1971 TONGA AIRMAIL POSTAGE STAMPS “WHERE TIME BEGINS” #C97-98 FULL SHEETS UNUSED

Description

This is an incredibly rare find - possibly one of a kind. These are two full sheets - one 20-stamp sheet each - of Tonga C97 and C98 adhesive airmail postage stamps, vacuum sealed since their issue in 1971.
The stamps depict the inner workings of a Bulova Accutron watch, placed on the moon during the first moon landing two years earlier in 1969; a three-quarter profile image of the King of Tonga in silver foil; and the Ha’Amonga ‘a Maui (“Burden of Maui”), a prehistoric trilithon (megalithic structure constructed of three stones to make an arch), known as “The Stonehenge of Tonga” and located on the Tongan island Tongatapu.
In addition to “Airmail” and the denomination (14 Seniti and 21 Seniti), they also bear the mottos, “THE FRIENDLY ISLES” and “WHERE TIMES STARTS”, a reference to Tonga’s location in the Pacific Ocean near the International Date Line, and in tiny letters beneath the stone arch, the word “HA’ AMONGA”.
Please see photos and feel free to message me with any questions.