NUMISMATICS AND PHILATELY

The Pilar Seminary Museum has made room for a numismatics (coins) and Philatelic (Stamps) section. Most of the coins belonging to the dynasties that ruled Goa and found in the Pilar tank are already described in the previous Chapters as they pertain to those times. However, there are other coin collections of Portuguese India, or of some Indian Rajahs, or of British India or of Independent India, or of other countries of the world, donated or found in Church box collections, some of them indeed rare and significant. With the end of colonial era and attainment of Independence, old currencies are no longer in use. Of late, with the introduction of the common “euro”, most of the European countries have also given up their old currencies.

In the section of Philately are displayed stamp collections of Portuguese India and of the Vatican, some Indian stamps connected with Goa or Christian themes, as well as a thematic collection of stamps on the life of Jesus, which enhance the beauty and aesthetic value of the Museum. The present generation thus gets a chance to know the coins and stamps of the past of Goa, of India and other countries, which may no longer be in circulation at present.

1. NUMISMATICS
2. LUSO-INDIAN COINS

Mr. Themistocles D’Silva from Arossim, Salcete, residing in U.S.A., donated, to the Pilar Museum, a metal detector. Making use of it, a Professor of the Seminary, Fr.Savio Gracias, together with a few Seminary students, discovered, in May 2016, some of the coins, mentioned in this section, after digging beyond 18 feet, deep into the Tank, and retrieved them from inside hard, petrified mud; they were then cleaned with chemicals. Others are collected, bought or donated. Selected pictures of some of these coins, shown in this Chapter, are enlarged for better viewing.

With the arrival of the Portuguese at Calicut in 1498 and subsequent conquest of Tiswddi (Goa) in 1510, the coins put in circulation were novelties for they created difficulties for the local population, which had been accustomed to definite transactions with gold and Silver coins.

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1. Such as these sets of copper bazarucos coins on both sides (figure 149) belong to the reign of the King of Portugal D. Manuel I (who died in 1521) and D. Joao III (1521-1557). It is curious to note that the bazarucos had a variety of symbols on them. During the time of D. Manuel, it was the Cross on one side and the sphere on the other (as in the first two pictures). During the time of D. Joao III, it was a figure like ‘J’ with 3 dots, perhaps implying the King’s initials (Joannes in Latin) on the obverse and the Cross with 4 dots among its arms (as in the last two sets). The dots are supposed to have the date. The date on the 4th picture, a bit illegible, supposedly is 1527 A. D. or thereafter. One of such coins could be used locally by the common man, and was sufficient for him to purchase a day’s amenities. D. Manuel & D. Joao III belonged to the Avis dynasty of Portugal.
2. This lead bazaruco coin (figure 150) was mint at Malacca. It has two crossed arrows, with
3. 4 dots on the obverse and the Astra-lobe on the reverse. Its weight is 4.6 grams.

Two other lead bazarucos in the Museum were mint at Bassein. They belong to D. Sebastiao’s reign and have three arrows on the obverse and the Astra-lobe on the reverse.

(iii) The next set of small copper Luso-Indian coins are of the same reign of D. Sebastiao (figure 151). They have the instruments used by the Portuguese Mariners to traverse the seas and oceans on one side and the Cross in circle on the other.

D. Sebastiao, the only son, had ascended the throne on the death of his father, D. Joao III, in 1557, when he was only seven years old. Though his mother was the Regent during his minority, all official transactions were done in his name. See figure 109b in Chapter 11, which has his name SR (the S is reversed) stamped on the coin, meaning “Sebastiao Rei”. However at the age of 16 the boy King disappeared. There was no direct successor. Philip II the King of Spain was the near relative, and so he usurped the Portuguese Crown in 1580 and he and his successors ruled over both the Kingdoms for 60 years, till 1640. Then the Portuguese asserted their independence and brought in a new dynasty of the Braganzas with D. Joao IV as the King of Portugal.

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Figure 151 – 5 sets of copper coins on both sides

1. In the meantime, some coins, from the time of the above D. Filipe III King of Spain and Portugal (1598 – 1621) were found in the Pilar tank. Two of them have crowned arms in plain circle with divided ‘G’ ‘A’ (= GOA) on one side and the Cross with stars and angles on the other (figure 152a). They are bazarucos.

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Figure 152 (a) – Bazaruco of D. Filipe III’s reign

1. The two other small coins in the Museum (fig 152b) are half Bazarucos of the same .
2. The enlarged silver coin (on both sides) in figure 153 with crowned arms divided ‘D’ ‘O’ (= DAMAO) on one side and a Cross on the other, bears 1609 as the date.

It was mint by the Jesuits in Daman. It was offered to the Museum by late Fenelon Rebello from Margao. He also helped the Curator by providing numismatic information on the coins of Goa and other Portuguese colonies in the East.

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Figure 153 Silver coin of D.Filipe III

1. After Portugal had declared its Independence from the Spanish control, coins were issued in the name of the new king D. Joao IV (1640 -1656). The Obverse of this coin in figure 154a shows crowned arms with divided letters ”D” up and “J” below it on the left and a big “B” to the right. On the reverse is a Spiked Wheel.
2. D. Joao IV was succeeded by his son, D. Afonso VI, who had a troubled reign from 1656 to 1667. One coin found in the Pilar tank, has, on one side, in the four arms of the Cross an illegible date (1667?), which seems to be of this reign.

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  Figure 154 (a) – D. Joao IV
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  Figure 154 (a) – D. Joao IV

Below the Cross is a fish, one of the first symbols used by Christians to denote the Eucharist, during the persecutions of the first four centuries, especially in the Roman Empire. On the other side of the coin is the globe as in figure 154 b.

• Figure 154 (b) D Afonso VI
• Figure 154 (b) D Afonso VI

1. This lead coin of value 2 bazaruos mint in Goa, depicts crowned arms with divided ‘G’ ‘A’ (Goa) on one side and a Cross with 2 dots on the other, in figure 155 (a) of the time of D. Joao V, King of Portugal (1706-1721).
2. Another two coins found in the Pilar tank are smaller than the above, of the same period and the same king, D. Joao V, as in figure 155b.

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  Figure 155 (a) – D Joao V
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  Figure 155 (a) – D Joao V

1. Another small silver coin found in the Pilar tank, is of D. Jose I who was the successor of D. Joao V. It has crowned arms in dotted circle with divided ‘G’ ‘A’ (Goa) on one side and a faded Cross in circle with illegible date in between its arms, on the other side. Marques de Pombal was his Prime Minister, who in 1759, suppressed the Jesuits in Portugal and all its colonies, including Goa.

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  Figure 156 – D. Jose I
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  Figure 156 – D. Jose I

1. The Figure 157 shows 3 Coins of1786 and thereabout; the middle coin withtheengraving ‘GOA 150 reis (1/2 Pardau)’ depicts, on the middle coin, the faces of D. Maria I, Queen of Portugal, and D. Pedro III her husband (figure 157).

D. Maria as the only daughter and successor of D. Jose I, ruled Portugal from 1777 to 1787. Her husband, who was the son of the King of Austria, supported her but did not have much influence on the reign. The other two coins shown in figure 157 are of 60 and 30 reis respectively and show only the face of the Queen. The French revolution and Napoleon’s invasion of Portugal left the Queen mentally deranged and so in 1792, she retired to Brazil, leaving Portugal in the hands of her son, who after her death in 1816, occupied the throne as D. Joao VI, with the support of the ‘Cortes’ (Assembly of Deputies).

1. There was a civil war in Portugal from 1828 to 1834. Most of the coins mint during this period, carry the ‘APT’ mark, meaning ‘ASIA PORTUGESA TANGA”. So many coins were struck that no one knew which was genuine and which fake. Because of this, a decree was published “Portaria Registada 809” on 15-7-1831 and all coins had to bear the Stamp “PR 809”

1. Pilar Museum has 12 coins of the first type (figure 158) and only one coin of the second type (figure 159). The civil war ended with the victory of the Free Mason who suppressed all religious orders in Portugal and its colonies in 1835.

The coin in figure 160 belongs to reign of the Queen D. Maria II, who came to the throne at the end of the civil war in 1834 and ruled till 1853.

1. The Pilar Museum has a few coins from 1845/46, 1854, 1857/58 of value ½ Pardau, 60 Reis and 30 Reis.

The Museum also has several silver coins from 1871 to 1961. Here below, in figure 161 a & b, 2 coins of 1871, value ½ Pardau and Tanga or 60 reis are seen; also shown are the obverse and reverse of a 1 Rupia coin of 1883 of King Luis V as in figure 161 c and d, who ruled from 1880 to 1899; then of King D. Carlos I of 1903 also obverse and reverse (Figure 161 e & f). He was the last King of Portugal who ruled from 1900 to 1909. He was shot dead on the streets of Lisbon and the Republic proclaimed in 1910. A coin of the Republica Portuguesa of 1912 is seen in figure 161 g; and the last: a 6 escudos of 1959 is shown in figure 161 h. These coins show that during this period the Luso-Indian currency changed three times: from the previous Pardaus or Tangas and Reis to Rupias, Tangas and Reis from 1882 to 1954; and finally to Escudos and centavos from 1955 to the Liberation of Goa in December1961.

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Figure 161 (a) – (h) Sample slightly enlarged Luso-Indian Coins from 1871 to 1961

1. Here below are some random samples of silver, nickel or copper coins of the

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Figure 161 (i)

same period as above – the 1^st (in Figure 161(i) is a copper coin ofKing Luis V of 1886 (value 1/8 of a Tanga); the 2^nd is of the same King, (value ¼ of a tanga); the 3^rd is a half a Rupee coin and the 4^th and 5^th are obverse and reverse of 1 Rupee of Carlos I of 1903;

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Figure 161 (j)

so also In figure 161j: the 1^st a 1 Rupee, the 2^nd is a ½ Rupee and the 3^rd is a 1 Tanga, of the Republic of the year 1936; the 4^th and 5^th are obverse and reverse of 1 escudo, the 6^th is30 centavos the 7^th is 10 centavos, all of 1958; and the last one is 3 escudos of 1959.

1. Some Portuguese India currency notes can also be seen in the Museum. The lowest is a note of four Tangas (1/4 Rupee). Figure 162 has a 1 Rupee note issued in 1914, depicting Hindu Sun Temple of Konarak on one side. .

1. COINS OF INDIAN RAJAHS

Displayed in the Pilar Seminary Museum is a small but valuable collection of coins from a few Rajahs of ancient India to some of the great dynasties as the Moghuls, and the rulers of Princely States during British Raj like the Marathas and others.

• Ancient silver coins from Indo-Scythian (ca. 185 BC) and Indo-Parthian (ca. 120 BC) rulers of North West India is an enviable collection.

1. A Coin probably of Prithviraj Chauhan of Rajput dynasty shows a horse-rider on one side and a bullock cart rider on the other. Prithviraj Chauhan clashed with the Muslim invader, Mahammad of Ghor circa the 11^th century.
2. In the Museum there are a number of coins of the Moghul Emperors from Akbar to Farukkhyar, as well as, some later ones. Three coins are shown here in figure 163c, being the first of Shah Jehan, the builder of the Taj Mahal, on obverse and reverse; and the

Other two of Aurangzeb. The latter were struck in Surat, bearing the name of the Emperor in Persian with the value of 16 Julu and 23 Julu respectively, and with the Invocation that its luster may shine till the end of the world.

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  Figure 163 (c) – Moghul Emperors: Shah Jehan & Aurangzeb
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  Figure 163 (c) – Moghul Emperors: Shah Jehan & Aurangzeb

1. Chatrapati Shivaji’s two copper coins (Shivrai) were found in the Pilar Tank, with Nagari inscription on one of them reading “Chatrapati Raja Sava”. it can be seen in figure 164.”Sava” is written instead of “Siva”.
2. One coin of Tippu Sultan with elephant symbol and two of the Wodyar Rajahs of

Mysore on both sides, one with lion symbol and the other with elephant symbol are seen in figure 165, donated to the Pilar Museum by friends.

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Figure 165 – Rulers of Mysore: Tippu Sultan and the next Wodyar Rajahs

1. A coin of the Nawab of Bhopal, donated to the Pilar Museum is shown on both sides in figure 166. Its date cannot be ascertained.
2. Three coins donated to the Museum belong to the successors of the 3 Maratha Chieftains, rulers of Princely States: Sindhia of Gwalior, Holkar of Indore and
3. Gaikwad of Baroda.

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Figure 167 – Obverse and Reverse of Coins of 3 Maratha dynaties

1. BRITISH INDIA COLLECTION
2. A show case in the Museum shows collection of British India coins from the time of the East India Company (oldest coin is illegible, but presumably it is of 1792), up to 1857; curiously enough, one of these coins, has on one side the engraving of a Hindu deity, Sri Hanuman with the name inscribed in circle in .

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Figure 168(a) – Sri Hanuman on British E I Co’s coin

Sanskrit around it and on the other side is the date 1818 with value HALF ANNA with the name of the East India Company in a semi-circle (Figure 168a). Another is a Muslim coin with a Cross engraved on it on one side (Figure 168 b).

Figure 168c shows a part of the show-case which after East India Company’s coins has a collection of coins of India under the British Crown, that is: Queen Victoria (1857 – 1901); King Edward VII (1901 – 1907); King George V (1908 -193 7); King George VI (1937 – 1947)

D – INDEPENDENT INDIA COLLECTION

Another show-case shows the coin collection of present day Republic of India from 1950 to 2012, serially arranged date-wise, according to value and material. Three special mints of Rs. 100, 50 and 10 can also be seen; another special mint is a set commemorating the centenary of Shivaji issued in 1999 of coins of value Rs. 100, 50 and 2; as well as some notes no longer in circulation.

The coins are so arranged that the visitor can study how the shape has decreased, the value and the material used to make the coins have changed and differed from time to time.

1. COINS & NOTES OF INDIA’S NEIGHBOURS

Collection of coins and notes at random from Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Pakistan, and Myanmar (Burma) are also exhibited in the show-cases.

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Figure 170 – 2 Coins of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) on both sides: (i) British Queen Victoria – 1892 – 5 cents; and(ii) 50 years of Independence (1948-1998) – 10 Rupees – showing the Temple of Buddha’s Tooth.

1. JAPANESE NOTES IN RUPEES

During the years 1942-45, when Japan occupied all countries of the Far East and even penetrated into some parts of British East India, such as the Andaman Islands, Kohima and attacked Bengal in the crux of the II World War, notes in RUPEES were issued by the Japanese Government, in spite of the fact that the Japanese currency was “YEN”. A few of these notes are exhibited in Pilar Museum.

They have been collected by the Society’s members working in the Islands of Kala Pani (Andamans & Nicobar)

1. GERMAN NOTES OF DEPRESSION PERIOD

German High denomination notes as DM 50000, 20000, 10000 (Figure 172) and of other lower denominations are exhibited in the Pilar Museum. Broadly speaking, the following would be their historical classification:

1. Normal Bank Notes issued by German Monarchy prior to 1914.
2. Notes issued during the 1914-18 World War I.
3. Some towns issued their own money of urgency, to Facilitate the impoverished people to carry their money safely in their flight, after the defeat of Germany in World War I. In the Museum, there is one such note issued on 1/5/ 1920 by the town of Sigmundsherber. German Marks lost their value during depression (1922-34) but gained in value with Hitler (1935-39). It is said that during the Second World War, Hitler took the gold from the people in exchange for the old high denomination notes, promising that after the War they would get a higher value and become rich.
4. However, German Marks went on losing their value again during the World War II (1939-45), and finally after Hitler’s defeat, those notes lost their value, once for all. It is said that one could not buy a banana even with a 50,000 DM note.
5. Those who had these notes were throwing them out or burning them. Some Pilar

Society’s priests who obtained scholarships and were sent abroad for higher studies, collected these notes from friends and brought them along, when they returned to teach in the Seminary. That is how these notes landed in the Museum.

1. COIN COLLECTION FROM DIFFERENT NATIONS OF THE WORLD

Coin collection at random from most of the countries of the world are exhibited in a separate cupboard – Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and Oceania, with some notes too. Goan sailors, employed in merchant ships, in the course of their voyages touch different ports and reach different countries in all the continents. When their ships depart from one country to another, some coins that they had exchanged, happen to remain in their pockets. Not knowing what to do with them, sometimes these coins land in the Church collection boxes in Goa. Besides, some members of the Society, who went abroad, had sometimes some change in coins remaining with them. Some tourists who visit the Museum also give their nation’s coins. The following are some of the rare coins in the Pilar Museum:

1. 1888 – A Silver Rupee of Mombassa, struck by the Imperial British East Africa Company.
2. 1901 – British Silver coin – One Crown – of Queen Victoria
3. 1914 – A Silver Rupee of William II,

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Figure 172 (d) – German coin of West Africa colony

Emperor of Germany, struck for the then German West African colony.

1. 1964 – Half Dollar of USA, with the bust of President J. F. Kennedy

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Figure 172(e) – Kennedy -1964

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1. 1986 – One British coin with value of 2 Pounds with bust of Queen Elizabeth II

Figure172 ((f) – 2 British Pounds 1986

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1. 1988 – A Silver dollar of the U S A.
2. 1993 – A Silver Crown (coin) of Gibraltar shows the bust of Figure 172 (g) USA Dollar -1988

British Queen Elizabeth II.

1. 1995 – A silver coin of Portugal, 500 escudos commemorating the 8^th centenary of St. Anthony

Figure 172 (i) – Portugal – St Anthony

1. 1998 – Silver 100 Lire of Pope John Paul II

Figure 172 (j) – Pope John Paul II-

1. 2002 – A coin of value two Euros of the Republic of Italy.

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Figure 172 (k) – One coin – 2 euro – of Italy

1. 2011 – And a Vatican gold half euro (50 cents) of Pope Benedict XVI

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Figure 172(l) – Benedict xvi

PHILATELIC COLLECTION

As mentioned in the Introduction to this Chapter 16, the Pilar Seminary Museum has a full Postage Stamp Collection of Portuguese India (Goa) from 1871 to 1961; and of the Vatican (from 1929 to 2000), some Indian stamps connected with Goa or Christian themes, as well as a thematic collection of stamps on the life of Jesus.

1. PORTUGUESE INDIA STAMPS

Portuguese settlements: Goa. Daman and Diu, flourished from the 16^th century till 18^th December 1961, as shown in Chapter 9. On 19^th December 1961 these colonies were liberated from Portuguese control.

On 1^st October 1871 the Portuguese Government issued postage stamps for the first time in Goa. These stamps were valid inside India as well as for Overseas Postage, via Bombay, at that time under the British. At that moment of time, the Portuguese currency was 1000 Reis called “MILREIS” and its fractions.

In 1882, the postage value was shifted to 12 Reis equating to one “Tanga” and its fractions and multiples.

In 1955, the currency for postage was changed to 100 “centavos” equating to one “escudo” and its fractions and multiples. This continued till the liberation in December 1961.

The printing of the stamps was done, in the beginning in 1871, locally in Cuncolim on different types of dyes.

It is very difficult, if not impossible, to come across the complete set (which is said to be ranging from 10 reis to 900 reis). Local printing continued for some years using different dyes on different occasions.

With these preliminary remarks, we give a description of some samples of the Portuguese stamp collection exposed in the Pilar Museum.

1. The Museum possesses only two stamps of the 1871 set – 10 reis and 20 reis(Figure 173 up).

1. In 1877 the lowest stamp value was 1 real. The Pilar Museum has only two stamps of this set too (Figure 173 down).

From July 1877, a set of Crown stamps were issued see Figure 174a (First 4 stamps); at first originals, then surcharges were printed on them, till 1882. Most of these surcharged stamps can be seen in figure 174b.

NOTE: Henceforth, in this section, the series issued from time to time are just mentioned; and only a few are given as sample figures.

However, most of the stamps mentioned here can be seen in the Pilar Museum. We continue with the description:

1. From 1885 came the stamps of King Luis V. See Figure 174 a – Nos. 6-8 & figure 175a – first two stamps with vertical perforation and new values, as described in No. (vii) below.
2. From 1895, came the stamps of King Carlos I (figure 174a – Nos.10-12).
3. In 1898 came the Vasco da Gama series (figure 174 a No. 9);
4. Also in the same year, 1898 came another series of King Carlos, which after 1910 had ‘REPUBLICA’ printed on them in red letters; from 1911, new surcharges were printed on them; then came vertical or diagonal perforations to divide each stamp in two, with new values printed on them (sometimes each stamp has three or four different values stamped on them; in some the original value is cancelled with black bars). This may be due to scarcity of paper on the eve of World War I
5. Next came the “Ceres” series from 1914 to 1923

1. In 1925 there were 2 stamps issued on the death anniversary (4^th centenary) of Vasco da Gama and a set of “Marques do Pombal”.
2. In 1931 came the series of St Francis Xavier Stamps during the Exposition of his remains Fig 175 b.
3. From 1933 angel stamps series was issued.

1. From
2. 1938 air-mail stamps series was introduced.

Their value was higher than usual Figure 175(c) – Air Mail stamps

1. In 1948 colourful stamps of Our Lady of Fatima series were issued as in figure 176.

1. Pilar Museum has two sets of stamps which are very curious: the first is a series of 8 stamps honouring St Francis Xavier and St John Britto together with the poet – Luis de Camoes and Garcia D’Horta – the medicinal researcher; Vasco Da Gama – the discoverer, Afonso de Albuquerque – the Conqueror, Francisco D’ Almeida – the first Viceroy of Portuguese India and the Arch of Viceroys in Old Goa. This is a rare strip showing each stamp in the entire set, printed in different colours on one single paperas in figure 177.

The paper is then perforated to separate one stamp from the other.

Usually stamps were printed each in a strip containing a number of the same stamp as in figure 178.

1. The second is a full strip of 100 UPU (Universal Postal Union), 75^th anniversary stamps, showing how the stamps were issued; but one of them has a slight freak (figure 178).

1. Provedoria Stamps
2. Holy Year stamps – 1950

1. St Joseph Vaz series -1951 – This series has a total of 9 stamps, showing the usual picture (in colour) of St. joseph Vaz in 4 stamps; another 4 with the frontispiece of the old dilapidated Church of Sancoale and 1 has the Oratory room of his original house in Sancoale.
2. Postage due stamps and others
3. Sacred Art in 2 stamps in 1951 – see 2^nd picture in figure 182 a.
4. St Francis Xavier’s Exposition stamps and first day covers of 1952 (fig. 179)
5. A Stamp of IV Centenary of the Foundation of the city of S. Paulo (see picture 8 in Figure 182 a); and another
6. of the first Congress of Tropical Medicine held in

Lisbon, (see picture 7 figure 182 a), both stamps of 1952.

1. A rare aerogramme showing the frontispiece of Calangute Church on a stamp of value 7 tangas is also exposed in the Museum.

1. Two eminent Goans, Msgr. Sebastiao R. Dalgado, from Assagao, a great Konkani Philologist and Professor of Sanskrit at Lisbon University;

1. And Dr Custodio de Gama Pinto from Saligao, a famous Doctor and
2. Ophthalmologist in Lisbon, Paris, Vienna, Munich, and finally Professor at University of Heidelberg – were honoured in 2 sets of 2 stamps each as shown in figures 180 b & c respectively.

1. 6 Great men of Goa: Scientists, Medicos and Researchers/ Writers were honoured on the stamps from 1954 to 1956 (Figure 181a up)
2. Maps of 6 Portuguese forts in India are projected in colourful stamps as in figure 181a down.
3. Another set of 5 stamps shows Sts. Francis Xavier & Joseph Vaz (see picture 3 in figure 182b) and 3 Viceroys.
4. In 1957 Nagar Haveli Map stamps series were released, though Nagar Haveli was already liberated from Portuguese colonial rule in July 1954. (1 N.H. Map can be seen in Figure 182b – picture 4)
5. Coats of arms series was brought out in 1958 (Figure 182b has 2 stamps of this series
6. picture 1 & 5).

1. Then come the coins series of stamps in 1959 in centavos and escudos. (Figure 182ashows a few pictures of these stamps at random).
2. Once the currency was changed, over 50 varieties of different

Stamps that had been issued before, even from 1948 onwards, in Rupias, Tangas and

Reis were re-stamped with new and altogether different values in centavos and escudos and old values were cut with two or three horizontal lines (See figure 182b).

1. The last Portuguese stamp was brought out in 1960 commemorating the 5^th centenary of the death of Prince Henry, the Navigator (Figure 182c)

B) POST LIBERATION GOA

1. Though the Portuguese territories were liberated on 19^th December, the last day of Portuguese stamps in use in Goa was 28 -12 – 1961, as in figure 182d.

1. From 29^th December, Indian Postage stamps were introduced in Goa.

1. However, the Pilar Museum has an envelope with a stamp of Portuguese India along with an Indian stamp, with a Portuguese “CTT” cancellation on

4-1-1962, as in Figure 184.

1. Curious to note, that in 1962 the Portuguese “Estado da India” had brought out a new series of 6 Sports postage stamps and one stamp of Malaria Control.

But these stamps never came to Goa, Daman or Diu. They were never cancelled at any Post Office. They were, however, sold in unused form, to stamp collectors in other Portuguese colonies. Late Fr, Jaime Fernandes, a Goan priest from Mapusa, who died in Mumbai a few years back, was serving in 1962 in a Portuguese colony in Africa. He donated the set in figure 185 together with his other stamp collections to the Pilar Philately.

The Museum also has a small show-case displaying postal stamps and first day covers of the Indian Union connected with Goan themes or those specially released in Goa, or connected with Christian themes.

One sample of these would be an envelope cancelled in Panjim P.O. with three stamps each with a different cancellation date on the occasion of St. Francis Xavier’s Exposition; the exposition started on 26-11-1964; Pope Paul VI arrived in Bombay on 2-12-1964 for the Eucharistic

Congress and Cardinal Agagianian came to Goa as Delegate of the Pope for the exposition and Feast of S. F. Xavier; finally the exposition was closed on 6-1-1965. All these three dates are reflected on the above mentioned Envelope, as shown in figure 185 b.

1. The same show-case in the Pilar Museum has two Indian postage stamps honouring the Catholic Saint of the gutters, Mother Teresa of Kolkata. The first was released on
2. 27-8-1980, when she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 1979. Figure 185c shows the first day cover with the stamp cancelled by Bombay GPO, on that occasion.

The second postage stamp on the same Mother was released on 4-9-2016, when she was canonized in Rome by Pope Francis, as in figure 185 d. She had earlier been beatified by Pope John Paul II in October 2003.

Born on 26-8-1910 and named Anjezë (Agnes) Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, she was an Albanian Roman Catholic from Skopje, (modern Republic of Macedonia), then part of the Kosovo Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. She came to India In 1930 and became a Loretto Sister.

She obtained and adopted Indian citizenship in 1948 and was teaching in a school in Kolkata. While walking daily from her convent to the school, she had to pass through a slum area; she was increasingly disturbed by the plight of these poor people and the utter poverty surrounding Calcutta city. She left the Loretto Sisters and in October 1950 she started her own Congregation of the Missionaries of Charity to work for the poorest of the poor, which has spread throughout the world. On September 5, 1997 Mother Teresa’s earthly life came to an end at the age of 87. She was given the honour of a state funeral by the Government of India and her body was buried in the Mother House of her Congregation “Missionaries of Charity” in Kolkata.

1. On 17^th July 2013 Pilar Monastery completed 400 years (1613-2013) and the work of Restoration and Renovation of the building was also completed. To mark the occasion a special postal cover was released as in figure 185 e.

The envelope has a picture of the statue of Our lady of Pilar and a stamp of the World Council of Churches in India. The cancellation bears a drawing of the Piar Monastery.

The envelope also shows a postage stamp of the Konkan Railway released in 1998. The Railway line passes through Goa linking Kanya Kumari with New Delhi.

1. A Goan is honoured in Sri Lankan postage stamps. In Chapter 12 Section 3, C the selfless service of St Joseph Vaz in Sri Lanka has been described. He is Goa’s own first canonized Saint. The Pilar Museum has a first day cover of Sri Lanka released on the occasion of his beatification on 21-1-1995; another cover with the picture of Pope Francis and a coin were released on the occasion of the Canonization on 14-1-2015.

C) VATICAN STAMPS

Late Rev. Fr. Caetano Milton Fernandes, from Divar, Goa, who was the Treasurer of the Archdiocese of Madras-Mylapore, used to collect stamps as a hobby. After his death, his family donated his collection to the Pilar Society. Vatican stamps from that collection are exhibited in the Pilar Seminary Museum, at the request of the donors.

1. This collection has a special block of 6 stamps depicting the Vatican State as in figure in 186. The Vatican State is the smallest independent State in the world, being only 110 acres in area. It was created in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty. It has the Vatican Basilica of St Peter, the Papal residence, the famous Vatican Museums, the

Sistine Chapel with frescoes of Michael Angelo. It is here that the Cardinals from all over the world assemble to elect a Pope, every time there is a vacancy of the Papacy. It also has the Vatican gardens, railway and airport and other Papal buildings and Offices of the Catholic Church.

1. Among other stamps are seen three stamps released by the Vatican Post on the occasion of the visit of Pope Paul VI to India in December 1964, as already mentioned above. He became the first Pope in history to visit India

They depict the Pope with the background of the Map of India, the Oval Maidan ( venue of the Eucharistic Congress) and the Gateway of India in Bombay.

1. In the Vatican collection in the Museum, there is also another block of stamps of 1972 on the “Save Venice Campaign” of UNESCO offered to the Museum by Mr. Protasio Afonso from Ribandar, Goa, a retired officer of the Indian Embassy to he Vatican.

There are six stamps in this block in the Pilar Museum, only four of which are contiguously completing themap of the city of Venice, and so are shown in this figure 188.

Figure 188 – Save Venice Campaign

D) STORY OF JESUS IN STAMPS

From the various stamps in the Xaverian Philately, a thematic exhibition of selected stamps from different countries of the world on the life of Jesus: from His birth, His public ministry, His radical teachings and His death and Resurrection is presented in the Museum in a set of a dozen panels. Here are 4 of these panels from Ras-al-Khaima to Angola.

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Figure 189 – Birth, Public Ministry, Radical teachings & Suffering and Death of Jesus Christ