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Putting one’s stamp on the role?
Reported at https://www.yahoo.com
Actress, Olivia Colman performed her very own royal heist.
The Oscar winner, who played Queen Elizabeth II on seasons three and four of Netflix's The Crown, managed to snag a special memento before she left Buckingham Palace behind for good.
The third season of The Crown opens with a shot of Olivia—in our first glimpse of her as the late Queen—admiring a new stamp design with her face on it.
"On my first day on The Crown, which was about the stamp incident," Olivia explained "there was an envelope on the desk and it was ‘To her Majesty, the Queen' and it had my face on a stamp."
Because The Crown is so keen on detail, Olivia means it was her actual face, as the Queen, on the stamp, not Elizabeth's.
After admiring the craftsmanship, Olivia revealed, "A lovely props person said, ‘I'm not allowed to do this, but take that.'"
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Coveting your neighbour’s marmot?
Reported at https://www.cbc.ca
The Vancouver Island marmot is to be featured on a U.S. postal stamp — one of a new collection featuring 20 endangered US species.
As its name would suggest, the marmot is found solely on Vancouver Island so it's puzzling, perhaps, that a U.S. institution would include it in an American collection.
Asked why this endangered Canadian species is featured on a U.S. postal stamp, the US Postal Services responded that the Vancouver Island marmot is a 'symbol of conservation' as one of the "world's most endangered animals."
"Its plight points to several key aspects of endangerment: It is affected by climate change, an abundance of predators, and by forestry practices within its small, isolated range," the USPS said.
According to British Columbian authorities, there were fewer than 30 marmots in 2003. Thanks to conservation efforts, more than 200 were counted in 2021.
The image for the stamp was taken by National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore, who is on a mission to photograph every endangered species around the globe, should they become extinct.
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Going down the rabbit hole in 2023
Reported at https://english.news.cn
2023 is a year of the Water Rabbit, starting from January 22nd, 2023 (Chinese New Year), and ending on February 9th, 2024. The sign of Rabbit is a symbol of longevity, peace, and prosperity in Chinese culture. 2023 is predicted to be a year of hope.
People born in a year of the Rabbit are believed to be vigilant, witty, quick-minded, and ingenious. Previous ’rabbit’ years are 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999 and 2011.
Here are a selection of this years’’ lunar new year issues:
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Going down memory lane in Ireland
Reported at https://www.meathchronicle.ie
One hundred years ago, on 6th December, the first Irish stamp, the well-known 2d green Map of Ireland stamp was issued by the newly independent Irish Post Office and Irish stamps have been charting the changing face of Ireland and Irish society ever since.
Last year, An Post issued an open call to artists to enter a stamp design competition, challenging them to mark the centenary with a piece of original art, which would appear on a national stamp. Over 100 professional artists responded. An independent judging panel selected Brian Gallagher and his stamp marking the centenary of the establishment of the Irish Free State takes its place among the 2022 national stamp programme.
The painting features various symbolic element: corncrakes emerging from a meadow – suggesting freedom/new beginnings; an old cracked tower house with frayed tricolour—signifying the long difficult road to some form of Irish independence and the already evident divisions caused by civil war, nationalism and unionism.
Saorstát Éireann (the Irish Free State) was established on 6th December 1922, under the terms of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty which ended the War of Independence.
Prior to Irish independence - and for a period afterwards - British stamps decorated with English monarchs and imperial iconography were used in Ireland. Control of the Postal system transferred from British to Irish authorities on 31st March 1922. From early 1922, these British designs were overprinted with text, "Rialtas Sealadach na hÉireann 1922" (Provisional Government of Ireland 1922) or "Saorstát Éireann 1922’, indicating an independent Irish postal system.
Interestingly, not everyone was a fan of the first Irish stamps. There was heated national debate about the proposed subject matter and a prominent artist described the stamps as ‘at once the humblest and ugliest in the world.’
There was also some debate over their ‘Írishness’ - the plates were struck in London, and there is dispute over whether its first printing occurred in Britain or Ireland.
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France goes digital
Reported at https://www.connexionfrance.com
The French postal service is to launch digital stamps in 2023 via its La Poste smartphone app.
The new system will allow people to write a unique code on letters to avoid having to buy physical stamps
The plan to digitise stamps is part of a wider €800million plan to modernise and digitise the post office as a whole in France.
Using the app, you can buy postage online and then receive a unique alphanumeric code.
You then write this code onto the envelope being sent.
The codes should be “sufficiently different to tolerate small reading errors and reduce the risk of fraud”, La Poste said, but it advised customers to be as accurate as possible when copying their codes onto letters to avoid the letter not being sent.
Germany has a digital dilemma
Reported at https://basic-tutorials.com
In 2008, Deutsche Post launched the mobile stamp. Recently the terms and conditions changed to state that these mobile stamps are only valid for 14 days. However, a limitation of the validity has now been challenged in court.
In 2020, the mobile stamp emerged from the former cell phone postage service of Deutsche Post. The postage for letters via SMS became a stamp via app. With the adjustment of postage costs, old Mobile stamps lost their validity on January 01, 2022, because the system could not be combined with the additional supplementary stamps.
At that time, a limitation of the validity to a period of 14 days was also introduced. “You will directly receive your code, which is valid for 14 days,” Deutsche Post instructed.
However, the Regional Court of Cologne has now ruled this restriction is invalid.
According to the law, claims arising from a sales contract become time-barred after three years.
The Post’s clause deviates from this “in an unacceptable manner”. After 14 days, the Post simply retains the money for postage codes that have already been paid for but not yet used, without providing anything in return.
Deutsche Post claimed that the limited validity of the mobile stamp was necessary due to the limited number of characters and to prevent abuse, which the judges said was not comprehensible.
The ruling is not yet legally binding pending an appeal by Deutsche Post.
Botswana goes crypto
Reported at https://botswanapost.post/
The first digital NFT stamps of BotswanaPost were released on stampsdaq.com on December 7th, 2022. The new stamps feature 5 stamps from the historic series "Five Decades' Favourite Stamps," which were issued by BotswanaPost in 2016 illustrating themes that reveal Botswana's environmental, cultural and historical heritage.
The digital stamps offer a bonus to collectors with a lifetime opportunity to win one or several unique annual real travel experiences to visit Botswana.
BotswanaPost is the third postal operator on stampsdaq.com offering its dedicated collectors real life benefits in addition to traditional collectable values. This is a paradigm shifting experience for stamps collectors. In short, for every 10 full points in the Country Collection Score, a collector gets a lifetime draw ticket to win 1 of the 4 annual exclusive trips to experience breath taking natural beauties of the amazing country of Botswana.
“The world is changing as we speak! We are contributing to this process by making stamp collecting experience more entertaining and rewarding for the collectors,” said the CEO of Stampsdaq.
“Travelling through stamps has always been virtual for the philatelists, in reality all of them would love the opportunity to travel to those places they mentally visit when going through their stamp collections. Through this offering, we make it possible for them.”
The new NFT stamps will be minted on Polygon blockchain in five (5) rarity tiers – Common (10000), Rare (1000), Super Rare (100), Ultra Rare (10) and Unique (1), each with unique digital art animations.
The national postal operator aims to tokenize into NFT format its entire historic philatelic collection as well as issue new NFT stamps in the near future.
Stampsdaq is an EU-based NFT company founded in 2021 and exclusively dedicated to cooperating with designated postal operators worldwide. It’s recently launched platform for NFT Stamps is designed to bridge the interests of postal operators and the global community of collectors.
Curacao goes crypto
Reported at https://www.thenewsmarket.com
Cpost International, the official designated postal operator of Curacao (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands), decided to step in the NFT stamps business by signing an exclusive agreement with an EU-based NFT company Stampsdaq.
The aim is to create a more entertaining, engaging and rewarding environment with real life benefits both for country’s existing as well as new stamp collectors. Cpost is joining three other postal operators who already are on Stampsdaq in efforts to develop common, philately dedicated digital stamps ecosystem.
“Curacao’s philatelic history is quite old. The first postage stamps were issued in 1873 and since then our stamp issues has always been welcomed by philatelists around the world,” said the CEO of Cpost International. “However, as it is commonly known, traditional philately is aging fast. With digital NFT stamps, we see an opportunity to rejuvenate the interest especially from a younger generation.“
“We are truly excited to have Cpost International joining stampsdaq.com! This partnership brings a jewel to our program,” said the CEO of Stampsdaq. “Stamp collecting is one of the oldest collectible hobbies in the world, with close to 1000000 unique stamp motifs issued by postal operators since 1840. With NFT tech enabling true digital ownership, this vast philatelic heritage will transform into a digital form allowing unique collector experiences.”
The first Curacao NFT stamps scheduled for release on stampsdaq.com in January 2023.
Trinidad & Tobago go festive
Reported at https://newsday.co.tt
At a ceremony at TTPost's National Mail Centre, the managing director said TTPost was celebrating a major milestone – the unveiling of its stamp to mark 60 years of independence.
“Trinidad and Tobago: one nation; discipline, production tolerance. Together we aspire, together we achieve. These words speak of a nation progressing effectively as one people.
The four stamps – $1, $2.50, $3.75 and $5.25 – each have a watermarked background of the national flag with a silver diamond to represent 60 years.
The stamps celebrate the health care system, sustainable agricultural system, national growth and future prosperity.
A Christmas miracle?
Reported at https://www.mirror.co.uk
Bev Hamer and her sisters were given their late father's stamp collection after he passed away and spent almost 20 years looking for a missing £400 Christmas stamp.
The festive stamp was not part of the collection when it was handed over and its whereabouts remained a mystery for decades.
That was until Bev and her husband Jon Hamer discovered it in a toolbox – still in mint condition.
The retired couple, both 62, had the stamp authenticated are now planning to auction it.
"It was amazing that we found it, and then the authentication was the justification for looking for it in the first place," Jon said.
The stamp's design is based on the story of Good King Wenceslas and shows three figures inside a gold castle.
However, this particular stamp has no gold featured - making it a collector's item.
Bev's father, Mr Anthony Gooch, first saw it in 1973 and, noticing the misprint, added it to his collection.
The stamp remained missing until 2021 when Bev's mother, Edna Gooch, also passed away, and Bev and her sisters took on the task of sorting through their parents' home.
And the winner is…Slovakia
Reported at https://www.mzv.sk/en/web/en
Ladislav Bielik's “Bare-Chested Man in Front of Occupiers’ Tank” is not only a famous picture listed among 100 Photographs That Changed the World by Life Magazine. The photo was turned into a Slovakian postage stamp and in 2019 it won several awards at the NexoFil Best Stamp in the World competition in Madrid.
In fact, the Slovenská pošta postal service received a record number of awards, not just in that year, proving that Slovak postage stamps belong among the most beautiful in the world.
For Slovak collectors and artists, December 18 has become the day they evaluate the last twelve months and give out awards to philatelists and creators.
The day continues the tradition of the Czechoslovak Day of the Postage Stamp, which was celebrated until 1992 as the commemoration of the very first Czechoslovak postage stamps created by Alfons Mucha and issued on December 18, 1918.
Slovak postage stamps have received many awards and gold medals, including for the most beautiful stamps, before a record number in 2019, and continue to do so to this today. In fact, Slovenská pošta has just recently received a gold medal at the Cape Town International Stamp Exhibition 2022.
Slovakia is one of the few countries that actively foster the talent of its artists in philatelic design.
And the winner is …The Vatican
Reported at https://www.linns.com
A Vatican City stamp commemorating the centenary of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart won the St. Gabriel award for the best religious stamp of 2021. The award was presented to the stamp’s designer, Marco Ventura this year in Italy.
While many previous winners of this award created in 1969 depict images of saints or angels, this Vatican commemorative features a building; the facade of the ancient monastery of St. Ambrose designed by Bramante (1444-1514) is shown on the left side of the stamp.
The building was purchased by the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in 1927and adapted with the Christ the King sculpture by Giannino Castiglioni (1884-1971) placed in the niche above the balcony.
Shown on the right side of the stamp is an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus inspired by the painting by Lodovico Pogliaghi (1857-1950) placed in the heart of the university’s chapel, a reproduction of which is given to all students upon graduation.
The stamp design is completed by a book, which represents knowledge enlightened by faith, and a parchment, a symbol of the academic degree achieved.
And the winner is….Croatia
Reported at www.croatiaweek.com
A postage stamp with the motif of the Pula Arena was declared the most beautiful stamp at a competition from the Association of Postal Operators of Mediterranean Countries.
The award was received in the Egypt on behalf of the Croatian Post by the Cultural Advisor of the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Egypt.
The postage stamp with the motif of the Pula Arena was created in cooperation with PUMed, and this year’s theme was the ancient cities of the Mediterranean. The author of the stamp with a nominal value of HRK 12.30 is Dean Roksandić, a designer from Zagreb.
The Union of Postal Operators of Mediterranean Countries consists of 19 countries, and Croatian Post joined in 2015.
Since then, seven more postage stamps have been issued on common themes and with motifs characteristic of the Croatian part of the Mediterranean.
Niagara for the ages
Reported at https://www.insauga.com
Niagara Falls has been an image on Canadian postage stamps far less than most would think, given that the natural wonder is Canada’s leading tourist destination.
The one that generates the most interest – and present-day value – is the 1935 Canadian 20-cent stamp. As the average letter cost three cents in those days, a 20 cent stamp could have covered a small parcel. A quick glance on eBay shows this particular stamp is selling for anywhere from $5 to well over $400.
This stamp itself, designed by Herman Herbert Schwartz and engraved by Arthur C. Vogel, shows a view of Niagara Falls with the Canadian Horseshoe Falls as the centre of interest.
The next two Niagara Falls stamps are far more recent. In 2003, the Canada Post Office issued a large series of stamps, showing iconic scenery from across the country. In that sheet with a number of different images, Niagara Falls was just one in a series of five.
And finally, there is a Canadian stamp issued in 2009 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Boundary Waters Treaty. The 54-cent stamp, has two blended images, depicting Niagara Falls on the U.S. side and the Horseshoe Falls at night.
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