Monday, January 31, 2011

#561 Malta...Thanks Pamela!

#560 Sweden...Thanks Karl!

#559 Malaysia...Thanks Imam!

#558 Netherlands...Thanks Ton!


The m/s on the left is from 1997 Nature and Environment issue illustrating Sheep.

The m/s in the middle is from 1994 Wild Flowers issue showing Fire Lily (Lilium bulbiferum),which is a lily native to Europe

#557 Mauritius...Thanks David!


The 60c stamp was issued in 1997 celebrating 150th Anniv. of First Postage Stamp of Mauritius.

The RS10 and RS15 stamps were issued in 2009 depicting Extinct Mauritian Giant Tortoises.

Cylindraspis is a genus of recently extinct giant tortoises. All of its species lived in the Mascarene Islands (Mauritius, Rodrigues and Réunion) in the Indian Ocean and all are now extinct due to hunting and introduction of non-native predators. These giant tortoises were very large and slow, thus making them easy game. The Mascarenes were colonised in 1663. Most species of this genus were already driven to extinction by 1795 and the last individuals were reputed to have died around 1840

Sunday, January 30, 2011

#556 Mexico...Thanks Ernesto!

#555 Mexico...Thanks Ernesto!

#554 Costa Rica...Thanks Federico!


The two stamps above are from 2008 Whales and Dolphins issue showing Humpback Whale and Guyana Dolphin.

The other 2 stamps were issued in 2002 commemorating Centenary of Pan-American Health Organization.

#553 Denmark...Thanks Ole!



The 4.4k stamp is from 1989 Europa issue of Children Toys showing Wooden Soldiers by Kay Bojessen.

The 5.5k stamp was issued in 2010 featuring Pladecover: Gasolin' 3.

Gasolin' 3 was the third album from Danish rock band Gasolin', released in November 1973.

Gasolin' was a Danish rock band from Christianshavn in Copenhagen formed by Kim Larsen, Franz Beckerlee and Wili Jønsson in 1969.From 1972 to 1978, Gasolin' was the most popular rock band in Denmark. With producer Roy Thomas Baker, they released classics such as Gasolin' 3, Gas 5 and Efter endnu en dag. Their albums sound as fresh and innovative now as they did then. In that respect Gasolin' may be considered as the Danish Beatles. Each album was a landmark and like The Beatles, they broke up at the pinnacle of their success. The reasons for the split-up was the failure to break the international market and personal differences.

#552 Latvia...Thanks Juris!

#551 Brazil...Thanks Vitor & Rose!


The R$1.05 stamp was issued in 2010 celebrating Centenary of Sport Club Corinthians Paulista,which is a Brazilian sports club based in São Paulo, Brazil known mostly for its association football team.

Corinthians was founded in 1910 by a group of labourers—mainly of Portuguese, Italian and Spanish descent—hoping to create a popular club in the city of São Paulo to play against the elite clubs that already existed. They are named after the English amateur team Corinthian F.C., which had played a number of exhibition matches during a tour of Brazil.

The football team, having won the first edition of the FIFA Club World Championship, the Brazilian Série A four times, the Brazilian Cup three times, a record the São Paulo State Championship 26 times (five of them unbeaten), and a number of other titles. Corinthians fans are widely known as "Fiel", Portuguese for "faithful" or "loyal".

Corinthians is the most popular football team in São Paulo with about 30 million fans, surpassed only in Brazil by Flamengo who have the most number of fans.

#550 Pakistan...Thanks Ehtasham!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

#549 Kazakhstan...Thanks Serge!


The 0.50k stamp on the left is the first stamp issued by Kazakhstan in 1992,showing famous "Golden Man".

Situated in what was at the time eastern Scythia, just north of Sogdiana, the burial contained a skeleton of uncertain sex, in all probability an 18-year-old Saka (Scythian) prince or princess, interred with warrior's equipment, variously dubbed "golden man" or "golden princess", and with rich funerary goods, including 4,000 gold ornaments.

The "golden man" was adopted as one of the symbols of modern Kazakhstan. A likeness of the "golden man" crowns the Independence Monument on the central square of Almaty.

#548 Portugal...Thanks Luis!


The 0.68€ stamp on the left is from 2010 Public Elevators of Portugal issue depicting "Santuario do Bom Jesus do Monte" Elevator in Braga.

The city is also known as the "Portuguese Rome" for its concentration of religious architecture. Braga is located in the North of Portugal, the more developed territory. This town is the commercial and business center of the region.

In Portugal, Braga's population is considered the most conservative, and by some the most pious, by others the most fanatic. The city is one of the most beautiful cities in Portugal.

Not far from the city center there are three important sanctuaries: "Bom Jesus","Sameiro" and "Santa Marta da Falperra".

The 0.32€ stamp is from 2010 Circus Chapito issue. I found some information here.(in Portugese)

The se-tenant stamps on the right was issued in 2010 celebrating 50 years of Hydrographic Institute.

#547 Taiwan...Thanks Alan!

#546 Singapore...Thanks Ng Tek Sin!


The 5c stamp on the cover is from 2007 Birds issue showing Crimson Sunbird,which is the national bird of Singapore.

The Crimson Sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja) is a sunbird belonging to a group of very small Old World passerine birds which feed largely on nectar, although they will also take insects, especially when feeding young. Flight is fast and direct on their short wings. Most species can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird, but usually perch to feed most of the time.

Crimson Sunbird is a resident breeder in tropical southern Asia from India to Indonesia and the Philippines. Two eggs or three eggs are laid in a suspended nest in a tree. This species is found in forest and cultivation.

Crimson Sunbirds are tiny, only 11cm long. They have medium-length thin down-curved bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues, both adaptations to their nectar feeding.

The adult male has a crimson breast and maroon back. The rump is yellow and the belly is olive. The female has an olive-green back, yellowish breast and white tips to the outer tail feathers.


#545 China...Thanks Zhang!


The 1.20 yuan stamp is from 2007 China-Indonesia joint issue illustrating Lion Dance.

Lion dance (simplified Chinese: 舞狮; traditional Chinese: 舞獅; pinyin: wǔshī) is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture, in which performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume. The lion dance is often mistaken as dragon dance. An easy way to tell the difference is that a lion is operated by two people, while a dragon needs many people. Also, in a lion dance, the performers' faces are covered, since they are inside the lion. In a dragon dance, the performers can be seen since the dragon is held upon poles. Basic lion dance fundamental movements can be found in most Chinese martial arts.

#544 Latvia...Thanks Juris!

#543 Denmark...Thanks Poul!


The 2.80k stamp on the cover is from 1980 Nordic Sister Towns issue showing Aalborg Harbour.
Aalborg is a Danish industrial and university city in North Jutland. The city of Aalborg is the fourth largest city in Denmark in terms of population.

Aalborg maintains cultural, economic and educational ties with 27 cities around the globe.Thus, Aalborg has the most twin cities in Denmark. Every four years Aalborg gathers youth from the majority of its twin cities for a week of sports games, known as Ungdomslegene (The Youth Games).There are 4 city names shown on this stamp:
Karlskoga, Sweden
Fredrikstad, Norway
Húsavík, Iceland
Riihimäki, Finland

The 3.00k stamp was issued in 1987 commemorating Ribe Cathedral redecoration from 1982-1987,by Carl-Henning Petersen,showing fresco in the cathedral.Carl-Henning Petersen was a Danish painter and a key member of the COBRA movement. He was known as the "Scandinavian Chagall", and was one of the leading Danish artists of the second half of the 20th century.

The 2.70k stamp was issued in 1984 commemorating 300th birth anniversary of Ludvig Holberg.

Ludvig Holberg (1684–1754) was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano-Norwegian double monarchy, who spent most of his adult life in Denmark. He was influenced by Humanism, the Enlightenment and the Baroque. Holberg is considered the founder of modern Danish and Norwegian literature,and is best known for the comedies he wrote in 1722–1723 for the theatre in Lille Grønnegade in Copenhagen. Holberg's works about natural and common law were widely read by many Danish law students over two hundred years, from 1736 to 1936.




#542 Myanmar...Thanks Thitar!


This stamp was issued on Jan.04,2011 celebrating the 63rd Independence Day of Myanmar.

The British controlled the country from 1826 until 1948, when it was granted independence. The country’s name was changed from Burma to the Union of Myanmar in 1989 to reflect that the population is made up not just of the Burmese but of many other ethnic groups as well.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

#541 Russia...Thanks Vladimir!

#540 Norway


The nice s/s is the 2010 Norwegian The North by the Sea - Life at the Coast issue whose subject is the processing of stockfish.

This preservation method, which has been making a distinctive contribution to Norway’s food culture for generations, is one of the oldest ways of preserving food that we know of. The Vikings took stockfish with them on their raids and used it to barter for commodities they took home with them.

This ancient way of preserving fish requires only a low temperature and cool winds, but not so cold that the fish freezes. It is this balance that makes the climate in North Norway ideal for stockfish production. Although about 70per cent of the water content is lost during drying, the nutritional value is retained. Stockfish is thus a healthy food, rich in proteins, iron, calcium and vitamin B.

Before they are hung up to dry, the fish are split along the spine and tied together two and two at the tail. After some months on the drying rack, they are taken indoors to mature in an airy environment for another 2-3 months. All that is left to do then is to press them together and pack them for sale and export. The bulk is exported to Italy and Africa. In Norway, stockfish is mostly used to make lutefisk (cod cured in lye), while Italians use it in a variety of dishes.

As far back as sources go stockfish has been part of Norway’s trading history. Stockfish was a dominant export product for many hundreds of years and vital to settlement and development in the north. Today Norway tops the international stockfish market and stockfish from Lofoten is the most sought after. The climate in Lofoten is perfect for stockfish production and Tørrfisk fra Lofoten (Stockfish from Lofoten) is a protected designation of origin, placing it in the same class as Champagne and Parma Ham.

#539 Monaco...Thanks David!


The 0.87€ stamp was issued in 2007 commemorating the Centenary of the channel crossing by Louis Blériot.

Louis Blériot (1872–1936) was a French aviator, inventor and engineer. In 1909 he completed the first flight across a large body of water in a heavier-than-air craft, when he crossed the English Channel. For this achievement, he received a prize of GB£1000. He also is credited as the first person to make a working monoplane.Blériot was a pioneer of the sport of air racing.

#538 Austria...Thanks Stefan!


The 55c stamp on the first row was issued in 2007 for the movie Shrek III and the next 55c stamp was issued in 2005 for Madagascar,both of which are among the most popular cartoon movies.

The 55c stamp on the second row was issued in 2010 celebrating 50th Anniversary of the Founding of the Diocese of Eisenstadt.

The 15th of August 1960 was a significant date for Burgenland, for it was on this day that the then Pope, John XXIII, created the Diocese of Eisenstadt with his Bull “Magna quae”. However, this important step had been preceded by a long a varied history. Up to the end of the First World War, the area now covered by the Diocese was part of Hungary and administered by the Diocese of Györ and Szombathely.

#537 Germany...Thanks Igor!

#536 Poland...Thanks Piotr!


The 3zt stamp is from 2010/09 Minerals of Poland issue showing chrysoprase.

Chrysoprase is a gemstone variety of chalcedony (a cryptocrystalline form of silica) that contains small quantities of nickel. Its color is normally apple-green, but varies to deep green. The darker varieties of chrysoprase are also referred to as prase.

The best known sources of chrysoprase are Queensland, Western Australia, Germany, Poland, Russia, Arizona, California, and Brazil. The chrysoprase and Ni silicate ore deposit in Szklary, Lower Silesia, Poland, was probably the biggest European chrysoprase occurrence and possibly also the biggest in the world.

#535 France...Thanks Fiquet!


This stamp shows a famous aircraft in World War I:Breguet 14.

The Breguet 14 was a French biplane bomber and reconnaissance aircraft of World War I. It was built in very large numbers and production continued for many years after the end of the war. Apart from its widespread usage, it was noteworthy for becoming the first aircraft in mass production to use large amounts of metal rather than wood in its structure. This allowed the airframe to be lighter than a wooden airframe of the same strength, in turn making the aircraft very fast and agile for its size, able to outrun many of the fighters of the day. Its strong construction was able to sustain much damage, it was easy to handle and had good performance. The Breguet 14 is often considered one of the best aircraft of the war.

#534 Brazil...Thanks Daniel!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

#533 Costa Rica...Thanks Federico!


The 225c stamp was issued in 2009 for Diplomatic Relations with Switzerland.

The two 135c stamp is 2009 UPAEP:Traditional Games issue illustrating Bolinchas and Papalotes (kites).

You could view the play of Bolinchas at here.

#532 Romania...Thanks Calin!


The 40 Bani stamp is from 2007 Wild Ducks and Geese issue illustrating Lesser White-fronted Goose.

The Lesser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus) is a goose closely related to the larger White-fronted Goose (A. albifrons).It breeds in northernmost Asia, but it is a scarce breeder in Europe.

The Lesser White-fronted Goose winters further south in Europe and is a rare winter vagrant to Great Britain.

The two white-fronted goose species differ little other than in size (the Lesser, at 53–66 cm length and with a 120–135 cm wingspan, is not much bigger than a Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) but both may be readily distinguished from the Greylag Goose by their bright orange legs and their mouse-coloured upper wing-coverts. The Greylag Goose has the bill and legs flesh-coloured, and the upper wing-coverts of a bluish-grey.

Both white-front species have a very conspicuous white face and broad black bars which cross the belly.

Adult Lesser White-fronted Geese, as well as being smaller than White-fronted Geese, have an obvious yellow eye-ring, and the white facial blaze goes up to the crown.

Lesser White-fronted Goose is considered an endangered species, but there are programmes to reintroduce animals into the wild to strengthen the population. Additionally it is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

The 2.7L stamp is from 2007 Romanian Wild Orchids issue depicting Violet Limodore (Limodorum abortivum),which is a species of myco-heterotrophic, achlorophyllous orchid and the only member of genus Limodorum. It is native to Europe, especially the Mediterranean area.