Theme : Esperanto 12

In april 1945, while Europe was still under the destructive influence of the second world war, a peace loving, universal congress took place at the other side of the world, in Brazil.

Rio de Janeiro, hosted the 10th Brazilian Esperanto congress, from April 14 till April 22.
On the occasion of this event, two stamps were issued, a 40 cent green stamp and a brown 1.20 cruzeiros stamp for airmail.

Brazil 1945 - 1.20  Cr. and 40 cent

This letter sent to an address in Brazil, didn't need the extra rate for air mail, but the value was good to send the letter by express service.

Express sending cancel

Letters sent by esperantists often show some extra labels, stickers, or even drawings of topic-related items.
For this 10th Brazilian congress, a rubber stamp printing was used, depicting L.L. Zamenhof 

rubber stamp cancel 'Zamenhof'

Often are those extra decorations in green, as shown above. The cover in my collection has the same decoration twice, once in green, once in the uncommon colour red.

The text, surrounding the image of L.L. Zamenhof says : "Rio de Janeiro - Brazil - 10th Brazilian Congress of esperantists - April 1945"

The back of the cover shows another cancel, from the day of arrival, April 17, 1945.
The cover was sent on the 1st day of issue of the two stamps. Most likely, a special post office was in office during the Esperanto congress.

1st day cover 16 april 1945 Brazil

to be continued ...

The world of Mujand (fantasy notes) - 03 c Andaqesh (Lothandizia)

We continue our journey through the world of Blissdane Naïve, and stay on the Lothandizia continent, for the next country: Andaqesh.

Andaqesh (Lothandizia)

The notes in this set (7) are notes 024 - 030. (Serie D - 2014).

Each note has a reference to a time related word : "Tempo, passato, presente, futuro, eternita, realta, fantasia"... or Time, past, present, future, eternity, reality, fantasy...

Andaqesh city is 'the birth place of time travel', and so it is written on their notes : "Luogo di Nascita del Viaggio nel Tempo". No need to say that inspiration was found in Italy.
Despite this, they could not prevent some inflation of their currency, as the denominations start at 1000 finto and ends in 500,000 finto. ('Finto' is italian for 'fake, false').

7 notes with high denomitations

 1,000 - 5,000 and 10,000 Finto

25,000 and 50,000 Finto

100,000 and 500,000 Finto

Andaqesh nation was named after their ruler : Queen Anya Qesh, therefore the bank's name is Qeshing Bank (or is it Cashing bank?).

Not much hidden texts on these notes, but a wise lesson for life on the back of each note :
To save time is to lengthen life ....

back side of Andaqesh notes

to be continued...

The world of Mujand (fantasy notes) - 03 b Kuninganna (Lothandizia)

We continue our story on Lothandizia, where we find the Kuningana Territory.
Kuninganna happens to mean Queen in Estonian.

Kuninganna Territory

This territory issued 8 notes,from 5 till 1000 Fusto. An 'uncommon currency' according the notes.
5 -10 and 25 Fusto. They represent notes 039 to 046 in the set.

 50 - 100 and 200 Fusto

and 500 - 1000 Fusto

On the front side of each note, we see a girl harvesting.

The left border shows a word, that is repeated on some notes: Talv, Pööripäev, Kevad, Pööripäev, Suvi, Pööripäev, Sügis and once more Pööripäev.
The same words can be found under the denomintation, together with the text : "Vilja Koristama".
"Vilja Koristama" = to harvest the fruit.

5 Fusto with 'Vilja Koristama Talv'

The harvesting images reveal that these notes are related to the seasons. And with some knowledge of the Estonian language, we can find out that it represents:  Winter - equinox - Spring - solstice - Summer - equinox - Autumn - solstice

border text on the Kuninganna notes 5 - 1000

Even without knowledge of the Estonian language, the translation in English, of the above terms, are hidden on the notes.

The script lettertype makes it hard to read, but with some effort, you can read it:

8 Kuninganna notes referring to the seasons

A solstice is a bi-annual astronomical event, around June 21 and December 21, when the Sun's apparent position in the sky reaches its northernmost or southernmost extremes.

An equinox is a bi-annual astronomical event, around 20 March and 23 September. It is the moment at which the center of the visible Sun is directly above the equator.

table of equinoxes / solstices on Earth - picture Wikipedia

In the table above, we see the equinoxes and solstices on Earth... Info on the same events on Blissdane Naïve, were not availble on wikipedia.org.

to be continued...

Theme : Zodiac signs 19

Liechtenstein, the small nation squeezed in between Switzerland and Austria, has a rich history of high quality stamps.
Especially in Europe, lots of collectors (used to) collect Liechtenstein as an addition to their own country, as the stamps were interesting, and highly in demand.
Nowadays Liechtenstein is not that 'hot' anymore, but still worth collecting.

This post, is a joined issue of 1976, 1977 and 1978.
In each year, 4 stamps were emitted, from a set of 12 zodiac signs.

12 zodiac signs, issued in 1976-1978

Each stamp had a different face value, but some values (like 80 cents) were used twice.

The design is very colourful and artistic, and depics the western zodiac signs.
Often, Liechtenstein emits engraved stamps, unfortunately these sets were not engraved, but still they are among my favourite zodiac signs.

0-euro notes : 0 d. Introduction

Some extra remarks on the serial numbers:

Austria has Euro notes starting with N. The 0-euro notes therefore also start with NE.
In 2017 a 0-euro note was emitted with XELH.... X is the letter for Germany

From 2018 on, new notes get a serial number with a logic sequence, for example Finand: L(E)...
Notes start with LE AA, LE AB, LE AC, ...
I's and O's are not used to avoid confusion with 1's and 0's, so it goes from LE AH to LE AJ and from LE AN to LE AP.
This is often the case, for example Mexican  notes don't have I's and O's in serial numbers either.

Before 2018, Seral numbers start with rather random codes (Finland 2017 : LE PZ...)

Most notes were printed on 5,000 or 10,000 copies.
In few exceptions, there are less, sometimes there are 20,000 30,000 or even 35,000 copies.
If a design is reprinted, the date will show 2019 - 2 (second printing).
Some French notes were reprinted 6 times so far.

In some cases the numbering adds up, despites the fact that the design is not the same.
One example is a set of notes issued by the Zoo of Duisburg (Germany).
The title of each note is : ZOO DUISBURG, therfore the numbering adds up (since the depicted theme remains the same), on the note however, we see different animals on the different notes in the set.

Zoo Duisbrug 2017 - 3

Zoo Duisbrug 2017 - 4

Zoo Duisburg 2017 - 5

Another remark goes for some special sets, like the set that was issued for the Wold Soccer championship in 2018.
Several counties which participated at the Soccer Worl Cup, issued a 0-euro note.
In the titel we see the country name (so each note has a different 'title)' and a different image of a player and a typical artefact from the home country.
The code next to the flag adds up :

2018 - 7 - DK

2018 - 8 - JP

2018 - 31 - TN

This is a special edition of the 0-euro note.

To be complete, some notes were also issued on polymere paper.
These are issued in different amounts (2017 copies) and all have a serial number starting with UE ...CO... regardless the country.

Polymere note : marked 'collector 2017'

serial numbers UE ... CO ......

And finally, some blank or perforated notes exist too.
These notes are issued with 'specimen' as perforation, and don't bare an image at the front side.

To be continued...

0-euro notes : 0 c. Introduction

As last part of my 'introduction' to 0-euro notes, I can show you the 2018 catalog of those notes.

The 1st edition of the catalogue was issued in 2018, and has over 400 pages in colour.
Each note has a description of what is depicted, serial number and issue number is mentioned, and explained.

The catalogue 'value' of each note is an indication of the rarity and the demand on the market for each note.
A 2019 issue of a Turkish 0-euro note with the image of Kemal Attatürk and his mausoleum, was sold out so fast, that prices reach up to € 60 - € 70 per copy!
Luckily, most notes are available for € 3 / € 4 / € 5 each (3.5 - 5.5 USD)

A list of 0-euro issuing countries (situation end 2019) :

to be continued...

0-euro notes : 0 b. Introduction

Similar to Euro coins, each 0-euro note has a common size, which is common for all notes:

On the 2015 (first) notes, only French buildings were depicted, as only French subject were on the front of each note.

2015 version (French buildings only)

Here we find also the Eiffel tower ....
Pont du Gard (close to Nîmes, Uzès and Avignon) - oldest bridge of France (1st century A.D.)
Mont Saint Michel (Bretagne)
Cathedral of Reims (Reims)

In 2016, the notes were issued in other countries and the design became 'European'

2016 version (European buildings)

It depicts several famous European buildings - how many of them can you recognise and where are they located?

Big Ben (London - United Kingdom)
Brandenbruger Tor (Berlin - Germany)
Collosseum (Rome - Italy)
Eiffel Tower (Paris - France)
Sagrada Familia (Barcelona - Spain)
Manneke Pis statue (Brussels - Belgium)
Mona Lisa (Italy / Louvre Paris France)

Finally in 2017 - because of the Brexit, the design was renewed, and the Big Ben was replaced by another monument ...
Belém Tower (Lissabon - Portugal)

2017 and later version (European buildings)

Besides the 3 different designs at the back of the notes (design A, B and C)
There is also a small difference on the front of the designs :

Design A has extra marks on the border of the note.The notes have a minimum issue of 5,000 copies each, but mostly printed in 10,000 copies.

Some subject were/are so popular, that the topics are reprinted the next year.
On the front of the notes, we find the year of issue, followed by the number of the issue.
Same designs that are repeated, get a '2' or '3' (or higher) behind the year.
A '1' means there is only one version, or this note is the first issued version.

2017 issue - version 1

2018 issue - version 2

2017 issue - version 3

The 0-Euro note of Napoléon I, exists in 3 printings, with 3 different reverse sides.

On the front, the topics started with historical building, famous events or people, but was soon commerialised, and theme parks, cultural heritage, rulers, and even private events were chosen.
You can have your own notes printed, but there is a minimum of 5,000 copies, which will cost you between 5,000 and 10,000 euro (design not included)...
In return you'll get your own 'banknotes', worth at least ... 0 Euro.

to be continued ...

0-euro notes : 0 a. Introduction

Although postal services do their utmost to innovate and deliver high quality stamps (with lots of extra's), snail mail is not that cool anymore.
Stamp collecting - unfortunately - isn't florishing among youngsters and starting up a collection is not easy. Year sets nowadays cost a fortune, and only the patient ones (or the rich) can afford a complete collection.

Banknotes and coins are as interesting to collect, but with electronic payment methods, even  'cash money' is dissapearing from daily life. When Europe switched to Euro-currency, all national currencies dissapeared and along with it, also the wide variety in banknotes and coins.
Luckily the 2-euro coins opened a new range of collecting possibilities;

Since 2015 a new collectors' item has seen daylight.

What started as a way to promote touristic locations in France, soon became a new way to attract collectors and touristic sites. The 0-euro banknote was born.
Face value is ... 0, a piece of paper that promotes a touristic site or event, such as the Eiffel tower, the Pisa tower, the Sagrada Familia ....

These collective notes with themes from all over Europe are often made in a limited edition (5.000 or 10.000). The notes are printed at the official Euro bank note printers and contain all the usual elements and security features of the euro notes.
The designer of the original Euro notes is also the man behind the 0-euro notes, the Austrian designer Robert Kalina.

Robert Kalina - picture ECB

Every year, new sites are added, new countries are joining, and even previous issues are being re-issued.
Before I go deeper into some specific notes, a small overview of returning items on each note.

Nearly each note has a European flag in the design.
Those notes are printed in Europe (even those from China, Canada, USA ...)

0 euro note France

0 euro note Vatican city

0 euro note USA

 One exception ... the 0-euro notes printed in Switzerland have a Swiss flag.

Since the notes are printed by the official banknote printers, they bare the same serial number system as the euro notes.
see my previous post : https://rainbowstampsandcoins.blogspot.com/2012/08/banknotes-security-marks-2b-part-2.html

U : France

S : Italy (here Vatican City)

For countries outside the Euro-zone, another land code is used :

Swiss serial number (CH ...)

Chinese serial number (CN ...)

Peru serial number (PR ...)

to be continued...