Collecting : my collection 02a

As I just welcomed the 5.000 th visitor, I think it's time to post more about my own collection.
For those who read the first articles about 'my collection', I tried to explain the 'logic' I'm putting in my collection, using different colours for putting an order in my countries.
This isn't for no reason.
The colours are connected to the albums I use for my stamps, banknotes and coins.


As I took 'blue' for all European countries, this is reflected in my stamp, coins and banknote albums:

Davo Albums (Europe - MNH)

Davo Albums (Europe - MNH)

Davo Albums (Berlin - MNH)

Davo Albums (Berlin - MNH) - detail)

Davo Albums (Berlin - MNH) - detail)

For my cancelled collection, I don't use the 'expensive' DAVO albums.
I just use stockbooks.
Again blue for Europe, the other colours for the other continents :

Stockbooks - Europe - Cancelled

The whole set of (already sorted out) albums.

to be continued

Microstates : 17 Hiiumaa (bogus)

Before you think that my collection only consist out of 'fake' stamps, I want to assure you, that's not the case.
I'm bringing a lot of 'fakes' or 'cinderellas' under your attention, but believe me, it's just a fraction of my collection and altough it's in the picture here, it's not the main topic I collect.

In this post, I bring you to one of the Baltic states, Estonia.
Estonias postal history started in 1919 and was interrupted from 1920 to 1991, when the Soviet regime took over the country during the occupation.
It's the smallest of the 3 Baltic states, but the language isn't baltic, but part of the Finno-Ugric language familiy (so more related to Finnish and even Hungarian). 

Estonia - Hiiuma in yellow

Hiiumaa island

Next to the mainland, Estonia has 2 large islands, Saaremaa and the smaller Hiiumaa.
Hiiumaa (also the name of the province, formed by Hiiumaa island and Kassari island), has about 10.000 inhabitats. The name is derived from the two estonian words 'Hiid' (holy wood) and 'maa' (land), and it's clear that this island is known for it's forrest. The capital city of the island is Kärdla, on the northern side of the island.

Flag of Hiiumaa

Being a real island, with sufficient inhabitants, it could have been possible that a local postal service was erected, like the UK did in Guernsey, Alderney or Jersey. Unfortunatly, there's no real separate, local post on the island, so the 'stamps' from Hiiumaa are nothing more then nice cinderellas.

Again, we'll find a lot of thematic images on the labels.

sheet of Hiiumaa

detail

Brazil : 02b Early issues - transition to the republic

The last set of stamps before Brazil became a republic, were emitted between 1884 and 1888.

The emperor isn't shown in this set anyomore.
In the previous post, I showed the stamps with a number in a circle.
There are also other designs in this small set.
On one stamp, the Southern Cross ( Lat : Crux ) is shown.
It is the smallest of all 88 constellations. But of course that's not the reason why it's printed on this brazilian set of stamps. This constellation is visible in the Southern Hemisphere and it's visible for Brazilians.
Next to the Southern Cross, also the emperial crown and the Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro are depicted in this series. There are also 2 stamps where a number is printed in a square.

100 reis

The 100 reis stamp is a stamp with the number 100 in a square. There are two versions, quite easily to recognise.
The first stamp was emitted in 1885, and shows a white number on a dark field.
Under the square, you can see horizontal and vertical lines

Scott Br 0092

detail BR Scott 0092

The second version appeared in 1888 and has a coloured number on a white field.
Here the field under the sqare is filled with dots in stead of lines.

Scott BR 0096

detail Scott BR 0096

500 reis

On the 500 reis (1887) the emperial crown is depiced.
Dom Pedro II remained head of state till the a small military group took over power in 1889.
This emperial crown is the last 'emperial' stamp in this set.
The catalogues only mention one type, but I found those 2 colour variations.
It might have been the result of exposure to the sun or a chemical reaction, but for your pleasure, I'm posting both images.

Scott BR 0095 - olive

Scott BR 0095 - yellowish olive

1000 reis

One of the most famous landmarks of Rio de Janeiro is the Sugarloaf Mountain.
It is in the design of the 1000 reis stamp, and the key value of this set.
The picture of the Sugarloaf Mountain is only a small part of the stamp.

Scott BR 0098

300 reis

I have kept the 300 reis stamp as the last one to post, because there are more similar stamps issued later.
(see future posts).
As I mentionned earlier, here the constellation of the Southern Cross is depicted. This design was slightly modified for the first set of stamps issued in newly formed republic, in 1890.

For this issue of 1887, large stars are shown in a circle.
The background is filled with horizontal lines, and the stamp is printed in dark ultramarin blue.

Scott BR 0094

Brazil : 02a Early issues - transition to the republic

Emperor Don Pedro II ruled over Brasil until 1889, when the army took over power.
In the last years of his reign, a set of stamps were issued without the image of the emperor.

There are several designs in this set.
The first design is quite simple, a number in a circle.
But there's more to discover than you would expect.

20 Reis

The 20 reis stamp came in two versions.
The first issued stamp (1884) is in dark green, also called 'russian green'.
Although it's not an expensive stamp, I only have a damaged copy.

Scott BR 0087

A similar stamp was emitted in 1887 in olive to yellowish-olive. This stamp is a bit cheaper, but there's something about the stamp that makes it a valuable variation.

Under the 20, the "R"  of reis is shown.
In the 1887 version, there is a "dot" in the "R". Although also an 'undotted' version exists.
The catalogues warn us, as only genuine stamps with a certificate (and without a dot of course) are to be trusted.

I discovered a both a dotted as an undotted R in my collection, but since there's no according certificate, I can't tell for sure if it's a variation or a forged reprint. Above that, the cancel on the stamp makes it less easy to get a closer look on the stamp.
Luckily, a scanner and a computer made it easier for me...

Scott BR 0087a var?

Scott BR 0087a with a dot

Right is the 'normal' one, with the dot.
Let's have a closer look :

without dot?

with dot

comparing positions

The 1884 (bluish green) has no dot. With chemicals it is possible to turn it into an undotted olive green version. The 'undotted' 1887 version has a value up to 8 times the value of a stamp with dot.
The stamp I have might be a fake one, but therefore I need to let it examined by an expert.

50 Reis

Similar to the 20 reis stamp,  a 50 reis stamp was emitted in 1887.
This stamp is ultramarin blue. The number 50 and the "R", are coloured on a white field.

Scott BR 0093

700 Reis

For the 700 reis the circle around the number is more like a flower.
Together with the 1000 reis, this is a key value for the whole set.  (for the mint stamps, the 1000 reis and the 'dotted' 20 reis are the key values).

Unfortunatly, my copy of the 700 reis is damaged as well. Nevertheless I'm posting it, so you can all have a look at this nice violet stamp that was emitted in October 1888.

Scott BR 0097 - damaged

Microstates : 16 Eynhallow (bogus)

The neverending story continues...

For a change, let's go to Scotland. I really like the Scottish, and they have a beautiful coutry, but when it comes to stamps ...

Eynhallow is an uninhabited island off the north coast of Scotland. It is part of the Orkney Islands, but is privately owned and is currently a bird sanctuary. 

Orkney Island - Northern Scotland

Eynhallow at the western side of Rousay (main island)

The stamps of Eynhallow have no postal validity within the UK and thus attract postage due charges if used without current UK stamps.

As for most cinderellas of that region, (and cinderellas in general) the main topics on the 'stamps' are nature, transport, historic figures and so on.

I recently got some sheets with those cinderellas and they are all showing ships. Although no philatelic value, theme collectors seems to be attracted to them, as an additional asset to their collection.

Eynhallow labels

Eynhallow labels

Eynhallow labels

Theme : Volkswagen Beetle - 16

After the split of the former republic of Yugoslavia, many countries were formed. (See post 15 in this series)
One of them is the beautiful country of Kroatia.

They made me very happy in 2008, when they issued a special stamp, dedicated to my beloved car.
I was lucky to get not only the stamp, but also a label and a tab!
3 for the price of one...

Kroatia - 2008 - Volkswagen stamp, label and tab

As you can see in the detail below, similar to Serbian language, a beetle is also called 'Buba'.

The word 'Buba' was replaced, because this was actually a very special beetle that was used for the design of this stamp...
You might have remarked the gold colour of the Beelte.

Kroatian stamp - detail

This isn't an ordinary one, but the 1.000.000 th Beetle!
After the Allied Forces restarted the factory in Wolfsburg, after the second World War, the Beetle became more and more successful. Less then 10 years later, in 1955 the millionth car was produced in Wolfsburg.

1 million people in the pic? or 1.000.000th Volkswagen Beetle?

1 millionth Volkswagen Beetle indeed!

For this special occasion, the car was put into a gold colour.
The car can be seen at the new 'Autostadt' in Wolfsburg, Germany.
I was lucky already to see the car myself.

1 millionth Beetle, now in Autostadt, Wolfsburg, Germany

Who could ever have guessed that many years later, the Volkswagen Beelte would even celebrate the 20.000.000 th Beetle, and had become the worldwide most sold car ever!

Microstates : 15 Turkish Cyprus

The Turkish Republic of Northern-Cyprus is the northern part of the island Cyprus, in the Mediterranian Sea.

On the mainly island, the majority of the population was and is Greek.
In the early 1970's, the (Greek) habitants of the island were seeking 'enosis', unifining with Greece.
This idea was supported by the greek gouvernment at that time, but against the will of the Turkish minority in the northern part of the island.

In 1974 the Turks occupied the northern part of the country and in 1983 the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus declared itself independent.
Only Turkey recognised the new state, and although Bangladesh and Pakistan initially did the same, they redraw their support after pressiure from the United States.

As for now, the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus is thus only recognised by Turkey, and not by any other country. In this view, the stamps aren 't recognised either, and can be called 'locals', or 'labels for political use'.

However, this summer, a friend of mine went to Cyprus and visited both sides of the island.
He even sent me a postcard from the Northern part (I guess it was sent over Turkey) and the postcard reached my place, cancelled without any problems.
So this means the stamps are valid for postal use.

Some stamps :

My postcard :

Postcard from TRNC

Cancel Turkish Northern Cyprus

Theme : Volkswagen Beetle - 15

I never knew that stamp collecting should be complicated, but for the next item, some additional information is needed.

I start my story in the First World War.
By the end of that war, the region I talking about was part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.
In 1918, the Union of Austria and Hungary is solved and next to both countries, other nations are formed.
One of them is the the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It was established on 1 December 1918 by the union of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and the Kingdom of Serbia (to which the Kingdom of Montenegro was annexed on 13 November 1918).
On 3 October 1929, the Kingdom was renamed into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. This remained until 1941, when it came under communist influence.

From 1943 to 1992 on this country changed it name several times.
1943 - 45 : Federal Democtatic Republic of Yugoslavia,
1945 - 63 : Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia,
1963 - 92 : Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia


The constituent six Socialist Republics and two Socialist Autonomous Provinces that made up the country were: SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SR Croatia, SR Macedonia, SR Montenegro, SR Slovenia and SR Serbia (including the autonomous provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo which after 1974 were largely equal to the other members of the federation.
This was the Yugoslavia know under Josip Broz (Tito)

Marchal Tito

From 1992 on, a lot of wars and declarations of Independencies result in a wide range of states :
Countries created from the former Yugoslavia:
A  =Adriatic Sea

Ok, I hope everyone is still following.

For the post of today, which is about 'Volkswagen Beetle'...
I'm showing stamps from the 'Serbian Republic' (3b in my table) - this is not the independent republic of Serbia, but an autonomous region in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Within Bosnia)-Herzegovina, each region has it's own postal services.

And now, finally, the post of today :-)

The Republic of Serbia emitted in 2009 a set of stamps on famous old cars.
Among the chosen ones we'll find : Fiat 500; Citroën 2CV and of course, my beloved Volkswagen Beetle.
Production dates are mentioned on a tab next to the stamp, each with a detail of the depiced car.
For the Volkswagen Beetle we find : 1938 - 2003.

on top : Bosnia I Herzegovina - Republic Serbia at the bottom "Buba" - Serbian for Bug (Beetle)

Detail of the tab