Maxicard Europa CEPT 2019 National Birds from Åland Islands

On this maxicard from Åland Islands you can see white-tailed eagle, which was chosen for this year's Europa National Birds theme. The white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) is a very large eagle widely distributed across Eurasia. As are all eagles, it is a member of the family Accipitridae which includes other diurnal raptors such as hawks, kites, and harriers. White-tailed eagles usually live most of the year near large bodies of open water, including both coastal saltwater areas and inland freshwater, and require an abundant food supply and old-growth trees or ample sea cliffs for nesting.
This stamp and maxicard are issued on 9.5.2019.

There's also a nice postmark at the back side also.

Thank you, Ana-Kaisa!

Indonesia: Year of The Dog 2018

I received this fine maxicard from Indonesia dedicated to Year of The Dog 2018. The Dog is eleventh of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar.
This stamp is from set of three stamps issued on 1.2.2018.

I also received this postcard with this cute and unusual marsupial animal - common spotted cuscus. The common spotted cuscus is about the size of a common house cat, weighing 1.5 to 6 kilograms.

Postcards arrived in this cover with two stamps:
Towards Vision 2045 Development Program, issued on 29.9.2017.
World Press Freedom Day, issued on 3.5.2017.


Thank you Mia!

Cover from Bangladesh

I received nice cover from Bangladesh, with this stamps:

Health Care, issued on 22.1.1998.
Curzon Hall, issued on 31.8.1999.
Day of Independence & National Day, issued on 26.3.2015.
Victory Day, issued on 16.12.2015.

Inside was this beautiful maximum card Black-hooded Oriole (Oriolus xanthornus), from set Striking Color Birds of Bangladesh - World Stamp Show NY 2016, issued on 28.5.2016.


Thank you Morshedur!

Austria: Christmas cover from Christkindl

I received a cover from Austria with special cancellation from Christkindl. Christkindl is a district of the Upper Austrian town of Steyr with a pilgrimage church of the same name and a well-known special post office. The place has gained international fame since 1950 when the Austrian Post set up the special post office Christkindl. This post office is opened each year between the first Sunday of Advent  and January 6th and provides the letters that are sent with a special cancellation. Every year about 2 million shipments receive this special cancellation. Stamp on cover is Christmas 2017: Advent calendar, issued on 17.11.2017.

Inside cover was this nice Christmas maxicard from Liechtenstein, issued as a set of four stamps on 12.11.2017.


Thank you Wolfgang!

Cover from India with philatelic stuff

My great friend Subu from India sent me another nice cover. Inside was two mini sheets, FDC, maxicard and postcard. He used nice stamps on cover:

mini sheet Tourism in India - Independence Day, issued on 15.08.2016.
Moulana Abul Kalam Azad (1888-1958), politician and writer, issued on October 2015.
two stamps Olympic Games 2016 - Rio (from set of four), issued on 05.08.2016.
Airplanes - Induction of the C-130, issued on 04.10.2016.

This is mini sheet Tadoba-Andhari National Park - Tigers, issued on 29.07.2016.

Exotic Birds, issued on 05.12.2016.

maxicard Olympic Games 2016 - Rio (from set of four), issued on 05.08.2016.

 FDC Varanasi City, issued on 24.10.2016.

And postcard of Varanasi City, most sacred city in India.

Thank you very much Subu!

Techno Science Park San Marino-Italia

I received this maxicard from Italy dedicated to Techno Science Park San Marino-Italia. On March 31, 2009 the Government of the Italian Republic and the Government of the Republic of San Marino signed an agreement on economic cooperation, especially in the field of scientific and technological research and innovation. Stamp was issued on 23.10.2015, and it's joint issued with San Marino.

Card arrived in this cover with stamp Cherries of Vignola, issued on 06.06.2015.


Thank you Li!

Cities of Serbia

Three very nice stamps about Serbian cities are issued today, with three First Day Covers and three maximum cards.

Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. Its name translates to "White city". The urban area of the City of Belgrade has a population of 1.34 million, while over 1.65 million people live within its administrative limits.

Novi Sad is the second largest city of Serbia, the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina and the administrative center of the South Bačka District. It is located in the southern part of the Pannonian Plain, on the border of the Bačka and Srem geographical regions, on the banks of the Danube river, facing the northern slopes of Fruška Gora mountain. According to the 2011 census, the city has a population of 250,439, while the urban area of Novi Sad has 277,522 inhabitants. The population of the administrative area of the city stands at 341,625 people.

Niš is the third largest city of Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District in southern Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the city has population of 183,164, while urban area of Niš  has 187,544 inhabitants; the administrative area has a population of 260,237. It is one of the oldest cities in the Balkans and Europe, and has from ancient times been considered a gateway between the East and the West.

FDC Belgrade

FDC Novi Sad

FDC Niš

Maximum card Belgrade

Maximum card Novi Sad

Maximum card Niš

And nice postmark

Maxicard from Moldova

My first postcard from Moldova is wonderful maxicard! Stamp on this card is from set of two stamps Zoological Gardens in Chişinău: Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia), issued on 18.05.2013.

The snow leopard is a large cat native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Fewer than 2,500 individuals may be reproducing in the wild. As of 2016, estimates for the size of the global population vary from at least 4,080 to about 8,700 individuals.

 Stamp on backside is EUROPA - Think Green (from set of two), issued on 05.04.2016.


Thank you Alex!

Cover from Russia with tho maxicards

I have received cover from Russia with two wonderful maxicards from series Weapons of Victory, dedicated to Soviet fighter aircrafts from World War II, issued on 29.04.2011. Both maxicards have special postmark dedicated to 70 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War (World War Two).

The Yakovlev Yak-3  was a World War II Soviet fighter aircraft. Robust and easy to maintain, it was very much liked by pilots and ground crew alike. It was one of the smallest and lightest major combat fighters fielded by any combatant during the war. Its high power-to-weight ratio gave it excellent performance. It proved a formidable dogfighter. Marcel Albert, World War II French ace, who flew the Yak in USSR with the Normandie-Niémen Group, considered it a superior aircraft when compared to the P-51D Mustang and the Supermarine Spitfire. After the war ended, it flew with the Yugoslav and Polish Air Forces.

The Lavochkin La-5 was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. It was a development and refinement of the LaGG-3 and was one of the Soviet Air Force's most capable types of warplane. The two aircraft shared a lot of traits including its wooden construction. The biggest change came in the way of a new powerful radial engine that gave the La-5 vastly better performance.The La-5 was flown by the highest scoring allied ace, Ivan Kozhedub, who scored 62 air kills. 

Nice cover with beautiful stamps, and picture of Pskov Kremlin, an ancient citadel in Pskov, Russia. In the central part of the city, the Krom is located at the junction of the Velikaya River and smaller Pskova river. The citadel is of medieval origin, with the surrounding walls constructed starting in the late 15th century.

Stamps are:

Zaraysk Kremlin, issued on 01.10.2009.
V.I.Nesterenko "Russian Madonna", from set Russian Contemporary Art, issued on 30.07.2012.
M.V.Pereyaslavets "Monument to A.I.Pokryshkin", from set Russian Contemporary Art, issued on 25.10.2013.

Thank you Maria!

Cover from Estonia

I have received cover from Estonia with two maxicards, one from Soviet Union, and second from North Korea.

First maxicard is from North Korea, from set of four: World Nature Conservation - Mandarin Ducks (Aix galericulata), issued on 04.08.1987. The mandarin duck is a perching duck species found in East Asia and is native to Japan. It is medium-sized, at 41–49 cm long with a 65–75 cm wingspan. For Koreans, mandarin ducks represent peace, fidelity, and plentiful offspring. Similar to the Chinese, they believe that these ducks mate for life. For these reasons, pairs of mandarin ducks called wedding ducks are often given as wedding gifts and play a significant role in Korean marriage.

Second maxicard is one of the last issued by Soviet Union. This is Snakelocks Anemone (Anemonia sulcata), from set of five stamps Fauna of Black Sea, issued on 04.01.1991. The snakelocks anemone  is a sea anemone found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. The tentacles of anemones in deep or murky water can be a grey colour, but are otherwise usually a deep green colour with purple tips due to the presence of symbiotic algae within the tentacles that use sunlight as an energy source. As a result, the anemones prefer brightly lit shallow waters. On average the snakelock anemone is 8 cm wide.

Stamps on cover:
Post Horn, issued on 19.05.2016.
Estonian Fauna - European Otter, issued on 25.08.2015.
Bird of the Year - The Great Tit, issued on 17.02.2016.


Thank you Ella!

New Serbian stamps - 50th Anniversary of BITEF

Serbian Post have new issue dedicated to 50th Anniversary of BITEF. The Belgrade International Theatre Festival (BITEF) is a theatre festival that takes place annually in Belgrade, Serbia. They will issued two stamps, one FDC and two maxicards.

Stamps are dedicated to founders of this festival Mira Trailović and Jovan Ćirilov. Founded in 1967, BITEF has continually followed and supported the latest theatre trends. It has become one of the most significant culture festivals of Serbia.

In the 1980s, BITEF showed Belgrade the highest reaches of the art of theatre, thus becoming one of the few festivals comprising both experimental forms and significant classic achievements. In spite of political-economic crisis and embargo, in the final decade of the 20th century, BITEF, thanks to the help of international culture centres, government and non-government organizations, managed to keep abreast with the rest of world, through promotion of new theatre trends and ultimate theatre values.

In 1999, BITEF was awarded a Special Prize Premio Europa Per Il Teatro, Taormina arte. BITEF was the first international theatre festival to receive an award from Premio Europa.

Mira Trailović  was a Serbian dramaturg, theatre director and founder of Atelje 212 Theatre. he lived in Paris and worked in Theatre of Nations. She received the most prominent French award: Légion d'honneur. In 1988, she was awarded the Statuette of Joakim Vujić.

Sovan Ćirilov was a Serbian theater expert, philosopher, writer, theatre selector, poet, and significant contributor to Serbian culture.

Release date for this stamps is 1st September 2016.

Åland Toys

Very cute maxicard from Åland Islands. This is Plasto duck, from set Åland Toys, issued on 10.05.2010. All toys from this set are made by Plasto, a Finnish manufacturer of high quality plastic toys. Factory was founded in 1954 and is located in Åland islands. Stamp designers are  Kjell Söderlund and Cecilia Mattsson. Photography on maxicard is made by Kjell Söderlund.

Maxicard is posted on first July from Mariehamn, capital city of Åland Islands.


Thank you Lilla!

125 Years of the Tesla's Transformator Patent

New edition from Serbian Post! 125 Years of the Tesla's Transformator Patent!

125 years a go Serbian genius scientist patented his transformator, known as Tesla's coil. It is used to produce high-voltage, low-current, high frequency alternating-current electricity.

Tesla used these coils to conduct innovative experiments in electrical lighting, phosphorescence, X-ray generation, high frequency alternating current phenomena, electrotherapy, and the transmission of electrical energy without wires. Tesla coil circuits were used commercially in sparkgap radio transmitters for wireless telegraphy until the 1920s, and in medical equipment such as electrotherapy and violet ray devices.

Tesla obtained around 300 patents worldwide for his inventions.

France: The 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Verdun

The Battle of Verdun, fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916, was one of the largest battles of the First World War on the Western Front between the German and French armies. The battle took place on the hills north of Verdun-sur-Meuse in north-eastern France.

The casualties from Verdun and the impact the battle had on the French Army was a primary reason for the British starting the Battle of the Somme in July 1916 in an effort to take German pressure off of the French at Verdun. The Battle of Verdun started on February 21st 1916 and ended on December 16th in 1916. It was to make General Philippe Pétain a hero in France.

An estimate in 2000 found a total of 714,231 casualties, 377,231 French and 337,000 German, an average of 70,000 casualties a month; other recent estimates increase the number of casualties to 976,000, with 1,250,000 suffered at Verdun during the war. The Battle of Verdun lasted for 303 days and became the longest and one of the most costly battles in human history.

Stamp is issued on 29.05.2016.


Thank you Axel!

IIHF World Championship in Russia in 2016

I have received this wonderful maxicard and FDC related to IIHF World Championship in Russia in 2016. The 2016 IIHF World Championship was the 80th such event hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), being held in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia, from 6 May to 22 May 2016.

Canada won their 26th gold medal, defeating Finland 2–0 in the gold medal game. With the win Corey Perry became the second consecutive Canadian team captain to earn membership in the Triple Gold Club. Russia won the bronze medal, defeating the United States 7–2 in the bronze medal game.

Laika, the mascot of the championship, is in the center of stamp. Stamp is issued on 06.05.2016.

I have received this inside very nice cover, with stamp Postcrossing, issued on 25.03.2016.


Thank you Ivan!