The Postal History of ICAO

Uruguay : 17th Winter Olympics Medal Winners in Lillehammer,

85th Anniversary of Hans Erni,

and 1994 International Stamp Exhibition Patronized by FISA

Issue date: 06/05/1994

Uruguay issued this souvenir sheet to commemorate the following events:

1. The 17th Winter Olympics. The sheet contains the four stamps issued by Uruguay on 6 May 1994 to pay tribute to four medal winners at the 17th Winter Olympic games held at Lillehammer, Norway (from 12 to 27 February 1994).

2. The 85th birth anniversary of Hans Erni. The sheet shows a reproduction of Uruguay stamp issued on 5 July 1985 (Icarus by Hans Erni, without watermark; see more details by clicking on Uruguay : 40th Anniversary of ICAO.

3. The International Stamp Exhibition patronized by FISA held in April 1994 in Montevideo, Uruguay.

The same souvenir sheet exists demonetized (with values cancelled) and imperforate stamps on paper with watermark. Both items were sold together and have a matching serial number (i.e. 04091 in this case).

Watermarked paper: inverted ROU (Republica Oriental del Uruguay) within a sun (Watermark #332, according to Scott catalogue). The official country name Republica Oriental del Uruguay indicates that the country lies east of the Uruguay River.

Official First Day Covers.

With the Coat of Arms of Uruguay. See details below.

Official First Day Cover, prepared by the Philatelic Club of Uruguay. The cachet reproduces Uruguay’s first Diligencia stamp.

Uruguay - Diligencia stamp issued in 1856

The first stamps issued in Uruguay were ordered by the Administrator General of Posts, Atanasio Lapido, who also happened to be in charge of the stage coach service. They could be considered as a private issue, but must have had official status. The inscription "Diligencia" means "Stage coach" and indicates the means of transporting of the mail. They were only valid for mail within Uruguay. Picturing a radiant sun, the 60-centavos blue stamp shown here was used for single-page letters. The postal services organized by the stagecoach companies started issuing stamps on 1 October 1856.

First Day Cover, prepared by Philswiss. The cachet shows a picture of Vreni Schneider, Switzerland.

Swiss Alpine skier, Vreni Schneider was the dominant female skier of her generation and one of the greatest skiers in the history of the slalom and giant slalom events. She was the first woman to accumulate three gold medals in Alpine skiing; she retired from competitive skiing after the 1994–1995 World Cup Season on 19 April 1995.

Background: FISA (Fédération Internationale des Sociétés Aérophilatéliques, International Federation of Aero-philatelic Societies) did not organize, but granted patronage to a philatelic exhibition held in April 1994 in Montevideo, Uruguay. The FISA logo is shown on the souvenir sheet. FISA is the international representative of the interests of the aero-philatelic and astro-philatelic community.

The Medal Winners at Lillehammer Olympics shown on the stamps are:

1. Katja Seizinger, Germany, gold medal woman downhill (alpine skiing).

2. Markus Wasmeier, Germany, gold medal men giant slalom and gold medal men super G (alpine skiing).

3. Vreni Schneider, Switzerland, gold medal women slalom, bronze medal women giant slalom, and silver medal women combined (alpine skiing).

4. Gustav Weder, Switzerland, silver medal 4‑man bobsleigh with Donat Acklin, Kurt Meier and Domenico Semeraro; gold medal 2‑man bobsleigh with Donat Acklin.

The Coat of Arms of Uruguay (depicted on one of the first day covers) was first adopted by law on 19 March 1829. It consists of an oval, which is divided into four equal sections and crowned by a rising golden sun, the Sun of May, symbolizing the rising of the Uruguayan nation. The oval is surrounded by two olive branches, representing peace, joined at the bottom by a blue ribbon. In the upper left quarter, there is a scale, symbol of equality and justice, set on a blue background. The upper right quarter contains the Cerro de Montevideo (Montevideo Hill) with its fortress on the summit, which represents strength, on a silver background. In the lower left, also on a silver background, there is a galloping horse, symbolizing liberty. The lower right quarter holds an ox, which is a symbol of abundance, on a blue background.