corp. (BD), Ltd., Gazipur
FDC: Yes. Commemorative postmark
Pmks.: Chittagong, Dhaka (black, blue, purple, red and green)
Insert: Shiny white card stock printed in blue.

03-3 Tk.10 Soccer players and flags
1 stamp

CCMs: Yes
Plate #: No
Sheet: 100
Quantity Printed: Unknown
Designer: Anowar Hossain
Printer: The Security Printing Corp. (BD), Ltd., Gazipur
FDC: Yes. Commemorative postmark
Pmks.: Chittagong, Dhaka, Rajshahi
Insert: Shiny white card stock, printed in blue.

Two proposed cachets for this issue. Unfortunately there are tape stains from the back of the envelope as they were mounted on a sheet of paper.

03-4 TK.10 Woman holding bundle with large ear of corn and sunflower in background. Overprint superimposed over image.
a. inverted overprint
b. overprint shifted to the left
c. pair – left stamp normal, right stamp has shift to the left
1 stamp
CCMs: Yes
Plate #: No
Sheet: 100
Quantity Overprinted: Unknown
Designer: Anowar Hossain
Printer of overprint:
FDC: Yes. Commemorative postmark
Pmks.: Chittagong, Dhaka (black and red), Khulna
Insert: Shiny white card stock printed in black.

Additional: The overprint on each sheet had to be done in two printings as the overprint was prepared in configuration of 50. Since the sheets contained 100 stamps, it had to be printed on the sheet twice. On one sheet one side was printed normally and the other inverted. The sheet has not been broken up as of the year 2014.

There were two proposed designs for the IFAD stamp, but due to time constraints, they decided to overprint a previously issued stamp. The design on the right was then used for the cachet of the FDC, minus the values and some other minor changes.

03-5 TK.8 Portrait of Rahman
1 stamp

CCMs: Yes
Plate #: No
Sheet: 100
Quantity Printed: Unknown
Designer: Motiur Rahman
Printer: The Security Printing Corp. (BD), Ltd., Gazipur
FDC: Yes. Commemorative postmark
Pmks.: Dhaka (black, blue, purple, red and green)
Insert: Quadrifolded cream colored paper, printed in blue.

03-6 Tk.4 Portrait of Ziaur Rahman
1 stamp

CCMs: Yes
Plate #: No
Sheet: 100
Quantity Printed: Unknown
Designer: Anowar Hussain
Printer: The Security Printing Corp. (BD), Ltd., Gazipur
FDC: Yes. Commemorative postmark. Also a privately printed cover with the commemorative
Pmks.: Chittagong, Dhaka, Rajshahi
Insert: Quadrifold shiny white paper printed in dark brown. The same photo used on the stamp is printed on the front of the folder.

Additional: This stamp was to be issued on 30 May, 2003, but the Postmaster was unable to participate in the ceremonies that day, therefore the stamp was issued on 29, May, 2003. A privately printed cover exists with a non-commemorative postmark and was cancelled at the Dhaka post office on the original date of 30 May, 2003. Covers with the commemorative postmark and government printed envelope, also dated the 30th, exist for the following cities: Barisal, Bogra, Chittagong, Comilla, Dhaka (Gpo – Note the last two letters are not capitalized), Dhaka Sadar, Dinajpur, Faridpur, Jamalpur, Jessore, Khulna (Gpo – Note the last two letters are not capitalized), Kushtia, Mymensingh, Narayaganj, Noakhali, Pabna, Rajshahi (Gpo – Note the last two letters are not capitalized), Rangamati, Rangpur, Sylhet, Tangai

Two proposed postmarks (left) that were not used. Note that the date of issued was to be 30 May 2003. The stamp was issued on 29 May, a day earlier and a totally different postmark was created for the event. Popular beliefs were that he had been assassanated at midnight and the date was just turning to the 30th. Another story was that he was killed at 9:00pm on the 29th. The general population does not seem to know the details and the stamp was issued on the 29th. Another story is that the person who was to issue the stamp could not be at the ceremony on the 30th and it was changed to the 29th.
Above is a sheet (right) showing the postmarks for the various cities for which a cancellation was prepared. The date in the cancellation is 19 May 2003, the date of issue. At the top left there are three identical images for Dhaka. One was for the FDC cderemony, another for the Dhaka Philatelic Bureau and the third a relief, in case one is damaged or stolen.

The above designs were made by Mr. Mrinal Chakraborty of Mutual Graphis Limited for the proposed cachet for the envelope and for a pair of stamps. The design on the left was used for the design of the cachet with some modification. The flag was removed, the background image was slightly changed and the text was repositioned. The stamp design was made by another artist. A rather odd feature of these designs, and the issued design is that they have the years 1981 – 2003. Normally one lists the birth and death dates of an individual like this, but here they are referring to the date he died and the 23rd anniversary of the date.

A privately produced FDC by Mosharaf Husain. mailed on the date the stamp was to have originally been issued – the 30th. The cover does not have the commemorative cancellation on it and the cover was sent by registered mail. It is more an item of curiosity than having any value, as the stamp had already been issued the previous day. The cover has an additiona Taka 2 postage on the back to cover the correct rate.

03-7 Tk.8 Hands holding tree with figures below
03-8 Tk.12 Stylized tree of four circles with stem and leaves
2 stamps

CCMs: Yes
Plate #: No
Sheet: 100
Quantity Printed: Unknown
Designer: Anowar Hossain
Printer: The Security Printing Corp. (BD), Ltd., Gazipur
FDC: Yes. Commemorative postmark.
Pmks.: Chittagong, Dhaka, Kushtia, Rajshahi
Insert: Shiny white card stock, printed in blue.

03-9 Tk.6 Various fruit with drawing of people watering plant
1 stamp

CCMs: Yes
Plate #: No
Sheet: 100
Quantity Printed: Unknown
Designer: Mesbah Uddin Ahmed
Printer: The Security Printing Corp. (BD), Ltd., Gazipur
FDC: Yes. Commemorative postmark
Pmks.: Chittagong, Dhaka, Rajshahi
Insert: Shiny white card stock, printed in blue.

03-10 Image of a fish
1 stamp

CCMs: Yes
Plate #: No
Sheet: 100
Quantity Printed: Unknown
Designer: Syed Raqibul Moin
Printer: The Security Printing Corp. (BD), Ltd., Gazipur
FDC: Yes. Commemorative postmark
Pmks.: Brahmanbaria, Chittagong, Dhaka, Rajshahi
Insert: White card stock, printed in brown.

03-11 Tk.10 Superinposed designs, one with a train
1 stamp

CCMs: Yes
Plate #: No
Sheet: 100
Quantity Printed: Unknown
Designer: Roop Communication
Printer: The Security Printing Corp. (BD), Ltd., Gazipur
FDC: Yes. Commemorative postmark.
Pmks.: Chittagong, Dhaka, Rajshahi (purple)
Insert: Shiny white card stock, printed in blue.

03-12 Tk.10 Parliament Building
1 stamp

CCMs: Yes
Plate #: No
Sheet: 100
Quantity Printed: Unknown
Designer: Anowar Hussain
Printer: The Security Printing Corp. (BD), Ltd., Gazipur
FDC: Yes. Commemorative postmark.
Pmks.: Chittagong, Dhaka, Rajshaji
Insert: Trifolded cream colored paper, printed in black with a multicolored photo on the front.

Additional: A post office was set up for the event with it’s own postal cancellation for this issue as well.

The following issue saw the first attempt to list more information about the production of the FDC. It now lists the designer of the cachet and the stationery charge in English. Stationery is misspelled as “stationary”, and it was not until the Golden Jubilee, Rajshahi University issue of 21 December, in the following month, that they also listed the printer of the envelope in English. The new format with all the information became the standard and has been used from that point on.

The greeting card printed and sold by the Post Office. In this case someone had the stamp affixed and cancelled on the front. The card opens and there is a message on the inside.

03-13 Tk.10 Mosque with greetings in various languages above.
1 stamp

CCMs: Yes
Plate #: No
Sheet: 100
Quantity Printed: Unknown
Designer: Anowar Hossain
Printer: The Security Printing Corp. (BD), Ltd., Gazipur
FDC: Yes. The normal commemorative envelope and a card that opens on the right, inside, near the top, is the Post Office logo in red and that the stamp is cancelled with the commemorative postmark. On the right of the card at the top is “In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compashionate”, in Arabic and under it “Eid Mubarak” in Arabic, Bangla and English.. Two different. Commemorative postmarks:
Pmrks: Bogra (purple) Brahmanbaria Was not supposed to be issued as another pmk was done for it?
Barisal (purple), Chittagong (purple), Comilla (purple), Dhaka , Dhaka Sadar (purple), Dinajpur (purple), Faridpur (purple), Jamalpur (purple), Jessore (purple), Khulna (purple), Kushtia (purple), Mymensingh (purple), Noakhali.(purple), Pabna (purple), Rajshahi (purple and black), Rangamati (purple), Rangpur (purple), Sylhet (purple), Tangail (purple)
Insert: Shiny white card stock, printed in blue
Cachet Designer: Mutual Graphics, Ltd.
Cachet Printer: Postal Printing Press, Tejgaon-Dhaka
Stationary Charge: Tk.6.

A Bangladesh FDC of November 25, 2003 for the Eid Mubarak stamp, with a U.S. Eid stamp applied to the envelope and cancelled with the First Day of Issue cancellation from New York, on October 5, 2006.

On the right is a fake of a similar ICCDR stamp. The person making it made it a different value, Tk.8, instead of Tk.10, and printed different colors on the sides. If one had seen the genuine stamp one would assume this was another denomination in a set of stamps. On the left is a genuine stamp.

03-14 Tk.10 Logo in center with olive leaves and writing
a. fake – denomination is Tk.8 , instead of Tk.10
1 stamp
CCMs: Yes
Plate #: No
Sheet: 100
Quantity Printed: Unknown
Designer: IDDC,B Dhaka, Bangladesh
Printer: The Security Printing Corp. (BD), Ltd., Gazipur
FDC: Yes. Commemorative postmark
Pmks.: Chittagong, Dhaka, Rajshahi
Insert: Trifolded white paper, printed in blue

Additional: What is writing on the back. No envelope designer listed. The forgery stamp is only known used and less than five have been seen to date.

The center cover, from Rajshahi, is a different shade of red, from the other covers. The cover below it, from Dhaka, has a shift of the red upward.

Beginning with the following issue FDCs have the name of the designer of the cachet on the back of the envelope, the stationery charge, and the printer of the envelope, in English. At various times the word “Stationery” is misspelled as “Stationary” and the location of the printer as either Tejgaon, or Tongi. There are also variations using either a hyphon “-“, or a comma “,” after Tejgaon/Tongi and Gazipur. This new information has been added to the descriptions of the relevant information about each stamp from this point forward.

The corner of the sheet with the CCMs, showing a major misperforation.

03-15 Tk.5 University building
a. missing the gold printing at the top
b. misperfed.
1 stamp
CCMs: Yes
Plate #: No
Sheet: 100
Quantity Printed: Unknown
Designer: Anowar Hossain
Printer: The Security Printing Corp. (BD), Ltd., Gazipur
FDC: Yes. Commemortive postmark.
Pmks.: Chittagong, Dhaka, Rajshahi University S.P.O. – on-site cancellation
Insert: Shiny white card stock, printed in blue
Cachet Designer: Anowar Hossain
Cachet Printer: Postal Printing Press, Tejgaon-Dhaka
Stationary Charge: Tk.6.

A scarce block of four missing the gold printing at the top of the stamp. On the left is a normal block and the right the error. Note the gold circle in the margin.