The constitution of the MSAR, on 20.12.1999, has introduced some changes in Macao’s philately, specifically in the issuing Postal Administration’s designation and in the identification code of stamps and souvenir sheets.
In the first case, the designation “República Portuguesa” was replaced by “Macau, China”, on the second case, the issue “Macau Retrospective”, in 19.12.1999, marked the ending of the codification series in use, with the last codes S193(4/1), S193(4/2), S193(4/3) and S193(4/4), for stamps and S194(1/1), for the Souvenir Sheet.
By terminating this series, it offered an opportunity to create new series and codes, not only for stamps and souvenir sheets, but also to other philatelic products, like first day covers, booklets, information brochures, commemorative envelopes, postcards, etc., and also to all the postmarks associated with new issues, commemorative cancellation services and exhibitions.
All the new series have started with the number 001 and are sequential.
The decision by Macao Post and Telecommunications of creating a code system, presented here, had the following two objectives:
- Decrease the possibility of falsification of the coded products.
- Offer the collectors an easy and fast possibility of, at any time, knowing if their philatelic collections have been complete or not.
As far as the first objective is concerned, to decrease the falsification worldwide, the Universal Postal Union, in conjunction with the World Association for the Development of Philately (WADP), has also created a worldwide numbering system (WNS), to which the Macao Post has joined after January 1st, 2002, being the approved code represented by MO xxx yy, in which MO represents the Macao Postal Administration, xxx represents the numerical sequence started by 001 and yy represents the year of the issue.
The codes printed on the Macao Post and Telecommunications' philatelic products are generally composed by a literal part (S, B, … etc) identifying the product, and by a numeric sequence (xxx = 001, 002, 003, etc.) identifying the order.
As for stamps and souvenir sheets, there is also an additional indication (y/z), in which the variable “y” shows the number of stamps in the series of that issue, and the variable “z” showing in the series of stamps, that specific stamp (See the following example).
| THE CODES USED ARE AS FOLLOWS |
|---|
| Issues (Stamps) | S xxx（y/z） |
| Souvenir Sheets | B xxx（y/z） |
| First Day Cover, w/stamps | ENA xxx |
| First Day Cover, w/Souvenir Sheets | ENB xxx |
| Commemorative envelopes issued by Macao Post and Telecommunications Bureau | ENC xxx |
| Commemorative envelopes issued by other entities | ENX xxx |
| Information Brochures | PGL xxx |
| Booklets with stamps | BLK–S xxx（y/z） |
| Booklets with Souvenir Sheets | BLK–B xxx（y/z） |
| Postcards of new issue | BPL xxx |
| Commemorative Postcards issued by Macao Post and Telecommunications Bureau | BPC xxx |
| Commemorative Postcards issued by other entities | BPX xxx |
| New issue, Commemorative or Exhibition Postmarks | C xxx |
In order for collectors and readers to understand better the use and meaning of the codes, here are some examples:
| MACAO POST AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS’ CODES |
|---|
| Code S001(6/2): | Issue number Two hundred sixteenth (216), after the constitution of the MSAR, named “Chinese Opera – Farewell My Concubine”, comprised of four (4) stamps, stamp number one (1) of the series. |
| Code B192 – | One hundred ninety-second Souvenir Sheet (192), produced after the constitution of the MSAR, belonging to the issue named “Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge”. |
| Code ENA222 – | Two hundred twenty-second First Day Cover with stamp (222), produced after the constitution of the MSAR, belonging to the issue named “150th Anniversary of the Birth of Camilo Pessanha”. |
| Code ENB196 – | One hundred ninety-sixty First Day Cover with souvenir sheet (196), produced after the constitution of the MSAR, belonging to the issue named “Classic Fables and Tales”. |
| Code PGL230 – | Two hundred thirtieth Information Brochure (230), produced after the constitution of the MSAR, belonging to the issue named “Chinese White Dolphin”. |
| Code BPL220 – | Two hundred twentieth Postcard (220), produced after the constitution of the MSAR, belonging to the issue named “Lotus Flower”, titled “Torch”. |
| Code C708 – | Seven hundred eighth Postmark (708), produced after the constitution of the MSAR, belonging to the issue named “Birdsongs and Spring Flowers”. |
| UPU / WADP CODES |
|---|
| Code MO007.17 – | Seventh Stamp, internationally registered by the Macao Postal Administration in the Universal Postal Union / World Association for the Development of Philately in the year of 2017, belonging to the first stamp of the issue named “Macao: Back to Common Roots”. |
| Code MO010.18 – | Tenth Stamp, internationally registered by the Macao Postal Administration in the Universal Postal Union / World Association for the Development of Philately in the year of 2018, belonging to the souvenir sheet of the issue named “Macao 2018 – 35th Asian International Stamp Exhibition (I)”. |
With the objective of promoting the stamp culture as well as to let the collectors over the world knows about Macao through the wonderful Macao stamps, Macao Post and Telecommunications will continue to develop the stamps and philatelic products from various aspects such as themes, design, and printing technique.