In
philately, an
omnibus issue is an issue of stamps by several countries with a common subject and which may share a uniform design. Omnibus issues have often been made by countries under common political control or groups of colonies due to the close co-operation required to produce the issue. Omnibus issues are to be distinguished from
which are usually much narrower in scope.
The first omnibus issue
The first omnibus has been said to be the issue of 1898 by the Portuguese colonial empire to commemorate the quatercentenary of Vasco de Gama's discovery of the sea route to India.
[Mackay, James. Philatelic Terms Illustrated. 4th edition. London: Stanley Gibbons, 2003, p.95. .]
British Empire and British Overseas Territories issues
Omnibuses have been particularly associated with stamps from the former British Empire, now the British Commonwealth, due to the large number of territories participating. Initially designs were identical for each colony with only the values, colours and colony names varying. Over time, however, a wider range of designs has been used within the same issue. The first issue was the Silver Jubilee issue of 1935.
[Sutton, R.J. & K.W. Anthony. The Stamp Collector's Encyclopaedia. 6th edition. London: Stanley Paul, 1966, p.216.] Many others have followed, usually on themes related to the British Royal Family, but also for subjects such as
Freedom from Hunger (1963) and the
1966 Football World Cup. Not every colony necessarily participates in every issue, although the revenue produced by the stamps is a valuable source of income for many smaller colonies/countries which may have few other ways of raising funds.
A list of British Omnibus issues is given below:
1935 - Silver Jubilee
1937 - Coronation
File:Stamp of Aden - 1937 - Colnect 165126 - 1 - King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.jpeg|Aden Colony
File:Falkland Islands Coronation Stamp.jpg|Falkland Islands
File:Stamp of Gibraltar - 1937 - Colnect 120 - 1 - King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.jpeg|Gibraltar
File:Stamp of Seychelles - 1937 - Colnect 269022 - King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.jpeg|Seychelles
File:1937 3d Coronation stamp of Swaziland.jpg|Swaziland
File:Turks and Caicos Islands 1937 coronation stamp.jpg|Turks and Caicos Islands
1945-1946 - Peace and Victory
1948-1949 - Silver Wedding
File:Stamp of Aden - 1949 - Colnect 165142 - 1 - King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.jpeg|Aden Colony
File:Stamp of Johore - 1948 - Colnect 533313 - 1 - King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.jpeg|Johore
File:Stamp of Gibraltar - 1948 - Colnect 142 - 1 - Royal Silver Wedding Anniversary.jpeg|Gibraltar
File:Gold Coast Stamp 1948, George VI and Elizabeth.jpg|Gold Coast
File:Stamp of Kedah - 1948 - Colnect 473027 - 1 - King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.jpeg|Kedah
File:Stamp of Kelantan - 1948 - Colnect 604405 - 1 - King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.jpeg|Kelantan
File:Stamp3 of Borneo.jpg|North Borneo
File:Stamp of Penang - 1948 - Colnect 708636 - 1 - King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.jpeg|Penang
File:Stamp of Sarawak - 1948 - Colnect 306191 - Royal Couple.jpeg|Sarawak
File:Stamp of Selangor - 1948 - Colnect 709730 - Silver marriage jubilee of King George VI - Queen Elizabeth.jpeg|Selangor
File:Stamp of Seychelles - 1948 - Colnect 269032 - Silver wedding.jpeg|Seychelles
File:Stamp of Zanzibar - 1949 - Colnect 413503 - 1 - Royal couple.jpeg|Zanzibar
1949 - Universal Postal Union
File:Bermuda 1949 Mi 125-128 stamps (75th anniversary of the UPU).jpg|Bermuda
File:Tonga 1949 Mi 87-90 stamps (75th anniversary of the UPU).jpg|Tonga
File:British Somaliland 1949 UPU stamps.jpg|British Somaliland
File:Dominica 1949 Mi 112-115 stamps (75th anniversary of the UPU).jpg|Dominica
File:Sierra Leone 1949 Mi 171-174 stamps (75th anniversary of the UPU).jpg|Sierra Leone
File:The Gambia 1949 Mi 143-146 stamps (75th anniversary of the UPU).jpg|Gambia
File:Nyasaland 1949 Mi 89-92 stamps (75th anniversary of the UPU).jpg|Nyasaland
File:St. Lucia 1949 UPU stamps.jpg|St. Lucia
File:Jamaica 1949 Mi 147-150 stamps (75th anniversary of the UPU).jpg|Jamaica
1951 - University
1953 - QEII Coronation
File:Stamp of Aden - 1953 - Colnect 255499 - 1 - Queen Elizabeth II.jpeg|Aden Colony
File:1953 Coronation Bechuanaland Protectorate stamp.jpg|Bechuanaland Protectorate
File:Basutoland 1953 Coronation stamp.jpg|Basutoland
File:Stamp of Gibraltar - 1953 - Colnect 155 - 1 - Queen Elizabeth II.jpeg|Gibraltar
File:Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Stamp HK 1953.jpg|Hong Kong
File:Stamp of Johore - 1953 - Colnect 398630 - 1 - Queen Elizabeth II.jpeg|Johore
File:Stamp of Kedah - 1953 - Colnect 699426 - 1 - Queen Elizabeth II.jpeg|Kedah
File:Stamp of Kelantan - 1953 - Colnect 699427 - 1 - Queen Elizabeth II.jpeg|Kelantan
File:Malta-Queen-Elizabeth-II-Coronation-Stamp-1953.jpg|Malta
File:Stamp of Penang - 1953 - Colnect 399185 - 1 - Queen Elizabeth II.jpeg|Penang
File:Stamp of Perak - 1953 - Colnect 400110 - 1 - Queen Elizabeth II.jpeg|Perak
File:Stamp of Perlis - 1953 - Colnect 699428 - Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.jpeg|Perlis
File:Pitcairn 1953 01.jpg|Pitcairn Islands
File:Timbre_SteLucie_E2_couronnement_1953.jpg|St. Lucia
File:Stamp of Sarawak - 1953 - Colnect 306213 - Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.jpeg|Sarawak
File:Stamp of Selangor - 1953 - Colnect 399659 - Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.jpeg|Selangor
File:Seychelles_1953_coronation_stamp.JPG|Seychelles
File:Queen stamp Sierra Leone.jpg|Sierra Leone
File:Queen Elizabeth II Virgin Islands stamp.jpg|Virgin Islands
1953 - Royal Visit
1958 - West Indies Federation
File:St. Vincent 3c West Indies Federation stamp 1958.jpg|St. Vincent
1963 - Freedom From Hunger
File:Stamp of Aden - 1963 - Colnect 352646 - 1 - Protein Foods.jpeg|Aden Colony
File:Stamp of Gibraltar - 1963 - Colnect 188 - 1 - Freedom from Hunger.jpeg|Gibraltar
File:Stamp of Sarawak - 1963 - Colnect 306413 - Protein Food.jpeg|Sarawak
File:Stamp of Seychelles - 1963 - Colnect 307290 - Protein Foods.jpeg|Seychelles
File:Stamp of Zanzibar - 1963 - Colnect 413564 - Freedom from Hunger.jpeg|Zanzibar
1963 - Red Cross Centenary
1964 - Shakespeare
1965 - International Telecommunication Union
File:Stamp of Gibraltar - 1965 - Colnect 198 - 1 - International Telecommunications Union Centenary.jpeg|Gibraltar
File:Stamp of Seychelles - 1965 - Colnect 307295 - ITU Emblem.jpeg|Seychelles
1965 - International Cooperation
File:Stamp of Gibraltar - 1965 - Colnect 200 - 1 - International Co operation Year.jpeg|Gibraltar
File:Stamp of Seychelles - 1965 - Colnect 307297 - International Cooperation Year.jpeg|Seychelles
1966 - Churchill Memorial
File:Stamp of Gibraltar - 1966 - Colnect 203 - 1 - Winston Churchill.jpeg|Gibraltar
File:Stamp of Seychelles - 1966 - Colnect 307298 - Churchill - St Paul´s Cathedral.jpeg|Seychelles
1966 - Football World Cup
File:Stamp of Gibraltar - 1966 - Colnect 208 - 1 - World Cup Football Championship - England 1966.jpeg|Gibraltar
File:Stamp of Seychelles - 1966 - Colnect 307301 - Jules Rimet Cup.jpeg|Seychelles
1966 - U.N.E.S.C.O Issue
File:Stamp of Gibraltar - 1966 - Colnect 220 - 1 - 20th Anniversary of UNESCO - Education.jpeg|Gibraltar
File:Stamp of Seychelles - 1966 - Colnect 307304 - 20th Anniversary of UNESCO - Education.jpeg|Seychelles
1966 - World Health Organization
File:Stamp of Gibraltar - 1966 - Colnect 215 - 1 - New WHO Headquarters Building.jpeg|Gibraltar
File:Stamp of Seychelles - 1966 - Colnect 307302 - Headquarters Geneva.jpeg|Seychelles
1966 - Royal Visit to the Caribbean
1972 - Royal Silver Wedding
1973 - Royal Wedding Princess Anne
1974 - Churchill Centenary
1977 - Royal Silver Jubilee
1978 - 25th Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's Coronation
1980 - Queen Mothers 80th Birthday
1981 - Charles and Diana Royal Wedding
1982 - Princess Diana 21st and other Birthdays
1985 - Life and Times of Elizabeth the Queen Mother
1990 - Queen Mother's 90th Birthday
1997 - Queen Elizabeth Golden Wedding
French omnibus issues
1931 - Colonial Exposition
File:HauteVolta1931.jpg|French Upper Volta
File:ExpositionColonial1931.jpg|French Sudan
1937 - International Exposition in Paris
File:RFExpositionColonial1937.jpg|French Indochina
1938 - Pierre and Marie Curie
1939 - Rene Caillie
1939 - New York World's Fair
1939 - 150th Anniversary of the Revolution
1942 - Protection of the Infants
1942 - Colonial Education Fund
1944 - Marianne Red Cross
1945 - Felix Eboue
1946 - Victory Anniversary
1946 - Chad to the Rhine
1949 - UPU Anniversary
1950 - Tropical Medicine
1952 - Military Medals
1954 - Liberation Anniversary
Other omnibus issuers
The omnibus remains popular with countries whose philatelic marketing is handled by the Inter-Governmental Philatelic Corporation as it enables those countries to market their stamps into the lucrative United States and European thematic stamp market by featuring subjects popular in those countries. These issues have, however, been criticised for not being relevant to the culture of the participating countries, for instance stamps featuring Disney characters issued by poor African countries.
Commercialisation
While most earlier omnibus issues were genuine attempts to help a group of countries celebrate an anniversary or event, the fact that these became popular with stamp collectors tempted issuing authorities to bring out more stamps than would have otherwise been thought necessary. These were often heavily marketed.
[Murray, Robert. 1981 Royal Wedding Omnibus Stamp Collection. http://www.stamp-shop.com/1981-royal-wedding.html]
See also
