Russian Republics and more ... 01 A Siberian Federal District - Touva 1

The Tuva Republic within the Russian Federation:

map of the Russian Federation - showing Tuva Republic

Some history...
From the 19th century till 1921, Tanna Tuva was part of north-western Mongolia.
In fact Mongolia itself just declared itself independent from the (People's) Republic of China in the beginning of the 20th century.

People's Republic of Tannu Tuva, 1921-1926

People's Revolutionary Party Flag, 1921

In 1921, under Russian instigation, it became the Tuvan People's Republic. A treaty between the Soviet Union and the Mongolian People's Republic in 1926 affirmed the country’s independence, although no other countries formally recognized it.

Tuvan People's Republic 1926-1930

Tuvinian People's Republic State Flag, 1926-1930

The text, in Mongolian, reads ᠪᠦᠭᠦᠳᠡ ᠨᠠᠶᠢᠷᠠᠮᠳᠠᠬᠤ ᠲᠢᠸᠠ ᠠᠷᠠᠳ ᠤᠯᠤᠰ
Bügüde Nayiramdaqu Tuva Arad Ulus "Tuvan People's Republic"

The name changed to Tuvinian People's Republic in the Constitution of 24 November 1926, which established red flag with state arms in center.
The romanized alphabet was adopted in 1930. A new version of state arms introduced 28 June 1930. Flag red with state arms in center.
On 18 October 1930, the state arms again modified . Flag red with state arms in center.

Tuvan People's Republic between 1930-1941

In 1933, the coat of arms changed once more, resulting in yet another flag.

As a result of the Second World War, (a couple of days after Nazi Germany entered Russian soil), Tuva became part of the Soviet Union, as the Tuvan Autonomous Oblast.
This annexation was completed in 1944.
Meanwhile... in 1941 and 1943

Flag changed in new constitution of 25 June 1941.
Red with initials of state ("TAR") in gold in canton.

Cyrillic letters introduced 8 September 1943;
initials on flag changed ("TAP") as a matter of course, not law.

Russian influence over the region increased from 1944 on...

Tuvan Autonomous Oblast (1944-1961)

and in 1961 became the Tuva Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic...

Tuvinian ASSR State Flag, 1961-1978

The state flag changed 10 November 1978 once more, by addition of inscription in Tuvinian language ("Tuva ASSR") as well as in Russian.

Tuvinian ASSR State Flag, 1978-1992

With the end of the Soviet Union, in 1992, Tuva became the "Tuvan Republic" and they are a member of the Russian Federation.

Tuva Republic within the Russian Federation (1992 - )

 ... to be continued ...

Russian Republics and more ... 01 the first Federal District - Siberian Federal District

Once more, the 8 Federal Districts of Russia

8 Federal Districts of Russia

 One of the largest Federal Districts is the "Siberian Federal District" here shown in light blue:

   Siberian Federal District

In this District, we find the following Objects :

# Federal subject Capital/ Administrative center 1 Altai Republic Gorno-Altaysk 2 Altai Krai Barnaul 3 Republic of Buryatia Ulan-Ude 4 Zabaykalsky Krai Chita 5 Irkutsk Oblast Irkutsk 6 Kemerovo Oblast Kemerovo 7 Krasnoyarsk Krai Krasnoyarsk 8 Novosibirsk Oblast Novosibirsk 9 Omsk Oblast Omsk 10 Tomsk Oblast Tomsk 11 Tuva Republic Kyzyl 12 Republic of Khakassia Abakan
Let's have a more detailed look at this Federal District : More about each individual Subject, in my next post(s)

Russian Republics and more ... 00 Introduction

Collectors of stamps who might have seen them already, shiny stamps with views on landscapes, pop artists, politicians, ... even cartoons.
Those stamps look a bit suspicious and mention a name of an existing republic or (semi-) autonomous region within the Russian Federation.
Some have names in Cyrillic language, some in English, some even in two languages.

When looking up the names on the world map, the country or region does exists, and is not a tiny island somewhere in front of the Scottish coastline (as seen before), but does that means the stamps are real ?

In this first post, I will give an overview on all (current) entities within the Russian Federation, later on, I will tell more about some of those republics and regions.

In 1993 the current Constitution of Russia was adopted. At that time, 89 federal subjects were participating and recognised. By 2008 the number of federal subject had been decreased to (only) 83, because some areas merged. Each of those entities have a certain degree of independence and equal rights towards regional legislation and constitutions.

Map colors:
Blue = oblasts, green = republics, pale yellow = krais, orange = autonomous okrugs,
pink = federal cities, purple = autonomous oblasts, grey = not Russia.

To make it a bit easier, all subjects can be listed under one of the eight districts.

   Central Federal District

   Southern Federal District

   Northwestern Federal District

   Far Eastern Federal District

   Siberian Federal District

   Urals Federal District

   Volga Federal District

   North Caucasian Federal District

to be continued ...

Commemorative coins : The Netherlands 06

In 2009, the Netherlands celebrated their 400 year old trade relations with Japan.
Until today the Netherlands still have a friendly relationship with the land of the rising sun.
To commemorate this anniversary, the dutch coin issued a special € 5 coin.

The coin got the name 'Japan-five'. It has legal tender like all other € 5 coins, but remained mainly a collector's item.

coin card front

coin card back

The coin's design is best viewed with two coins next to eachother.
As I didn't take the coin out of the card, I had to look online to find a picture of both sides of the coin next to eachother.

both sides of the Japan-coin next to eachother

Now we see the full design. We see a fishermen's knot. As the dutch were (and are) famous sailors and fishermen. A knot is also a good symbol to show the connection between the two countries.


The coin was issued on a coin card
Amount : 343.859 pieces
Metal : silver 925/100
Size : Ø 29 mm
Weight : 11,9 g
Face value : € 5
Quality : circulation quality
Design : Esther de Vries en Richard Niessen

This coin is the 14th € 5 coin that was issued by the Royal Dutch Mint.

Odd stamps : 01d Perfumed stamps

I have posted previously some perfumed stamps.
Perfume smells good (or at least so it was ment to be), but there is more into a nose then picking up good odors.
No, I'm not talking about sticking your nose into someone else's business, actually the stamps I'm presenting today ARE everyone's business...

preserve nature - Brazil 1999

This set of stamps is special in 2 ways.
First of all it is printed on recycled paper, and that is of course a blessing for the already threatened forests, especially in Brazil.

Second special fact, is the centre of the 4 stamps.
Each of the 4 auto adhesive stamps shows a nature related image:
we see an ant eater, a flower, a leaf and the bark of a three.
One corner of each stamp is 'burning' and the four stamps together gives the impression that the middle part of the block is burned away.
The stamps warn us to prevent wildfires.

'smelly' centre of the 4 stamps

60 % of the Amazon rainforest are located in Brazil.
Wildfires (whether or not intentionally caused) are a threat to the deforestation of the largest green lung of the world, and in the end also the entire humanity.

The stamps do not only show 'fire', they also smell like burned items.

protect nature - detail

Stamps are printed as one big image spread of the 4 stamps.
The perforation is uncommon and absent towards the corners of the stamps.
The set was issued in 1999 by Brazilian postal services.

Odd Banknotes - 09 Bangladesh

In my set of odd Bangladesh notes, I will show another rather odd note.
It was sent to my from my friend in Bangladesh, so now I can show it to you.

front side of the commemorative note

40 on a banknote, is not a common denomination for a circulation note.
But just in case of any doubt, this IS a commemorative note...

just in case ...

40 refers to the 40th anniversary of the independence from Pakistan.

The revolution was lead under the leadership of sheikh Mujibur Rahman, later first president and afterwards also Prime Minister of Bangladesh.

Sheik Mujibur Rhaman

Back side of the note :

back side of the note

Odd Banknotes - 08 Bangladesh

Another odd note today, not special because of the size, and also not because of the face value (25 is not a special number), but the following commemorative note, is more or less celebrating itself...

Bangladesh' banknotes are printed by the Security Printing Corporation of Bangladesh.
The company was founded in 1988 and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2013.
No better way to celebrate that anniversary with an own banknote.

The colours of this banknote is not that common either.
We see different shades of pink, purple, over light blue to white.
I haven't been eating funny mushrooms, but to me this note leaves a very pshychedelic impression.

If we look at the front side of the note, in a more detailed way, we see another odd thing :

In detail on the front side of the note : the National Martyr's Monument in Savar, Bangladeshi taka banknotes and postage stamps.
This is probably also the first time that 'stamps' are depicted on a banknote.

Two other symbols that can be found, are: three spotted deer, magpie robin (doyel) bird.

On the back side of the note, the Headquarters of the Security Printing Corporation are depicted in the same colours as the front side.

Headquarters of the Security Printing Corporation

Headquarters of the Security Printing Corporation

Overall, a weird banknote, that - due to the chosen colours - depict the own countries flag (green and red) in blue and pink.

detail with flag of Bangladesh

Special thanks to my friend in Bangladesh who provided me these (and other) notes.

Odd stamps : 08 Stamps with special cuts - 06 i

It's been a while, but I haven't stopped looking for new items - or at least new for this blog.
Thanks to my good friend in the Netherlands, I can show you some new items I recently added to my 'odd stamp' collection.

One of the world's first cartographers is the Turkish (Ottoman).
Hadji Ahmed  Muhiddin Piri (Piri Reis), born between 1465 and 1470, was an Ottoman Captain, geographer and cartographer who is mainly know for his outstanding work in world maps and charts, collected in his famous 'book of navigation'.
This book, published in 1521 and 1525, but prepared in 1513, was only 'recently' discovered in 1929, in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.
It is the oldest known Turkish made map of the 'new world', only few years after Colombus' (re)discovery of the Americas.

The accuracy of the maps is so outstanding that it took over 300 years before the admirals of the British Empire were able to redesign the world map with more modern technology.

Piri Reis' map of Europe - 16th century

The stamps on the souvenir sheet shows us 4 times a hexagonal stamp. The 4 stamps and the background of the sheetlet is a detail out of Piri Reis' maps.

Full sheetlet - Piri Reis

The hexagonal stamps in detail :

detail - top stamps

detail - bottom stamps

Piri Reis died in 1553. Copies of his charts can be seen in Istanbul in the Topkapi Palace.
The sheetlet was issued in 2013 - 500 years after Piri's version.

Currency Today : Bhutan 04

For the last post on this item, I will show the highest denomination, the banknote of 1000 ngultrum.

I start with the back side of the note:
Similar to the 100 ngultrum note, the picture on the back side of the 1000 ngultrum note, is the dzong of Tashichho.
The picture is similar to, but not exactly the same as the 100-note.

1000 ngultrum - back side

Tashichho Dzong in Thimphu, Buthan

Besides the amazing yellow-orange colour of the banknote, we also see a golden seal in the upper left corner.
By flipping the banknote, the colour shifts from reddish to greenish gold.

colour shifting seal - 1000 ngultrum

full colour seal of Bhutan

golden seal - 1000 ngultrum

At the front we see another seal. This is in gold print and has not colour shift.
The seal of Bhutan is composed of a double diamond-thunderbolt (dorje) placed above a lotus, surmounted by a jewel and framed by two dragons.
The thunderbolt represents the harmony between secular and religious power.
The lotus symbolizes purity; the jewel expresses sovereign power; and the two dragons, male and female, stand for the name of the country which they proclaim with their great voice, the thunder.

1000 ngultrum - front side

On the front side of the note, we see a computer made picture of the king, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.

detail King Jigme K. N. Wangchuck

Interesting is the crown he is wearing.
It is the so called "Raven Crown".
In the previous article (about the 500 ngultrum note) you can see a picture of the first king of Bhutan, wearing a similar type of crown.

Raven Crown - Bhutan

Raven Crown - Bhutan 500 ngultrum note

The Raven Crown today is the official crown worn by the Kings of Bhutan. The Raven is the national bird of Bhutan. The raven is known locally as Jaroq. At one time it was a capital crime to kill a raven in Bhutan.

The hereditary monarchy of the Wangchuk dynasty in the independent Himalayan State of Bhutan was established in 1907. The first king of the Wangchuk dynasty, Sir Ugyen Wangchuck (1862–1926), was a charismatic figure who came to power against a turbulent background of incessant and complex feuding in that chaotic warrior state. He adopted as the unique symbol of his authority a crown surmounted by the head of a raven.
The bird represents a form of "Mahakala", Bhutan's guardian deity. The prototype of the founding monarch's Raven Crown had first been devised as a battle helmet for his father, Jigme Namgyel (1825–81). Known as the Black Regent, he had worn it in bloody struggles against his many rivals within the country and against the British who tried, unsuccessfully, to subdue him.

Hereditary Kings of Bhutan

• His Majesty Ugyen Wangchuck (1st Druk Gyalpo)
  
• His Majesty Jigme Wangchuck (2nd Druk Gyalpo)
  
• His Majesty Jigme Dorji Wangchuck (3rd Druk Gyalpo)
  
• His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck (4th Druk Gyalpo)
  
• His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (5th Druk Gyalpo)
  

Currency Today : Bhutan 03

In this third article on banknotes of Bhutan, I present the 100 and 500 ngultrum notes.

100 ngultrum - front

On the front side of the 100 ngultrum note, we see again the portrait of the former King Jigme Singye Wangchuck (same image as on the 10 ngultrum note).

100 ngultrum - back

The back side of the note, shows an amazing Dzong, the buddhist temple Tashichho Dzong, in the city of Thimphu.
Thimphu is the capital city of Bhutan, situated in the western part of the country.
With more or less  80,000 habitants, it is also the largest city in Bhutan.

the buddhist temple Tashichho Dzong - city of Thimphu

Tashichho Dzong stands on the left side of the Thimphu/Wang chhu river.
In 1641 Zhabdrung built the Tashicho Dzong (Fortress of the auspicious religion) in place of the Dho Ngon (Blue stone) Dzong built by Lama Gyalwa Lhanangpa.
In 1698, the dzong caught fire and was restored.  The dzong caught fire for a second time during the reign of the 16^th Desi and 13^th Je Khenpo. In 1869, the dzong once again caught fire. His Majesty the Second King initiated the renovation of the Dzong in 1962. Today, Trashichho dzong houses the secretariat, throne room, and offices of the King of Bhutan. The northern section is the Je Khenpo and Central Monk Body’s residence.

500 ngultrum - front

The 500 ngultrum note show a king we haven't seen so far on this set of banknotes. It is King Ugyen Wangchuk (1^st King) wearing a Raven Crown.
King Ugyen Wangchuk reigned from December 17, 1907 till August 21, 1926.

500 ngultrum - back

The back side of the note shows the Punkha dzong - the palace of great happiness.
Constructed by Zhabdrung (Shabdrung) Ngawang Namgyal in 1637–38, it is the second oldest and second largest dzong in Bhutan and one of its most majestic structures. The Dzong houses the sacred relics of the southern Drukpa Kagyu school including the Rangjung Kasarpani, and the sacred remains of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal and Terton Padma Lingpa. Punakha Dzong was the administrative centre and the seat of the Government of Bhutan until 1955, when the capital was moved to Thimphu.

Punkha dzong -  city of Punakha

This dzong is located at the confluence of the Pho Chhu (father) and Mo Chhu (mother) rivers in the Punakha–Wangdue valley. Because of the soft climate, Punakha is also called the summer capital of Bhutan.

... to be continued ...