Odd stamps : 03h 3D stamps (moving)

Fans of Star Wars have been spoiled with special issues on this topic.
I posted already a set of stamps with the main characters. All in lenticular printing.

The set is completed with a souvenir sheet, showing a space ship. The miniature sheet has the oulines of the vessel on the top side.

The Millennium Falcon

The depicted space craft is the Millennium Falcon, (type YT-1300f Light Freighter) which appears in all episodes starting from III. It's the personal vessel of Rey and Chewbacca.

In the sheet, also a stamp is included.
Since the sheet is printed in a kind of plastic, the stamp needs to be cut out of the sheet in order to be used.
The sheet is not gummed, nore auto-adhesive.

When tilt, the sheetlet reveils extra information on the space ship, and the 'stamp' switches images.
We see the character of Han Solo in one image.

Han Solo - solo

On the second image, we see Han Solo and Chewbacca. He is the 234 year old Wookiee co-piloot of the Millennium Falcon.

Han Solo and Chewbacca

Odd stamps : 02d Silver / golden stamps

It has been a while since I posted silver and gold stamps. But today I can present you a new item from the Netherlands.

The stamp depicts Dirk Kuyt, a former Dutch football player.
Kuyt has a foundation to support G-sports (sports for mentally or physically disable people) in the Netherlands. For people with mental of physical limitations don't always find the ways to sportclubs.
The foundation helps and supports over 100 sport events as G-football, wheelchair tennis and even billiard for people with Parkinson.

Dirk Kuyt at a sport event (foto: dirkkuytfoundation.nl)

The issued 'stamp' is a silver stamp, that can be used for registered mail (aangetekend).
The postal rates are currently around € 8 for registered mail, but the stamp is officially sold for € 25.

Since silver is sensitive to oxygen, the stamp is packed in a plastic cover, to prevent colour shift.
A used stamp will be hard to find, especially while it would turn black after been exposed to air.
At the time the stamp was sold in 2017, there was a limited sale of 2 'stamps' per person.

Dirk Kuyt as a Feyenoord player

Dirk Kuyt played 104 matches for the Dutch national football team
More info on the foundation : www.dirkkuytfoundation.nl (site is in Dutch).

Theme : Esperanto 11

It has been a while since I posted some Esperanto theme related things;
Going through my Israel collection, I remembered that this country issued a stamp in 2006 to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the language Esperanto (in 2007).
In 2007 it was also the 90th anniversary to the death of L.L. Zamenhof.

Stamp with tab - Israel 2006 / 2007

On the stamp, with the mandatory tab, the portrait of Zamenhof is made up of Esperanto text.

detail

“Zamenhof naskiĝis en la Ulica Zielona 6 en [Biali]stoko (tiam en la Rusa Imperio de la caroj, nun en Pollando). Lia naski tago estis la [3-a] de decembro la* la julia kalendaro, la 15-a de cecembro la gregoria kalendaro kaj la 19-a de kislew la* la juda….”
* The double 'la' should be 'de la' or 'en la', not 'la la' 
  
Translated it means : Zamenhof was born (naskiĝis = past tense of naskiĝi: to be born) in 'Zielona street nr 6' in Bialystok (at that time in the Russian Imperium of the tzars, now in Poland).
His birthday was the 3rd of December in the Julian calendar, the 15th of December in the Gregorian calendar and the 19th of kislew, in the Jewish (calendar).


In the mid 19th century, the Russian Empire still used the Julian calendar.
That's why the October Revolution was actually in November.
Since Zamenhof was Jewish - and this stamp is issued by Israel, also the Jewish calendar is mentionned.

All Israeli stamps are issued with a 'tab', often they contain extra information, a logo, or the image continues on the tab.
Not all stamps in a sheet have this tab, so there are less 'tabbed' stamps than stamps without tabs.
The catalogues mentionnes both stamps, but stamps with tab are more sought and more worth.

In this case, the tab does give some extras:
the image continues through tab and stamp and on the tab we also see the Esperanto flag, known as 'la verda stelo' (the green star). 

tab on Israeli Esperanto stamp (detail)

"Sur la tuta tero estis unu lingvo kaj unu parolmaniero... Genezo 11.1"
On the whole world, there was one language and one way of speaking .... Genesis 11.1

Green stands for hope, and 'Esperanto' means 'hoping', but I wonder if Zamenhof got this idea from the street where he was born, 'Ulica zielona' (Polish) = green street' ...  

Zamenhof, Esperanto flag and 'peace in the world'

 

Odd stamps : 06 m Stamps on cotton / silk

Canada surprised us with a giant stamp in 2017 (100 x 72 mm - 3.9 x 2.9 inch).  Hockey is a very popular sport in Canada, and in 2017 the Toronto Maple Leafs®, celebrated their 100th anniversary. As a tribute to the team's captain Ted "Teeder" Kennedy, who played during the 1949-1950 season, a reproduction was made from the sweater he wore.
The stamp was issued in a special folder, with a plastic case to protect the odd stamp.

Toronto Maple Leafs shirt as a stamp

The reproduction of the sweater, has in the middle a blue and white maple leaf, made out of flock tissue. Because it sticks out of the stamp, the whole sheetlet has a plastic container to protect it.The stamp itself constists of nearly the full sheet.

Maple leaf logo in flock tissue

In 1947, the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the invincible Montreal Canadians, when Ted Kennedy scored the winning goal in the 6the game. The team won the title in 1948 and 1949 as well. Ted Kennedy died at the age of 84 in 2009.

Ted Kennedy

Odd stamps : 06 l Stamps on cotton / silk

Is it innovation, creativity or just another way to make collectors pay a lot for stamps that are not really stamps, or at least not meant to be used as postal stamps...
Some countries tend to be specialised in one or more 'special' stamps each year.

Two stamps made out of woven tissue, were issued by the Austrian postal services to honour the tradional clothing of Styria (Steiermark).

Coat of arms of Styria (Steiermark)

Steiermark is a region that is mainly in Austria, but also partly in Slovenia.
Historically seen, the Dutchy of Styria, was part of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1806 it became part of the Austrian-Hungarian empire, till the end of world war I.
The treaty of Saint Germain, named after a village near Paris, where this treaty was signed in 1919, devided Styria in an Austrian part and a Yougoslavian part.
Since the split up of Yougoslavia, and Slovenia's independence in 1991, the southern part of Styria is now in Slovenia.

A typical, tradional hat in Styria, is the Styrian hat.
The colour also refers to the colours in the coat of arms.

woven stamp 'Styrian hat'

This Austrian stamp is made out of woven cloth, at the back it was made self adhesive, so it can be used as a postal stamp. The perforation is also created by the structure of the weaving.

A second 'stamp' emitted by Austria, also shows a piece of tradional clothing, although this is not exclusively an Austrian piece of clothing.
It is called - as in German - a lederhosen.
This specific type of pants is still used, especially for folkloric use. Besides in Austria, it's is also well know in Southern Germany, like Bavaria for example.

stamp made out of suede

Lederhosen were worn for hard physical work, they were more durable then a fabric garment. Traditional lederhosen are hand made of tanned deer leather, which makes the pants soft and light. The hat stamp mentionnes the country name in English, and the lederhosen-stamp does it in German.

There's only a very small chance you will find these stamps postally used. and if so, don't expect to see a nice cancel on the 'stamp'.

Lederhosen boys with (Styrian) hat

Currency Today : Venezuela 14

In this post, I present the last two Venezolan notes (at this moment).

200 BsS and 500 BsS

Again 2 new designs were used.
The 500 note has Simón Bolívar on the front side, but now he is depicted from the right hand side.

The back side of the notes puts two more vulnerable animals in the picture.

reverse side of 200  BsS and 500 BsS

The parrot on the 200 BsS note, is a large parrot or small macaw.
The bird is not that uncommon in captivity, and often found as pet. However in the wild, the Guacamayo is vulnerable.
Although the picture on the banknote is only one colour, the Guacamayo/Papagayo Militar/Verde is known for its colourful, but predominal green plumage, resembling a military uniform

Guacamayo on 200 BsS/VeS

Guacamayo or Papagayo Militar or Verde

The last note in the 2018 set, is a 500 Boliváres Soberanos note (equivalent of 50,000,000 Boliváres fuertes).
As it is the highest denomination (for now), it shows the national hero Simón Bolívar on the front side.
At the back, an endemic bird is depicted. This is the only animal on the banknotes that is not endangered of vulnerable.

Venezuelan Turpial

The Venezuelan Turpial or Tourpial is the national bird of Venezuela.

Venezuelan T(o)urpial

In 2015, there was an international beauty contest in Tokio, Japan.
Each miss represented her country in a dress that referred to her country.
Edymar Martínez did this in a 'turpial' dress. I don't know if the dress made any difference, but she won the 2015 Miss International competition.

Miss (Turpial) Venezuela - Miss International 2015

Edymar Martinez representing Venezuela poses in a national dress during the 55th Miss International Beauty Pageant in Tokyo, Japan, November 5, 2015. Photo: Reuters

Currency Today : Venezuela 13

Moving on to the 5th and 6th note in the 2018 set of Venezolan banknotes.
50 BsS and 100 BsS (or 5 and 10 million old BsF).

50 and 100 Boliváres Soberanos

Again two new designs :

50 BsS :
Date of issue : January 15, 2018.
Signature G

100 BsS :
Date of issue : March 22, 2018
Signature G

Signature on 100 BsS/VeS

At the back side:

reverse side of 50 and 100 BsS

Two of Venezuela's endangered animals:
on the 50-note the legenda underneath the animal says 'Cunaguaro'.
In Spanish, it refers to two types of animals:
1: the Leopardus Pardalis or Ocelot,
2: the Leopardus Tigrinus or Tigrillo/Oncillo.

Since the Ocelot is not an endangered animal, we see the Oncillo or Tiger Cat on the note.
This animal is vulnerable and lives in mayor parts of Venezuela, as well in almost the entire country of Brazil.

Tiger Cat or Oncillo

Tiger Cat in action

on the  100-note we see a brown spider monkey.
The animal only lives in Colombia and partly in Venezuela, and now is critically endagered.
It is considered to be in the top 25 of most endangered primates.

Brown spider monkey

lovely animal on the edge of extintion

to be continued ...

Currency Today : Venezuela 12

The 3rd and 4th banknote in the 2018 series of the Boliváres notes, are 10 and 20 BsS / VeS.
Both notes have January 15, 2018 as issuing date.

10 and 20 (new) Boliváres

The design for the 20 BsS-note was already used in the older sets.

(see : https://rainbowstampsandcoins.blogspot.com/2019/03/currency-today-venezuela-08.html )
Since 10,000 BsF is 200 times 50 BsF, and 20 BsS is 200 times 10,000 BsF, this new note has the same value of 40,000 old 50 BsF notes !

Both notes (10 and 20 BsS) have the same date of issue and the same signature

signature on 20 BsS/VeS -note

reverse side of 10 and 20 BsS

On the reverse side, both notes continue with endangered or at least vulnerable species.
The 'oso palmero' or Giant Anteater, lives in the northern part of South America. Covering almost all of Venezuela, Brazil, down to Colombia, Ecuador and norther parts of Argentina and Paraguay.
Althouh its habitat covers a great part of South America, the animal is vulnerable.

Giant Anteater - Oso Palmero

Oso Palmero on 10 BsS/VeS

The reverse side of the 20 BsS note shows a Jaguar (Yaguar in Spanish).
This animal is not endangered or vulnerable, but close to vulnerability.
The latin name is 'pantera onca', the word 'panther' is derived from classical Latin panthēra, itself from the ancient Greek pánthēr (πάνθηρ).
The word jaguar (Yaguar) however is thought to derive from the Tupian word yaguara, meaning "beast of prey".The word entered English presumably via the Amazonian trade language Tupinambá, via Portuguese jaguar. The specific word for jaguar is yaguareté, with the suffix -eté meaning "real" or "true". The above languages are spoken in various parts in Brazil, next to Venezuela.

real Jaguar

Jaguar on 20 BsS/VeS

to be continued...

Currency Today : Venezuela 11

In January 2018, the old Boliváres Fuertes notes have lost that much value, that it became impossible to use the old notes.
Imagine you paying 1,000,000 boliváres for a coffee, with 10 notes of 100,000.

In stead of printing new notes with even higher denominations, they dropped 5 zero's, so 100,000 Boliváres fuertes became 1 Bolivar Soberano (sovereign).
The 1 Bolivar is a coin, from 2 Boliváres on, new banknotes were printed.

They fit seamlessly with the previous types of notes. The note mentionnes 'bolváres', but in fact it's a new currency. They old Boliváres are officially VEF (fuertes) and the new ones VES (soberanos).
When looking up exchange rates, the two types are as different as dollars and roubles, except, they were issued in the same country.

Again, the banknotes are in high quality printing, and very attractive in design.

The first two note in the VES-set are 2 and 5 Boliváres. The date of issue is January 15, 2018.
We see signature H (similar to the issues in 2017).

signature H

At the back side of the notes, we find again some endangered or vulnerable animals that live in the Venezolan region.

2 and 5 Boliváres Soberanos / VES

For the 2 BsS (VES) note, the design is that of the Yellow shouldered parrot.

a very popular but vulnerable pet in Venezuela

yellow shouldered parrot

What's in the name. The Yellow shouldered parrot, is a yellow shouldered parrot...
It lives in the north of Venezuela, from the tropical Islands Margarita and La Blanquilla to the Dutch Caribean Island of Bonaire. In Aruba the bird is extirpated, and possibly also on Curaçao.

The 5 boliváres-note shows a critially endangered endemic frog, the 'sapito rayado' or Veragua stubfoot toad or even Rancho Grande harlequin frog.
This frog's habitat was the Caracas surroundings, but due to human influence (Caracas is known as the concrete jungle), the animal is now seriously threatned.

Sapito rayado - Veragua stubfoot toad

also known as the Ranch Grande harlequin frog

to be continued ...

Currency Today : Venezuela 10

Because of the high inflation in Venezuela, and the need more and more banknotes to pay for basic products, only two solutions were possible.
First, the national bank could create higher denominations.
But so far the highest value was already 100,000 boliváres fuertes ...
This would only lead to even higher inflation.

And who wants to pay millions or billions for a chicken ...

Buying a chicken and the counter value in banknotes ... in 2018

Second solution was to create a new value, by skipping 5 zero's off the old banknotes.
So 100,000 became "1" again.
This ment that all 'old' banknotes had to be exchanged for 'new' onse, or became worthless afterwards.

In 2018, a new set of banknotes were issued.
They are similar in style to the first and second issue of the Boliváres fuertes.
Because 5 zero's were dropped, the currency got a new name : Boliváres Soberanos (sovereign bolivares).

The issued notes have following values : 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500.
Since 1 BsS equals 100,000 BsF, the new notes follow exactly the line of inflation of the previous sets :

On top : 1st issue of Boliváres fuertes notes (2 to 100)
In the middle : 2nd set of Boliváres fuertes notes (500 to 100,000)
at the bottom left (in red) the value of the soberanos in fuertes-notes.
at the bottom right : the new Boliváres soberanos (2 to 500)

Where in 2007, the highest denomiation was 100 boliváres, the highest denomination in 2018 is 50 million (old) bolivares.

One coffee por favor... that's one million please ...

counting per 1000 boliváres to pay for food

I present the new notes in my next posts.