Sometimes it is very important for a new or in Poland’s case a reconstituted country to be able to reach back into history to promote important figures. This adds to legitimacy and gives young Poles someone to emulate. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
The stamp today shows how much of the Polish character survived into the communist era. From the style of this stamp, I assumed it to be an interwar issue and the denomination seems low for the 1950s. Coperinicus’ birth and death dates are not much help. The stamp celebrates the 480th anniversary of his birth, a strange number. The painting on the stamp is where the communist influence shows. Originally titled “Conversations with God” they seem to have retitled it “Copernicus Watching Heavens”. The painting is currently at the University of Krakow.
Todays stamp is issue A222, a 20 Groszy stamp issued by Poland on May 22nd 1953. It was a two stamp issue in different denominations. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used.
I mentioned in the title that Poland claims Copernicus as a son of Poland. Germany does not formally make a claim to him but there is also a case. given the crosscurrents of what was going on there on the ground. Copernicus was born into a wealthy family in Torun, a Henseatic city. At the time, 1473, the area was contested by the Kingdom of Poland and the Teutonic Order of Knights. The Henseatic cities treasured their special status as trading cities and when the Polish King offered to respect this status, the cities affiliated with Poland, despite the German tongue spoken by the residents. The area was known by the not very Polish sounding Royal Prussia. For a much later version of this rivalry see this Danzig stamp https://the-philatelist.com/2018/09/19/danzig-1923-a-very-early-airmail-stamp-from-a-german-city-that-suddenly-found-itself-outside-germany/ . Copernicus studied in the Polish then capital of Krakow, spoke Polish and German and published his scientific work in Latin. Copernicus went on to serve in the court of his uncle, the Bishop Prince of Warmia.
His uncle financed Copernicus to continue ecclesiastical training in Italy His studies went on and on since he was also receiving instruction in astronomy on the side. There is debate today whether Copernicus was ever ordained as a priest. The Catholics say yes and the scientific community disagrees. Late in life he was a candidate for his now late uncle’s old job as Bishop Prince of Warmia, a post that requires ordination. He never married but had a close relationship with a housekeeper. During Copernicus’s lifetime, the German Teutonic Order of Knights converted to Lutheran and became the Dutchy of Prussia. Copernicus did not convert.
Copernicus in Italy made his great discovery. By mapping the position of planets over time he was able to determine that the sun was the center of the solar system rather than the Earth as was believed. Pope Clement was briefed on the discovery but took no action against Copernicus. Copernicus was very worried over the reaction to his discovery and only sent manuscript copies of Commentaries to friends and colleagues. Lutherans were more initially opposed. They described Copernicus as an absurd Sarmatian astronomer who moved the Earth and stopped the sun. Soon after Copernicus’s death, his charts were republished as Prussian Tables and widely accepted. Catholics eventually got around to banning his work from 1591-1885. Copernicus also wrote poetry, wrote treatise on economics and practiced medicine. In 1973 on the 500th anniversary of his birth, Poland, West Germany, and East Germany honored Copernicus with stamps. The German ones only described him as an astronomer, not a Polish astronomer. In 2008, his remains were confirmed in the Cathedral at Torun.
Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast Copernicus the classic Henseatic. I will know when I have had enough when the Earth spinning becomes all to obvious. Come again tomorrow for another that can be learned from stamp collecting.