Odd stamps : 06 b Stamps on cotton / silk

In this topic, I showed earlier some french stamps printed on cotton.
This new item is similar and yet it's not.
It's printed on cotton also, as that is why I post it under this title, but it doesn't feel the same as the french ones.

The french stamps feel actually like a soft paper, almost like a paper tissue.
My new item for today, is really a 'thick' stamp (+/- 1 mm).
It doesn't feel as a stamp at all actually.
As I used to be a boyscouts long time ago, every year we got cotton labels to sew on our uniforms.
So we showed off how many years we were in scouting already, and each label reminded us of the theme the national scouting movement was working on that specific year.

In a way the stamp could be used in a similar way.
Not for boy scouts, but for football players.
This brazilian stamp shows a football player, and is issued to commemorate the centenary of the 'Corinthians'.

front side of the 'stamp'

back side of the auto adhesive stamp

It was issued in 2010, and it was hard to get a copy.
It's MNH, and i doubt if there are many 'postally used' copies.
But I would be mostly interested in such a used stamp.

Theme : Zodiac signs 09

I think everyone who collects stamps, knows the feeling of having too many big or smal boxes, books, binders, ... with several stamps of which you don't konw right away what to do with them.
I have plenty of those boxes and folders at home, that's a fact.

Every time you reorganise your stuff, those things move to another place, and "one day" you'll find a place to store them.
Putting such a stack of pages from one shelf to another one, made me discover a sheet that I had since a long time.

Big was my surprise that I could use it right away for my theme collection.

The sheet I found is from Mongolia.
Most people know the stamps of Mongolia because we all have encountered the CTO stamps that are widely spread.
Having Mongolian MNH stamps is not so obvious, especially not from the 1970's and 80's.

Mongolia Mi 736-47 - 1972

The stamps are dedicated to the discovery of space, and the zodiac signs of the Chinese calendar are added to each of the 12 stamps.
In the border of the sheetlet, also the symbols for each sign are given.

All signs together - from Mongolia Mi 736-47

If you have one or only some of those stamps in your collection you would probably not have known they represent all signs of the chinese zodiac. But 'finding' a sheet like this one, made me discover it.

Off you go now... on tresor hunt!

Theme : Volkswagen Beetle - 17

Lybia was in the news,  so why not an article about Lybian stamps...

Lybian stamps didn't always bare the name 'Lybia', but often also L.A.R.  which stands for Lybian Arabic Republic.
I'm not specificly collecting Lybian stamps, but sometimes my eye catches an item that I can't miss, especially if it fits into my theme collection.

Actually the stamp I'm showing now, is not the most important part of this item. At least not for me.
It's a sheetlet but the border frame is more of my intrest.
Let me show you why.

Lybia sheet UPU 1974

As you can see in the border, a postal vehicle is depicted.
And hurray, it's a Volkswagen beetle !

Detail sheet Lybia 1974

On the stamp, the logo of the UPU is shown.
This sheetlet was issued in 1974, to celebrate the centennial of that UPU.
It's a nice tribute to the UPU, and a great way to promote the Beelte too.

Theme : Zodiac signs 08

For those who follow this blog since long time, but also for those who just joined, a new post on the topic of "zodiac signs".

I came along the stamps rather accidentally.
As I bought some used Libanese stamps lately on a fair.
When I came home and sorted them out, i found a colourful set.
Looking in the catalogue, I found out that it was a 1957 set on 'communication'.
The set of 9 values has 2 different designs.

On the last 4 stamps in this set, a high voltage device is shown.

But on the first 5 (lower) values, I found something that isn't really related to 'communication'...

5 lower values with zodiac signs

Let's have a closer look at the centre of the stamps :
The cedar in the centre shows us that it's a Lebanese stamp, that's for sure. Well we could have discovered that by looking at the land's name on the stamp too of course.
However, around that cedar tree, all zodiac signs are shown.

12 zodiac sign around the Lebanese Cedar Tree

The higher values have another design...

35p, 50p, 65p and 100p design

The complete set can be found under : Michel 611 - 19 (1957)

Thai coins : 01 f - 10 baht commemorative coins

It's been a while, but there is so much to post about the bimetallic coins from Thailand. In my previous posts I showed many 10 baht coins, and there are still lots to go ...

Y # 391

100 years after the foundation of the Insperctors General's Department, on May 6, 2003, this commemorative coin was emitted.
The head of King Bumibhol is on the front side, and on the back, the logo of the Department.

Y 391 front

Y 391 back - departments logo

Y # 392

On the same day, May6, 2003 a coin was emitted to honour the King's sister, Princess Galyani Vadhana.
She was the older sister of King Bumibhol, and she was active in the Thai Red Cross.

King Bumibhol's brother, sister and the King as a young boy

Together with her brother, the King, she was very popular and respected by the Thai.

Y 392 front

Y 392 back

H.R.H. Princess Galyani Vadhana

Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana passed away at 2:54 AM on 2 January 2008 at the age of 84.

Y # 396

Any celebration is good to be commemorated.
For the 90th anniversary of the Government Savings Bank, founded under supervision of King Rama VI.

Y 396 front

Y 396 back

King Rama VI

Government Savings Bank

Y # 400

For the last coin in this post, I will show you the 10 baht coin that was issued at the occasion of the APEC assembly that was held in Bangkok in 2003.
Face side is the head of King Rama IX, at the back the logo for this event.
A globe is shown with the front (dragon) of the royal barks.

front Y 400 - King Rama IX

back Y 400 - APEC meeting 2003

All countries on both sides of the Pacific Ocean are member.

More to follow ...

Banknotes : Democratic Republic of the Congo - 01

Although it's not always possible, I try to 'blog' something in relation to the news of the last days/weeks.
Of course, if you reach my blog weeks after I posted my entry, it might not always be as accurate as it was on the day I posted it.

Still, I think that posting something about 'Congo' will not be outdated that fastly.

There are in fact 2 Congo's in Afrika. The largest one (also called : Congo-Kinshasa or Zaire).
The smaller one is Congo-Brazzaville (with Brazzaville as capital city)

The one I'm talking about now is the largest country. It's name changed many times during history.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo was formerly, in chronological order, the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo-Léopoldville, Congo-Kinshasa, and Zaire. These former names are sometimes referred to, as unofficial names, with the exception of Mobutu's discredited Zaire, along with various abbreviations, such as, Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo and DRC.

Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

In 1997 all banknotes changed, when Mobutu was forced to flee the country. At that time, the country's name changed into : The Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Before, numerous banknotes with Mobutu's head were produced. Along with huge inflation, a wide variety of notes were printed between the mid 70's and 1997.
When everything changed in 1997, a new set of banknotes was designed and it's worth seeing the notes, and the various details in those newly emitted set.

In this first post, I like to show some notes of lower denomination (all with a lower face value then 1 Franc).
All new notes were introduced on November 1, 1997. They have been replaced by newer notes (other printing dates) but same design.

front side of the lower denominations

back side of the lower denominations

Some details are very nice to discover.
I put the notes in order according their face value, and you see that the serial numbers are following A B C D and E.

Each note starts with a different letter

Each note has a diamond with an arrow in, put the notes in order and you'll see the arrow moving against the clock, doing one tour in 5 steps (1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents)
On the back, you will see a similar triangle, turning clockwise.
If you hold the banknote against the light, both arrow and triangle make a star.

Finally, some nice details on front and back of the notes. Showing animals and cultural heritage of Congo.

african dancers and music instrument

african mask

african mask

okapi's head

to be continued ...

Theme : Angels 03

Angels symbolising victory, or victory symbolised by an angel, is quite common.
At least on older stamps. Nowadays angels are not often depicted anymore on stamps.
Due to secularisation of the world, or because we don't think of angels in times of peace?

I found more nice examples of winged figures (angels I suppose) on stamps that refer to war, or victory after a war :

two greek airmail stamps, angel figure with laurel wreath

In my previous article i posted some Syrian stamps with the Greek godess Nike, without wings.
Her I have a similar stamp, this time with a winged person, holding a laurel wreath, and presumingly a tambourin at the left foot.

Syria (see angels 02) - winged person with laurel wreath

Another war scene, from Lithuania. In the background a winged person, holding a laurel wreath over the fighting soldiers.

Angel on a Lithuanian stamp

to be continued...

Theme : Angels 02

In my first post on 'angels', I depicted the angel of Victory, angel Bahram.
Sometimes the greek goddess Nike is used to symbolise 'Victory'.

depiction of Nike, Greek godess of Victory

As I presume, the greek gods and godesses had no wings, so the pictures are most likely a mixture between the greek godess and the angel of victory (Bahram).Angels can take on a variety of different forms. In Ezekiel 1:16-21, Isaiah 6:1-3, and throughout the book of Revelation they are described as taking on not only the appearance of men but many fantastical forms. 
A notable example was the angel who took on the appearance of a burning bush. The image of an angel with wings tends to symbolize the spiritual nature of the being. The purpose of the wings being to allow the angel to travel through the ether as well as being a symbol of divine authority. 

Angels appear to us with many forms and shapes. Many times the qualities of an Angel are so delicate that they choose female forms or even masculine bodies with female face characteristics. An Angel will appear to us with the form that is best for us. 

The angel of victory I found on various stamps however is clearly a female form. Maybe, after a brute (masculine) battle, a sweet period of comfort (female) is needed to make the balance?

angel with two laurel wreaths

angel of victory

Victory, symbolised by an armed angel

In Mexico, an angel of Victory was used to celebrate 100 years of human rights.
Another kind of battle that needed (and still needs) an angel to guide this achievement to victory.

angel of victory holding a laurel wreath

to be continued...

Theme : Angels 01

What better topic on Christmas day then my collection of "angels".

To understand about the celestial orders/hierarchy it is important to know exactly what an angel is. Briefly it can be described as: a spiritual being that is believed to be much more powerful than a human. In Christian, Muslim, Jewish and other theologies an angel can be one who acts as a messenger, attendant or agent of God.

There are 9 orders of angels, starting with the 'angels' as the 12th (lowest) order, up to the Seraphins as the highest order. According more specialised information, there are even 3 higher levels then the Seraphins, and 3 lower levels (under the angels); although those last 3 (the confessors, the martyrs and the innocents) are not really counted to the 'angels'.
In this last group, the Saints, the Martyrs ... can be found.

The angels of the Twelfth Order of Angels are the messengers that commune with various life forms within the physical worlds.
These include also the Guardian Angels. Angels are generally depicted with wings.

There are almost 400 angels. The I want to start with, is the angel Bahram.
Bahram is the angel of Victory.

Bahram, angel of Victory

A very nice example is a set from the Barbados Islands, who issued a set of stamps to commemorate the end of the first world war.
A set of 11 stamps were issued in 1920, depicting the angel of Victory.
The full set is quite expensive (both mint and postally used). But it's not my purpose here to show all stamps of this set.
This topic about 'angels' is more like a teaser for collectors who ran out of ideas for a thematic collection.

Barbados - Michel n° 110

Barbados - Michel n° 111

Barbados - Michel n° 112

... to be continued

To be or not to be : CTO - The dangerous ones 05 b

We can expect CTO stamps from many countries now, after reading my blog, you'll find CTO in your collection for sure. Most CTO's are easy to recognise, but in this last part of my CTO-contribution, I want to point out some 'dangerous' ones.

Stamps that were cancelled by governmental approval, on huge amounts of stamps, to get rid of an overstock.

This happened for example in Costa Rica.

4 rings cancel

5 bars cancel

Costa Rica has a very nice collection of 'classical' stamps from the early years till 1950. Yet, several sets were cancelled by the government and sold under the face value. Maybe a great idea for recycling, or at least to prevent that a lot of stamps were distroyed, but unfortunatly all those stamps found their way to collectors and are now more common than the 'real' cancelled ones. And so I can present them to you, dear followers, so that you can check which stamps are in your collection.

Again here, CTO cancelled stamps have a lower value than postally used stamps.

Luckily, the CTO cancels are easy to recognise again.

Costa Rica - Michel n° 39 - real cancel and CTO cancel

Costa Rica - Michel n° 41 and 42 - 2 types of CTO cancels

Costa Rica - Michel n°57 to 62 - 4 CTO, 2 real cancels