Europa Stories & Myths on cover from Germany

 

Wonderful FDC Europa 2022: Stories & Myths from Germany, issued on 5th May.

Thank you, Holger!

Local police on FDC from Åland Islands

 

Thank you, Kimmo!

Mars 2020 launch on cover from Cape Canaveral, USA

 

My friend Trevor Ashman designed this cover dedicated to Mars 2020 launch, when rocket Atlas V carried rover Perseverance and the small robotic coaxial helicopter Ingenuity to their mission to Mars. USPS made this awesome postmark to celebrate this event in Cape Canaveral. 

 

 

Thank you, Trevor!

Ancient Postal Routes on registered FDC from Romania

One of best stamps designs for Europa CEPT 2020 theme Ancient Postal Routes was done by Romanian Post and this is one of best covers i received during dull days of lock-down when international postal traffic was largely stopped.  Thank you, Mihnea!

Europa CEPT 2020 Ancient Postal Routes on cover from Germany

 

This years theme for Europa CEPT stamps is Ancient Postal Routes, and German Post issued this souvenir sheet with one stamp on 7.5.2020. for this join issue of all European postal operators. This cover was sent of first day of issue with nice special postmark with postal horn.

Thank you, Jens!

Year of the Rat on FDC from China

An interesting Chinese legend about the ranking of the Rat goes that the Chinese supreme deity Jade Emperor held a birthday party and would decide the order of the zodiac animals according to their arrival times. Originally, the hardworking Ox departed early and should be the first one to reach. However, the Rat hid in the Ox’s ear and jumped down when arriving, occupying the first place. Thus the Rat had since been the No. 1 in the 12-year cycle and represents spirit, wit, alertness, delicacy, and flexibility. This year is Year of the Rat and Chinese post issued this really cute stamps set on 5th January. 

Thank you, Xu Wei!
 

Under the uplifted banner of self-reliance on FDC from North Korea

Finally i received my first cover from North Korea after two unsuccessful attempts. This is first day cover Under the uplifted banner of self-reliance, issued on 1.1.2020.  Designer is Choe Kuk Chol and print run is 20.000.

There's a three stamps at the back of the cover for additional postage:
National Flag, issued on 9.9.2008.
Paektu Mountain, issued on 20.11.2002.
Hormotoma fossil, issued on 10.11.2013.


Thank you so much, Li Ming!

Year of the Rat on cover from Canada

I received Canadian cover dedicated to Year of the Rat and sent of first day of issue. 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. This is cover is designed by sender and you can see historic propaganda poster for eradication of rats in Alberta!


Thank you, Trevor!

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!

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!

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!

FDC Insects of Ukraine

I received from Ukraine first day cover dedicated to insects of Ukraine, issued on 3.7.2018. Seven beautifully designed stamps are printed with special foil on insects wings, so wings looks very realistic.

I took a few shots with my phone camera to show you this effect from different angles.

Thanks a lot Marie for this beautiful cover!

Astrophysics on two first day covers from Germany

I received earlier this year two nice first day covers from Germany, both dedicated to same edition of Astrophysics, issued on 1.7.2019, but cancelled with two different postmarks. Upper cover was sent Berlin, and lower from Bonn.

Thank you Holger and Jens!

The 100th Anniversary of the Death of Emiliano Zapata on cover from Algeria

Born on August 8, 1879, Anenecuilco, Mexico, Emiliano Zapata was a Mexican revolutionary and advocate of agrarianism who fought in guerrilla actions during the Mexican Revolution. He formed and commanded the Liberation Army of the South, an important revolutionary brigade, and his followers were known as Zapatistas. Zapata he was killed in an ambush on April 10th, 1919. Algerian post commemorated 100th anniversary of his death with this nice stamp and postmark on 10.4.2019.

Thank you, Hocine!

Europa CEPT 2019 National Birds on FDC from Germany

Deutsche Post issued one stamp for Europa CEPT 2019 National Birds theme on 2.5.2019, with pair yellowhammer birds. The yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) is a passerine bird in the bunting family that is native to Eurasia and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia. Most European birds remain in the breeding range year-round, but the eastern subspecies is partially migratory, with much of the population wintering further south. The male yellowhammer has a bright yellow head, streaked brown back, chestnut rump, and yellow under parts. Other plumages are duller versions of the same pattern. The yellowhammer is common in open areas with some shrubs or trees, and forms small flocks in winter.


Thank you so much, Holger, for this beautiful FDC and mint stamp inside!

Italy: Special booklet dedicated to 20th San Marino Grand Prix

20th San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Imola on 9 April 2000. The 62-lap race was the third round of the 2000 Formula One season and was won by Michael Schumacher driving a Ferrari. Italian Post decided to commemorate this event with this special booklet. They used for this event older stamps and 2 FDC's from set World Stamp Exhibition - Ferrari Day, issued on 26.10.1998, and they made new postmark dedicated to this race.

This is second page of booklet.

And front page of the booklet.

Booklet arrived in this registered cover with a lot of nice stamps, but without any cancellation.

Europa CEPT 2019 National Birds on two First day covers from Moldova

A set of 2 stamps with White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) and Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is issued this year for Europa theme by Post of Moldova on 19.4.2019.
The white stork is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on its wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average 100–115 cm from beak tip to end of tail, with a 155–215 cm wingspan. The white stork is a long-distance migrant, wintering in Africa from tropical Sub-Saharan Africa to as far south as South Africa, or on the Indian subcontinent. When migrating between Europe and Africa, it avoids crossing the Mediterranean Sea and detours via the Levant in the east or the Strait of Gibraltar in the west, because the air thermals on which it depends for soaring do not form over water.

The golden eagle is one of the best-known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. These birds are dark brown, with lighter golden-brown plumage on their napes. Immature eagles of this species typically have white on the tail and often have white markings on the wings. Golden eagles use their agility and speed combined with powerful feet and massive, sharp talons to snatch up a variety of prey, mainly hares, rabbits, and marmots and other ground squirrels.

This two covers were sent together, but i received them separately in span of 3 weeks. Some idiot in Serbian post thought this is for Customs and sent one cover to them. When they saw this cover, they postmarked this cover "Not for custom check" and sent back to post.


Thank you so much, Mihnea!

The 100th Anniversary of the Armistice in World War I on FDC from Wallis and Futuna

Wallis and Futuna is a French island collectivity in the South Pacific between Tuvalu to the northwest, Fiji to the southwest, Tonga to the southeast, Samoa to the east, and Tokelau to the northeast. Though both French and Polynesian, Wallis and Futuna is distinct from the entity known as French Polynesia. Its land area is 142.42 km2 with a population of 11,558 at the 2018 census. Mata-Utu is the capital and biggest city. The territory is made up of three main volcanic tropical islands along with a number of tiny islets, and is split into two island groups that lie about 260 km apart, namely the Wallis Islands (Uvea) in the northeast, and the Hoorn Islands (also known as the Futuna Islands) in the southwest, including Futuna Island proper and the mostly uninhabited Alofi Island.

Armistice Day is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France at 5:45 am, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918. Except special postmark for this issue, there is also special postmark for Autumn Philatelic exhibition in Paris.


Thank you so much, Eric!

Europa CEPT 2019 National Birds on registered FDC from Romania

Romanian post issued par of stamps in Europa CEPT 2019 National Birds joint issue of European postal operators. This years theme is one of my favorites, and most of postal operators designed really nice stamps.On first stamp is eurasian skylark (Alauda arvensis), a passerine bird in the lark family Alaudidae. It is a wide-spread species found across Europe and Asia with introduced populations in New Zealand, Australia and on the Hawaiian Islands. It is a bird of open farmland and heath, known for the song of the male, which is delivered in hovering flight from heights of 50 to 100 metres. The sexes are alike. It is streaked greyish-brown above and on the breast and has a buff-white belly.

On second stamp is golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), one of the best-known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. These birds are dark brown, with lighter golden-brown plumage on their napes. Immature eagles of this species typically have white on the tail and often have white markings on the wings. Golden eagles use their agility and speed combined with powerful feet and massive, sharp talons to snatch up a variety of prey, mainly hares, rabbits, and marmots and other ground squirrels. Golden eagles maintain home ranges or territories that may be as large as 200 km2.


Thank you, Mihnea!

International Year of the Periodic Table on cover from Algeria

The Periodic Table of Chemical Elements is one of the most significant achievements in science, capturing the essence not only of chemistry, but also of physics and biology. 1869 is considered as the year of discovery of the Periodic System by Dmitri Mendeleev. 2019 will be the 150th anniversary of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements and has therefore been proclaimed the "International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements (IYPT2019)" by the United Nations General Assembly and UNESCO. To mark this event, Algerian Post issued this stamp on 2.1.2019.

There is also two additional definitive stamps on the back, Bordj El Kiffan, issued on 5.8.2015.


Thank you, Hocine!