Among the artifacts donated to the Society for the Preservation of Canada’s Nuclear Heritage Inc. (SPCNHI) is a collection of Canadian postal stamps honouring various aspects of the nuclear industry. These have been donated by a variety of donors and several first-day issues have been acquired from commercial outlets listed on the internet. The oldest of these stamps, one celebrating the “Peaceful Uses” of atomic energy was issued in 1966. Featured in this stamp is the profile of the Douglas Point Nuclear Generating Station. The newest stamp is one celebrating the 75th anniversary of ZEEP and was produced by SPCNHI for sale this year.
A stamp produced by AECL in 2007 to honour the 50th anniversary of the NRU reactor is shown in the centre of the photograph depicting the Society collection. Working clockwise from the Douglas Point stamp in the upper left corner, the stamps honour: the mining industry, in particular cobalt, which has an important nuclear medicine role, and silver mining; the “Cobalt Therapy” units for cancer treatment; the 75th anniversary of ZEEP; the engineering fraternity “Calling of an Engineer”; “Uranium Resources” and “Rutherford 1871-1937”– the father of nuclear science in Canada.
It is interesting to see what the inflation rate for postal costs has done in the past 54 years since the issue of the Douglas Point stamp. The domestic letter rate in 1966 was five cents. A quick check of the current rate on the Canada Post website reveals a rate of $1.07 (although the price does drop to $0.92 when booklets of stamps are purchased.) Oh yes, then there is the HST to be added, a tack-on that did not exist in 1966.
The Society continues to welcome donations of a very wide range of artifacts. It would welcome nuclear-related postage stamps produced in other countries. Donors of artifacts can contact the Society via info@nuclearheritage.com, P.O. Box 441, Deep River, On, K0J 1P0 or by telephoning any member of the SPCHNI Executive.
