Odd stamps : 07 c Stamps (sheets) with special cuts

There is so much to post about 'odd' stamps...
And in one of the previous articles I wrote something about 'odd shaped sheets'.
The stamps on those sheets are regular, square or rectangle stamps, but the sheets have odd shapes.

Nowadays a stamp is more then before an item to impress collectors, or even to impress foreighn postal administrations.
Having an odd shaped stamp in your emission, is surely a guarantee to sell more, and to attract new collectors.
And I of course, see it as my duty to get those stamps and sheets for you, my dear followers.

I'm presenting 2 unique sheetlets with a special cuts, from Bosnia Herzegovina.
Both were emitted in 2011.

The first one doesn't look that special at first sight.
It looks rather 'spacial', well because it depicts Yuri Gagarin and we see the Vostok 1 who brought him in space on April 12, 1961.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of this remarkable event, Bosnia i Herzegovina (the former Yugoslavian Republic) published this sheetlet.

Bosnia i Herzegovina (2011) - 1st man in space

We see a round shape in the left corner, that follows the shape of the earth, but when looking at the rocket, we see that the special cut is very nice.

detail of the rocket - special cut

Very impressive and beautiful.

But in the same year (2011), Bosnia i Herzegovina emitted another, even more impressive sheetlet.
This time on domestic birds.

The idea is similar to the previous sheet, at first you see a normal sheet, but at the left corner, there's a special cut. But this time, the cut follows the shape of the leafs and the bird.

Bosnia i Herzegovina (2011) - domestic birds

The choice of the colours of the sheet could have been better, as the main bird nearly dissapears between all the green-grey-brown shades, but the sheetlet itself is a collectors' item!

detail of the branch and bird - special cut

Impressive, stamp collecting is fun again.

to be continued...

Odd stamps : 07 b Stamps (sheets) with special cuts

A step higher on the stairways of 'oddness' are the sheets who are cut into any possible shape.

A shape that is easy to recognise, is a butterfly.
It's also a very thankful topic for theme collectors. And as butterflies are attractive themselves, it doubles the pleasure of collecting butterfly-shaped souvenir sheets.

First in line is Malaysia. They emitted a wonderful souvenir sheet in the shape of a butterfly, with one 'normal' stamp on the sheet.
The sheet is also cut inside, so that one can see through the wings of the butterfly.

It makes the sheet extra fragile, but double as attractive.

In the same style as the Malaysian souvenir sheet, also Taiwan has issued a 'butterfly-sheet'.
The sheet is cut like a butterfly, and also here, there are cut inside the sheet.
Those cuts however are not in the sheet self, but in each of the 4 stamps on the sheet.
Here, the cuts are made in the shape of a smaller butterfly.

The sheet isn't maybe as colourful as the Malaysian one, but nevertheless a very tasteful stamp and a beauty for all theme collectors.

Finally, let's move to Thailand.
This issue is not about butterflies, but depicts traditional thai fans.
On the sheet, 4 amazing royal fans are depicted. The sheet itself, and that's why it's in this topic, again is cut into a fan shape.
Not easy to put in your pre-printed album, or even in a classic album.
But who cares, if (s)he sees such a wonderful souvenir sheet.
Thai stamps are always good quality and very tasteful, this issue is not only royal by it's theme, it's truly an amazing item to put in a collection.

Odd stamps : 07 a Stamps (sheets) with special cuts

Before posting an article on stamps in special shapes, i'd like to start with sheets in special shapes.
There was a time, when sheets were square or rectangle, with new printing techniques, it's easier to cut sheets in any shape.
With stamps and sheets however, it's still an excpetion to see a sheet cut in a special way.
Mainly because it's harder to take out stamps out of a sheet that is not square or rectangle, but also because of the special cut, less stamps can be put on the sheet.
Less stamps on a sheet, means less income for postal services I guess.

Another difficulty appears for traditional 'country' collectors who keeps their collections in standard albums (with pre-printed pages and the typical plastic window holders to keep stamps from dust and humidity).
Of course they are not keen on round, octagonal, or multi-shaped stamps.

Us, collectors however don't mind, because it brings some fun into a collection.

First i'll show you 'round' souvenir sheets.
Issued by United Nations, 3 round shaped souvenir sheets were issued in 2002 to put HIV and Aids awareness into people's attention. The skyline in New York can be seen, on one of the buildings, the lights show a red ribbon.
One sheet is issued by UN in New York, one in Vienna and one in Geneva.
Here you can admire the Swiss and the Austrian sheet :

 

Round however is not 'too odd' enough for some countries.

The french post issued a sheet that is 'odd' but still will fit in any collectors' album.
The top of the sheet, which represents the Olympic games in Beijing, is cut in a special way, the bottom of the sheet is just straight. The total sheet looks like a chinse traditional house, with several smaller roofs on top of eachother. Issued in 2008.

Finally, we go to Malaysia.
Again, the bottom of the 'sheet' is straight, hurray it fits in the album, but the complete sheetlet is cut like a number 'one'.
The sheet is way smaller then the french one, and has only one single stamp in it.

On the stamp, 8 kids are behind a smaller number one, which is coloured by the malaysian flag.
At the bottom of the sheetlet, the skyline of Kuala Lumpur is depicted.
This sheetlet was issued in 2009.