Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihanouk:
80th Anniversary Limited Edition Presentation Set
by Graham Shaw
A limited edition presentation of the 2001 set of 13 stamps (all vertical) to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the birth of the then Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk have come to light at the Central Post Office in Phnom Penh.
Fig. 1: Front cover of the Limited Special Eduction Presentation Set.
The Cambodian Ministry of Post and Telecommunications has printed an A5 size hardback folder with Cambodian and English language text on the front cover in gold together with the Royal crest at the top. Inside, the dark blue text is written in the Cambodian and French languages at the top, left which roughly translates into English as:
Strangely, the limited edition presentation includes ‘with the compliments’ at the bottom of the same interior page in the English language; no Cambodian or French language appears next to this phrase.
Fig. 3: Inside the special edition album.
The rear cover of this presentation set shows the fabled Angkor Wat with ‘Cambodia Postage Stamps’ printed in gold letters in both the Cambodian and English languages.
Fig. 4: The rear cover of the presentation set.
It is not yet known exactly how many of these limited edition presentation sets have been printed, although only a handful have been seen to-date at the Central Post Office in Phnom Penh. It seems likely that the front and rear covers are part of a standard printing of presentation booklets with variations being possible for the two interior pages.