Odd stamps : 10 e Stamps on/in wood or cork

As mentioned in my previous post, Spain issued two wooden stamps in 2020.

The stamp issued by Correos, dedicated to the elm tree, is printed on wood paper in the form of a cut trunk where its rings can be seen, which not only give information as to the age of the tree, but also details about the kind of life it has led.

Spanish wooden stamp 2020

Inside, an image of the elm tree is cut out.

real elm tree

The stamp mentions Cabeza de Buey, which means Ox head, and is also a muncipiality in Badajoz, Extremaduro in Spain.  This small city is known for its 100 year old elm trees.

Similar to the odd stamp, a cancellation postmark was issued for the first day of issue.

Cancellation 1st day of issue

Odd stamps : 10 d Stamps on/in wood or cork

Stamps made out of wood or cork, are still very exceptional.
Yet, in 2020, Spain issued 2 wooden stamps!

The first one is a rectangular stamp, printed on a thin layer of wood.
It shows the image of Miguel López de Legazpi, a Spanish 16th century navigator, who colonized parts of the Philipine Islands.
On his expedition from the Viceroyalty of New Spain (Spanish colonisation of Mexico), he crossed the Pacific Ocean and landed in Cebu, Philippines. The Philippines, were already 'discovered' in 1642, but López de Legazpi became the first Governor-General of what they called the Spanish East Indies.

Miguel López de Legazpi

Legazpi is the capital city of the Alby province in the Philippines, known for the Mayon vulcano.

Mayon vulcano near Legazpi - city

de Legazpi died in 1572 in the - now - historic Spanish district of Manila, Intra Muros.

Intra Muros (Manila) on my trip in 2008

In the same place, but in 1896, José Rizal, symbol of the Philippines independence and national hero, was killed by the Japanese occupation. The footsteps, marked on the floor, shows the last walk to the execution place.

Unfortunately,  this wonderful country has been subject to many occupations throughout the last 5 centuries.

Odd stamps : 10 c Stamps on/in wood or cork

It has been a while, but this is my second post on wooden stamps. (third one on wood/cork)
So far they are still rare.
Switzerland issued a stamp on wood in 2014. It's an auto-adhesive stamp, protected by a peel-off foil.

5 swiss francs - 2014 - wooden stamp

The stamp is half a milimeter thick, what allows it still to be placed on a letter for acutal use.
Unfortunately few will have been put in circulation,
The issued stamp of 5 Swiss francs, is 5 times more expensive that the stamps for regular letters.
Probably it can be found as CTO.
Catalogue Michel rates it equal for mint or postally used.

More to come :-)

Odd stamps : 10 a Stamps on/in wood or cork

You can hardly imagine the types of material can be used for stamps.
This 10th subitem is dedicated to stamps made out of wood or cork.

For the first article, I am taking you to Africa, to the republic of Djibouti.
Djibouti is a small country, in the Horn of Africa (North East).
When this part of Africa was colonised in the 19th century, the whole area was divided between the French, the Italian and the British.
The French, who claimed the most northern part of Somalia, renamed the area into Afars and Issas, until it became independent in 1977 and was renamed into Djibouti.

Stamps of Djibouti are hardly amongst the most wanted stamps in the world, (except maybe those from Afars and Issas). The ones you will find are most likely to be CTO (cancelled to order).
Nevertheless, fort this item on wooden stamps, this is a very special issue...

Djibouti block 2 - CTO

The sheet above and below are printed on a thin wooden plate (0,2 mm). At the back there is glue like a sticker, protected by a paper foil.
Although both blocks are cancelled, the paper foil at the back is not removed, which means both block were never postally used.

Djibouti block 6 - CTO

Djibouti block 6 - back side

Block 2 was issued in 1983, block 6 in 1987.
Catalogue price (Yvert) for both blocks is around € 50.

to be continued...