It is not clear whether Redonda, an uninhabited rock in the Caribbean
from which guano is harvested, forms a detached portion of Antigua or if
the Antiguan territorial seas connect the rock to the motherland.
The cover shown here is included to show that stamps issued showing the country name of Redonda are, when used on mail, recognized and transmitted through the US mailstream. Under Universal Postal Union (UPU) regulations, nations may act as "sponsors", permitting mail of the non-UPU entities to be transmitted in international mails on the account of the sponsor.
This scenario doesn't "fit" into the sponsor scenario,
however. Redonda is an integral part of the "sponsor", has no post
office of its own and no population. The Redonda stamp is actually
an issue of the Antigua government - and is valid for use at any post office
in the country. Other, similar stamps are issued by Antigua,
and they are inscribed "Barbuda". Barbuda is another dependency of
Antigua, but is inhabited. Stamps inscribed "Antigua" and "Redonda"
are valid for use at the post office on Barbuda island along side stamps
inscribed "Barbuda" Barbuda stamps also pass through the international
mails without problems.
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