Hong Kong Post is to issue two Lunar New Year special stamp issues, "Year of the Dog" and "Gold and Silver Stamp Sheetlet on Lunar New Year Animals -- Rooster/Dog," on Jan. 15, 2006.

A series of associated stamp products will also be available, Postmaster General Allan Chiang said on Wednesday in a press release.

The "Year of the Dog" is the seventh Lunar New Year special stamp issue in the third series released by Hong Kong Post.

Each of the four "Year of the Dog" stamps features a dog posed proudly against a richly colored background. Five-color printing is used to capture the progression of light and shade, accentuating a three-dimensional effect by enhancing the image detail of the four dogs against a background embellished with silver foliage.

The stamps are designed by Bon Kwan and printed in lithography by Joh Enschede BV, the Netherlands.

The "Gold and Silver Stamp Sheetlet on Lunar New Year Animals -- Rooster/Dog" is also designed by Bon Kwan and is printed by Cartor Security Printing, France.

A certificate of authenticity is included, making the sheetlet a propitious souvenir for the Lunar New Year.

The "Rooster/ Dog" Sheetlet is the sixth issue in Hong Kong Post's Lunar New Year Animal series.

Commenting on these two special stamp issues, Chiang said Hong Kong Post's Lunar New Year stamps were always highly sought after by philatelists. "We are one of the few postal administrations to produce stamps to commemorate Chinese New Year, and since our Lunar New Year stamp products are embossed and hot-foiled with genuine gold and pure silver they become a hot item for collectors."

"We are proud of these issues which mark the auspicious start of a new year in the Chinese calendar and are rated as some of the most desirable in stamp-collecting circles," Chiang said.

(Xinhua News Agency December 21, 2005)