Birds on on cover from Brazil

I received cover from Brazil with stamps from set Brazilian birds released for specialized philatelic exhibition Birdpex 8, which was held on 19-21st May in Luxembourg. On this stamps you can see Purple-winged Ground-Dove (Claravis geoffroyi) and Blue-eyed Ground-Dove (Columbina cyanopis). Stamps are issued on 19.6.2017.


Thank you, Damião!

TAAF: Cover from Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean - Glorioso 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 (TAAF) since February 2007, though sovereignty over some or all of the Islands is contested by Madagascar, Mauritius, and the Comoros. None of the islands has ever had a permanent population.

This cover was sent from Glorioso Islands. It's a group of French islands and rocks totaling 5 square kilometers. The archipelago consists of two islands, Grande Glorieuse and Île du Lys, as well as eight rock islets. They form part of a coral reef and lagoon, and they have an Exclusive Economic Zone of 48,350 square kilometers.The islands are today nature reserves with a meteorological station garrisoned by The French Foreign Legion.


Thank you so much Eric!

Guernsey: Postcard from Sark, Channel Islands

Sark is a part of the Channel Islands in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, France. It is a royal fief, which forms part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, with its own set of laws based on Norman law and its own parliament. It has a population of about 500. Sark (including the nearby island of Brecqhou) has an area of  only 5.44 km2. Sark is one of the few remaining places in the world where cars are banned from roads and only tractors and horse-drawn vehicles are allowed.

Fantastic selection of stamps:
First one is Maritime Heritage, issued on 4.8.2000.
Second one is map of Channel Islands, part of set Mailtransport from 1.10.1994.



Thank you so much, Wolfgang!

Canadian flag and nice postmark on postcard from Ralston

I received this postpaid postcard with Canadian flag adopted in 1965. Red is symbolic of England and white of France, the colors having been used representatively by those countries in the past. The maple leaf represents unity across the entire country- regardless of birthplace.

Postcard is sent from Ralston with this very nice postmark! The Crown Village of Ralston is located to the east of Highway 884 on CFB Suffield within Cypress County in southern Alberta, Canada, approximately 3 km north of the Hamlet of Suffield and the Trans-Canada Highway.


Thanks, Trevor!

Stamp day 2013 with engraver signature (!!!) on insured registered cover from Serbia

I received this insured registered cover in February with block of four stamps Stamp day 2013, issued on 25.10.2013. There's a specific philatelic specialty in philately of Yugoslavia and Serbia - hidden signature of engraver with long tradition over many decades.

On this block you can see hidden signature on bottom right stamp - NS. Location of signature is never revealed and you never know which edition will have it, and sometimes is really well hidden. And for your information, stamps with engraver signature cost much more on philatelic market!


Thanks a lot, Milorad!

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

Macao Post released set of stamps and souvenir sheet dedicated to 70th Anniversary of the People's Republic of China. The Communist Party of China had defeated the Kuomintang Party following the Chinese Civil War, which occurred intermittently between 1927 and 1950 In the aftermath of the civil war, the Kuomintang and its loyalists then retreated to the island of Taiwan, formerly a prefecture of the Qing Empire, which had been under Japanese colonial rule from 1895 to 1945. 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.


Thank you, Li Ming!

The 50th Anniversary of International Federation of Stamp Dealers' Associations on cover from Grenada

I received my first cover from Grenada, small island state in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. It is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Before the arrival of Europeans in the Americas, Grenada was inhabited by the indigenous Arawaks and later by the Island Caribs. Christopher Columbus sighted Grenada in 1498 during his third voyage to the Americas. Although it was deemed the property of the King of Spain, there are no records to suggest the Spanish ever landed or settled on the island. French settlement and colonization began in 1650 and continued for the next century. On 10 February 1763, Grenada was ceded to the British under the Treaty of Paris. From 1958 to 1962 Grenada was part of the Federation of the West Indies, a short-lived federation of British West Indian colonies. On 3 March 1967, Grenada was granted full autonomy. Stamp on this cover is dedicated to The 50th Anniversary of International Federation of Stamp Dealers' Associations, and is issued on 16.12.2002.


Thank you, Wolfgang!

Arctic cover from German research vessel Polarstern on MOSAiC expedition

RV Polarstern (Polar Star) is a German research icebreaker of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in Bremerhaven. Polarstern was commissioned in 1982 and is mainly used for research in the Arctic and Antarctica. On September 20, 2019, she sailed from Tromsø, Norway, for a 12 to 14 month-long Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition across the Arctic. She settled in an ice floe on October 4, 2019 and will drift in it past the North pole eventually reaching open water in the Fram Strait. This fantastic cover was sent on 13.12.2019. and i received this cover two months later.

 For the first time a modern research icebreaker will operate in the direct vicinity of the North Pole year round, including the nearly half year long polar night during winter. In terms of the logistical challenges involved, the total number of participants, the number of participating countries, and the available budget, MOSAiC represents the largest Arctic expedition in history. During its one-year-long journey, the central expedition ship, the research icebreaker Polarstern from Germany's Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), will be supported and resupplied by the icebreakers Akademik Fedorov and Kapitan Dranitsyn (Russia), Oden (Sweden) and Xue Long II (China). In addition, extensive operations involving helicopters and other aircraft are planned.


Thank you so much, Jens, for this fantastic cover!

10th Indian Ocean Games on registered cover from Mauritius

The 2019 Indian Ocean Island Games was the 10th edition of this multi-sport event for athletes representing the National Olympic Committees of Indian Ocean island nations. It was held in Mauritius from July 19 – 28, 2019. Over 2,000 athletes, from 7 countries (Comoros, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mayotte, Réunion and Seychelles), participated in the 2019 Indian Ocean Island Games. Set of 3 stamps (on the left side) is issued on 19.7.2019. to commemorate this event. Stamp on the right is St. John Ambulance of Mauritius, issued on 9.10.2018.

Whole set for this games is also on back side!

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!