Queen Elizabeth II 1977 Silver Jubilee postage stamps

    The islands of Samoa lie fourteen degrees south of the Equator on a line between Hawaii and New Zealand, 4,000 miles from California. Western Samoa's two main islands - Savai'i and Upolu - and seven islets have a combined area of 1,130 square miles. More than half of this independent nation's 117,000 people live on Upolu, a 430-square-mile volcanic dome. Numerous villages dot the coastal rim; few islanders inhabit the rugged interior.

    Western Samoa's First Day Cover in tribute to the Queen's Silver Jubilee was issued on February 11, 1977, at Apia, its capital and chief trading center. Nestled on the northern coast of Upolu, with tall whitewashed churches and large, pale trading buildings, Apia's tree-shaded waterfront has an oddly Spanish flavor.