Kolkata: India, the adopted home of Mother Teresa, will mark her canonization by issuing a first-day cover four days before Pope Francis declares her a saint on September 4.
The special first-day cover from India Post will be the first in the country to be made entirely out of silk. Priced at 250 rupees each, it will be digitally printed with the motif of the Mother and a child against the Kolkata skyline in the background. Only 1,000 covers, with a provision to go up to 1,200, will be released.
“Mother Teresa belongs to the world and has a global appeal. Secondly, it is a grand and historic occasion like no other. With only a limited number of such stamps and coins being released, these are among the key factors driving their valuation,” Basant Rathi, a philatelist and collector, told The Economic Times.
Meanwhile several countries are set to commemorate the canonization by issuing stamps, coins and firstday covers.
A few hours after India issues the first-day over on September 1, the Vatican City will release a special commemorative stamp on Mother Teresa.
Macedonia, where the world renowned nun was born, will issue a special limitededition coin to mark the event.
In the run up to the canonization, Albania, another country associated with the founder of the Missionaries of Charity, is also expected to announce a release.
In the days following, a string of smaller island nations and microstates including San Marino, which has released the highest number of stamps on Mother Teresa till date, are expected to launch special commemorative stamps and coins.
The canonization is being closely followed by philatelists, numismatists and collectors around the world.
The philatelic community in particular is awaiting announcements from African states such as Central African Republic, Eire, Eritrea, Guinea Bissau, Maldives, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Togo and Rwanda, which have released 53 of the more than 100 stamps on the Mother.