Europa CEPT 2019 National Birds on cover from Jersey

Jersey post released stamp set Europa CEPT 2019 National Birds on 5.3.2019. They issued set of six stamps, but only this two have Europa logo. Left stamp featuring swan (symbol of purity and love) and right stamp kingfisher (symbol of peace and cal). If you scan stamps with your mobile phone using the free CEE-App, you will be able to hear the bird sounds.


Thank you, Rosmarie!

French Southern and Antarctic Lands: Cover from Tromelin (Scattered Islands)

The Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean consist of four small coral islands, an atoll, and a reef in the Indian Ocean, and have constituted the 5th district of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands  since February 2007. This cover is sent from Tromelin Island, a low, flat island in the Indian Ocean about 500 kilometers north of Réunion and about 450 kilometers east of Madagascar. Tromelin has facilities for scientific expeditions and a weather station. It is a nesting site for birds and green sea turtles. This beautiful FDC dedicated to Tromelin was issued on 7.11.2019. You can also see machine cancellation added 2 months later by French Post. On the bottom of the cover is signature, possible by postmaster, I'm not sure.


Thank you so much, Axel!

Europa CEPT 2019 National Birds on cover from Monaco

The peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey back, barred white underparts, and a black head. The Peregrine is renowned for its speed, reaching over 320 km/h during its characteristic high-speed dive, making it the fastest bird in the world and the fastest member of the animal kingdom. According to a National Geographic TV program, the highest measured speed of a peregrine falcon is 389 km/h. This beautiful stamp is issued on 6.5.2019.


Thank you, Rosemarie!

Christmas cover from Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada

Historically, Medicine Hat has been known for its large natural gas fields, being immortalized by Rudyard Kipling as having "all hell for a basement". Because of these reserves, the city is known as "The Gas City". And this is nicely shown on this neat postmark. Stamp is from stamp set Christmas, issued on 4.11.2019. Cover is designed and sent by my buddy Trevor. Thanks, mate!

70th Anniversary of the People's Republic of China on registered cover from Hong Kong

Hongkong Post issued a set of four special stamps and a stamp sheetlet on the theme "70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China". On this cover you can see souvenir sheet from that set released on 1.10.2019. The founding of the People's Republic of China was formally proclaimed by Mao Zedong, the Chairman of the Communist Party of China, on 1 October 1949 at 3:00 pm in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, the new capital (Nanking had been the capital of the former Republic of China). The first public parade of the then new People's Liberation Army took place there, following the chairman's address of the formal foundation of the new republic.


Thank you, Li Ming!

Flags of the World Series: Saba

Saba is a Caribbean island which is the smallest special municipality of the Netherlands. It consists largely of the potentially active volcano Mount Scenery, which at 887 metres is the highest point of the entire Kingdom of the Netherlands. Saba has a land area of 13 square kilometres. As of 2017, the population was 2,010 inhabitants, with a population density of 150 inhabitants per square kilometre. It is the smallest territory or sovereign state by permanent population in the Americas. Its towns and major settlements are The Bottom (the capital), Windwardside, Zion's Hill and St. Johns. I already receive same card earlier, so i probably forgot that and arranged swap twice! lol

Stamp on postcard is from set Butterflies and Flowers, issued on 20.7.2018.



Thank you, Anu!

Flags of the World Series: Kuwait

Kuwait is a country in Western Asia. Situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, it shares borders with Iraq and Saudi Arabia. As of 2016, Kuwait has a population of 4.5 million people: 1.3 million are Kuwaitis and 3.2 million are expatriates. Expatriates account for approximately 70% of the population. Kuwait is very rich country, but with very poor and highly unreliable postal system. If you manage to arrange some mail from Kuwait, there's a big chance you'll never receive it. I've finally had success and received this card sent on 5th January 2019 and received at the end of January 2020! More than a year!

Thank you so much, Robert, for helping me to get this country of my missing countries list!

Christmas Cookies on cover from Iceland

Gingerbread baking is an indispensable pastime in many Icelandic homes before Christmas. The artfully decorated gingerbread can be made into all sorts of shapes and colours. Families come together to bake biscuits or make their own gingerbread houses in various shapes and sizes. And this is what inspired Elsa Nielsen to design this beautiful Christmas stamp set which was released on 01.11.2018. This stamp set is with gingerbread scent, so if you rub stamps, you can smell this wonderful scent!


Thank you, Rosmarie!

National Handicraft Day on FDC from Algeria

Algerian post issued this souvenir sheet dedicated to National Handicraft Day on 9.11.2019. On this sheet you can see two paintings which depicts making of milk product leben and preserving of leben inside chums, and this chums are in a focus of this issue. One was made from leather, other one is from bottle gourds or calabash.


Thank you, Zine!

Marine Life on cover from Djibouti

Here's a nice cover from Djibouti with stamps showing marine life. Set of twelve stamps is issued on 14.5.2000. On these 3 stamps you can see:

 Corythoichthys ocellatus, the ocellated pipefish or orange-spotted pipefish, a marine pipefish found in the western Pacific Ocean

Cephalopholis miniata, known commonly as the coral hind, widespread throughout the tropical waters of the Indo-West Pacific area, including Durban, South Africa, the Red Sea, and Line Islands.

Ptereleotris hanae, the Blue gudgeon dartfish,Blue hana goby, a species of dartfish native to the western Pacific Ocean.


Thank you, Jinesh!

Osprey on registered cover from Cabo Verde

I received this magnificent registered cover from Cabo Verde, an island country spanning an archipelago of 10 volcanic islands in the central Atlantic Ocean.These Western osprey stamps are from set Birds of prey, issued on 25.11.2008. Western osprey (Pandion haliaetus) — also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk — is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than 60 cm in length and 180 cm across the wings. The osprey tolerates a wide variety of habitats, nesting in any location near a body of water providing an adequate food supply. It is found on all continents except Antarctica, although in South America it occurs only as a non-breeding migrant.


Thank you so much, Wolfgang!

50 Years of Europa CEPT Stamps on registered cover from Bosnia and Herzegovina

In 2005 and 2006 many postal administrations issued stamps to commemorate the 50 years of the first Europa stamps issue. And in Bosnia all 3 postal operators issued their stamp sets. This one is issued by operator from Sarajevo on 30.11.2005. This stamps are issued in sheets, but also as a blocks of four stamps, both perforated and imperforated.

Europa CEPT 2019 National Birds on cover from Iceland

Íslandspóstur issued two beautiful stamps for Europa CEPT 2019 National Birds on 11.4.2019. Left bird is gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), the most famous of all Icelandic birds. Iceland’s national Order is the Order of the Falcon. For centuries, falcons were caught in Iceland and brought to Europe where they were used for hunting and games. The falcon catches its prey in air, but also on land and water, its preferred food being the ptarmigan. This may be the reason why most falcons pairs are found 2-4 years after the ptarmigan population is at its height. Presently the Icelandic falcon stock is estimated at 300-400 breeding pairs. The falcon is on the list of endangered species in imminent danger.

And on right stamp is white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), bird of prey breeding in northern Europe and Asia. The eagle became almost extinct in Europe, but preservation activities have made it possible to rebuild some nest sites. Males are smaller than female birds. The eagle reaches sexual maturity four to five years old. The eagle population in Iceland is slowly recovering and counted 76 adult couples in 2017, having more than tripled over 50 years. They catch birds and fish, even taking lambs and seals when the opportunity arises. The eagle was accorded full status as protected species in 1913.


Thank you, Rosmarie!

Europa CEPT 2019 National Birds on cover from Malta

Malta's two-stamp issue features the Blue Rock Thrush. This bird was chosen as the national bird of the Maltese Islands in 1970. It is a starling-sized bird, 21-23 cm in length with a long slim bill. The male features a striking blue color with darker wings and tail - an appealing contrast to the less striking female with its brownish-grey color. This species lives a solitary life and in Malta it is seen along the cliffs of the western and northern coast and nests in cracks along inaccessible cliffs. Blue Rock Thrushes may live up to 10 years. This wonderful set is released on 9.5.2019.


Thank you, Rosmarie!

The Mediterranean Shag on cover from Monaco

The Mediterranean Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis desmarestii) with its dark, sleek appearance and distinguishing tuft of crown feathers which it sports during its winter breeding season is an endearing but reclusive coastal seabird that is endemic to the Mediterranean region. The Mediterranean Shag can be found in southern Europe and southwest Asia principally along the Mediterranean Sea coastline and, to a lesser extent, the Black Sea coast. It is one of three subspecies of the European shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) with a unique history and culture that contribute to the natural beauty, rich biodiversity and remarkable productivity of the region’s extraordinary coastal and marine environment. Monaco Post issued this stamp on 7.6.2018.


Thank you, Rosmarie!

Cover from Obama, Japan

Obama is a city located in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 August 2018, the city had an estimated population of 29,435 in 12,057 households and the population density of 240 persons per km². The total area of the city was 233.09 square kilometers. Obama gained publicity in the United States and elsewhere in 2008, as it shared its name with senator Barack Obama, who was running for, and later became President of the United States.

It's interesting to see date on special postmarks. Japan use few calendars, and here you can see its a first year on new era, cause Japanese emperor abdicated and left his throne to his son. With every new emperor, counting of years start from one! But for regular postmarks, they use modern Gregorian calendar.


Thank you, Li Ming!

70 years of organized philately on cover from Bosnia and Herzegovina

In may 1949 Philatelic society of Bosnia and Herzegovina was founded. Before that period, during Kingdom of Yugoslavia and before, philately was not massive in Bosnia. But when is number of stamp collectors got bigger, they organized this society, and that happened 70 years ago. To commemorate this event, Bosnian post (Sarajevo) issued this stamp in print run of only 600 stamps! I was lucky to receive this cover sent by my friend Danijel on first day of issue (19.11.2019).


Thank you so much, Danijel!

Europa CEPT Bridges on cover from Monaco

This stamp represents the Sainte Dévote Bridge, which is set in the eponymous valley, overlooking the Church dedicated to the patron saint of Monaco. Originally this bridge was a railway bridge. Since the underground railway station was inaugurated, it has become a road bridge. Stamp was released on 3.5.2018, and this cover was sent from philatelic exhibition Le Salon d'Automne 2019 in Paris (on special postmark).


Thank you, Axel!

Christmas postcard from Christmas Island, Canada

Christmas Island is a Canadian community of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. It has a post office, a firehall and a very small population.I already received one cover with this beautiful pictorial postmarks for last Christmas, and this time i received this nice postcard from tiny post office which is always very busy during Christmas season.

Standard Christmas motive on postcard is enriched with several Canadian Christmas stamps.


Thank you, Trevor!

Stamp day – 150 years of postal card on registered cover from Serbia

The world’s first official postal card was released on 1 October 1869 for inland postal traffic within the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Professor of economics Emanuel Herrmann, in January of 1869 in Viennese press proposes the new means of postal communication. He suggested the 2 kr. price for short messages being carried on standard forms lower even than that for a local letter, and by printing remark that the post denies any responsibility for the content of the message, he solved the main problem. New mean of communication was given the name Correspondenz-Karte.

Prepared thoroughly, postal cards were printed on yellowish paper 122 x 85 mm in size in huge quantities and timely distributed to all countries of the Dual Monarchy, with imprinted stamp of 2 kr. for unlimited traffic. Difference existed only with the coats of arms, Austria and Hungarian. The employees were strictly ordered to treat the postal cards like they would letters, to accept and process them without delay, deliver promptly, while they were also subject to registered handling. Knowing that the mail was delivered twice and in bigger cities even several times a day, postal cards made possible to arrange a meeting or business the same day for the low price. The success was immense! According to data, only on first day some 10.000 were sold, during the first month 1,4 million and by the end of year some 3 million pieces! The following year several European countries introduced this novelty, and Serbia did it in 1873.

In today’s Serbia, in Vojvodina, all three varieties of the first postcard circulated: the Austrian, distributed to Military Border, and Hungarian on both languages – German and Hungarian. The addressing language was irrelevant, so the Serbs as other nationalities wholeheartedly accepted postal cards, noticing that renouncement of responsibility for the contents allows them cheap communication in own language. Presented postal card is probably the oldest preserved from our area, written on 13th and posted on Friday, October 15th 1869, from Novi Sad to Vrdnik, last post Irig, received the same date.


 Thank you, Ivan!

Special cancellation on postcard from Lethbridge, Canada

Lethbridge is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. It is Alberta's third-largest city by both population and land area after Calgary and Edmonton, and the largest city in southern Alberta. The nearby Canadian Rocky Mountains contribute to the city's warm summers, mild winters, and windy climate. Lethbridge lies southeast of Calgary on the Oldman River. And Lethbridge have this neat postmark celebrating 100 years of local Post office building (1914-2014).

Thank you, Trevor!

Year of the Rat on cover from Åland Islands

The Rat is the first of all zodiac animals. According to one myth, the Jade Emperor said the order would be decided by the order in which they arrived to his party. The Rat tricked the Ox into giving him a ride. Then, just as they arrived at the finish line, Rat jumped down and landed ahead of Ox, becoming first. In Chinese culture, rats were seen as a sign of wealth and surplus. Because of their reproduction rate, married couples also prayed to them for children.

Åland Post issued this beautiful mini sheet with two stamps on 24.10.2019. Artist Martin Mörck based his illustration on the yellow-necked mouse and harvest mouse, placing the mice in blackberry bushes on an island in the Åland archipelago. In the background, we see the Klobben islet located in the outer archipelago of Saltvik and sailing ship Albanus. 

 There's also one additional stamp at the back.

Thank you so much, Kimmo!

Beautiful fauna on cover from Indonesia

These marvelous Indonesian stamps are part of set Flora & Fauna of Indonesia, issued on 5.11.2019. In set of six stamps, three stamps are dedicated to flora and three to fauna (on cover). This three beautiful animals are  Stiphodon annieae, a freshwater goby only occurring in Halmahera, Indonesia, Rote Myzomela (Myzomela irianawidodoae), a species of Indonesian honeyeater endemic to the island of Rote and Paucidentomys vermidax, genus of rodents of a type commonly known as shrew-rats which was discovered in 2012 in a remote rain forest on the Indonesian island, Sulawesi.


Thank you, Juned!

Native birds on cover from Palau

This is my first cover from Palau, an island country located in the western Pacific Ocean. The country contains approximately 340 islands, and together with parts of the Federated States of Micronesia, forms the western chain of the Caroline Islands. Its area is 466 square kilometers. The most populous island is Koror, and this cover is sent from that island. Palau shares maritime boundaries with the Philippines, Indonesia, and Micronesia. This stamps are from set The native birds of Palau, issued on 14.4.2000. It's interesting to see machine cancellation on top side, and that probably shows that Palau use US post as mail carrier. 

Here you can see location of Palau.

Thank you, Burak!

Helsinki Stamp Fair 2019 on cover from Åland Islands

I received this cover from Åland Islands with stamp and special cancellation dedicated to Stamp Fair in Helsinki (24-27.10.2019). This stamp is from set of of ten stamps, each dedicated to different stamp exhibition in world. Cover is sent from Mariehamn, capital city of Åland Islands.


Thank you, Kimmo!

Flags of the World Series: Panama

Panama is a transcontinental country in Central America and South America, bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The capital and largest city is Panama City, whose metropolitan area is home to nearly half the country's 4 million people.

Panama was inhabited by indigenous tribes before Spanish colonists arrived in the 16th century. It broke away from Spain in 1821 and joined the Republic of Gran Colombia, a union of Nueva Granada, Ecuador, and Venezuela. After Gran Colombia dissolved in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada eventually became the Republic of Colombia. With the backing of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, allowing the construction of the Panama Canal to be completed by the US Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. The 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties led to the transfer of the Canal from the United States to Panama on December 31, 1999.

Stamp on postcard is Basílica of Don Bosco in Panama City, from set World Youth Day 2019, an international event organized by the Catholic Church in Panama City and it was the first of its kind celebrated in Central America.


Thank you so much, Joanna and Cass!

70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China on registered cover

The 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China was observed with a series of ceremonial events including a grand military parade as its spotlight to celebrate National Day of the People's Republic of China that took place on 1 October 2019 in Beijing. It was the largest military parade and mass pageant in Chinese history. On the same day Chinese post issued stamp set (on cover) and one souvenir sheet dedicated to this event.


Thank you, Li Ming!

Tyrannosaurus rex stamp set on cover from USA

USPS issued set of four stamps dedicated to Tyrannosaurus rex on 29.8.2019. Extinct for some 66 million years, the carnivorous Tyrannosaurus rex dominated the Cretaceous period, which was the tail end of the dinosaur age. With powerful jaws packed in its 4-foot-long skull and banana-sized teeth serrated like steak knives, T. rex easily bit through the flesh and hefty bones of even large dinosaur prey. Its full-grown weight was six to ten tons. Its maximum length was about 40 feet. Although the name “Tyrannosaurus rex” means “tyrant lizard king,” and “dinosaur” means “fearfully great lizard,” they were not lizards at all. Dinosaurs were from a separate reptile lineage, whose closest living relatives are birds and crocodilians.

 Inside was this awesome gift - patch set with space theme from National Geographic.


Thank you so much, Mike!

International Year of Indigenous Languages on cover from Tunisia

The International Year of Indigenous Languages is a United Nations observance in 2019 that aims to raise awareness of the consequences of the endangerment of Indigenous languages across the world, with an aim to establish a link between language, development, peace, and reconciliation. They even organized Hackathon for Promoting Indigenous Languages through Free and Open Source Software. And Tunisian post issued this nice commemorative stamp set on 18.7.2019.


Thank you, Mohamed!

Ferrari F1 Cars on cover from Bosnia and Herzegovina

I received cover from Bosnia and Herzegovina with complete stamps set Ferrari Cars, released on 20.6.2001. Here you can see legendary Formula 1 cars: Ferrari 625 F1 (1954), Ferrari 312 B (1970), Ferrari 312 T3 (1978) and Ferrari 126 C3 (1983).


Thanks a lot, Danijel!

Flags of the World Series: Suriname

Suriname  is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west and Brazil to the south. At just under 165,000 square kilometers, it is the smallest sovereign state in South America. Suriname was long inhabited by various indigenous people before being invaded and contested by European powers from the 16th century, eventually coming under Dutch rule in the late 17th century. As the chief sugar colony during the Dutch colonial period, it was primarily a plantation economy dependent on African slaves and, following the abolition of slavery in 1863, indentured servants from Asia. Suriname was ruled by the Dutch-chartered company Society of Suriname between 1683 and 1795. In 1954, Suriname became one of the constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. On 25 November 1975, the country of Suriname left the Kingdom of the Netherlands to become an independent state, nonetheless maintaining close economic, diplomatic, and cultural ties to its former colonizer.

Interesting bird stamps are used. Smaller one is Yellow-green Grosbeak (Caryothraustes canadensis), issued on 15.8.2008. But stamps with Caica Parrot (Pionopsitta caica) are more interesting. Stamp is originally issued on 27.4.1977, but they overprinted this stamps with words "Port Payé", which means "postage paid". Overprinted stamps are issued on 11.4.1994.



Thank you so much, Joanna and Cass!