Cuba year 1961 Fauna Insects Butterflies stamps set MNH

Cuba year 1961 Fauna Insects Butterflies stamps set MNH

The Cuba 1961 Fauna issue is part of a larger, mixed-topic set released toward the end of the year, which is why you may see it sometimes referred to as a “Christmas” issue.

Here are the details for the 1961 Cuban stamps featuring insects/butterflies:

🇨🇺 Cuba 1961 – Christmas / Fauna: Insects & Butterflies

• Official Theme: This issue is generally part of the comprehensive 1961 Christmas set, which featured a variety of Cuban fauna, including Snails, Birds, and Butterflies.
• Topic: Fauna / Insects / Butterflies. The stamps showcase colorful examples of Cuban Lepidoptera.
• Year of Issue: 1961 (Issued December 1, 1961).
• Set Composition: The complete “Christmas” issue contained 15 stamps and multiple souvenir sheets across the three fauna categories. The Butterflies are typically a sub-set of 5 values (often the 5 highest-denominated stamps in the non-airmail portion) plus an adjoining label.

One of the interesting facts about this set is that one of the stamps (Scott No. 696) featuring the Giant Tiger (Papilio zagreus) was noted by a scientific journal to have included a butterfly species name on the stamp (Othreis toddi, Zayas) years before its official scientific description was published.

Estimated Collector Value

The value of the 1961 Cuban butterfly stamps is relatively modest, as the quantity of this issue was quite large (many values had a printing of one million or more).

Note on Value:

• These are retail price estimates for items in Mint Never Hinged (MNH) condition from dealers.
• The prices can vary significantly depending on whether it is just the five butterfly stamps or a larger grouping/block.