Two First-Day Cover Events at National Topical Stamp Show, June 22-24

There will be two first day ceremonies at the three-day National Topical Stamp Show, June 22 through 24th. On Friday, June 22nd at 9:00 a.m. a new format of the non-denominated (32¢) postal card picturing a sailboat will be released. This version is made up of 4-up packs of 10 sheets which will be separated and sold as individual sheets of four at the show. On Saturday, June 23rd at 9:00 a.m. a new series of 10 postal cards will have a First Day Ceremony. These reproduce the American Scenic photographic designs that have been released as stamps from 1999 through 2012. One of these honors Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where the show will be held.

NTSS will be held at the Lancaster Host Resort and Convention Center, 2300 Lincoln Highway East (Hwy. 30). (717) 299-5500. Parking and entrance are free.







Forty-one dealers from around the country with material from all areas of philately will be able to fill holes in any collector’s areas of interest. Free expert advice on stamps that attendees own will be available at the show’s “What’s In Your Attic?” (stamp evaluations) help table. The doors open at 10:00 a.m. each day and close at 6:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday the show will close at 3:00 p.m.







Meetings, which are all open at no cost to the public, include “Meet the Editor” and “Franklin Roosevelt” on Friday morning. Ships on Stamps, Biology on Stamps, Medical Subjects Unit, Wine on Stamps, Graphics Philately, and Lighthouse Stamp Society meet on Saturday morning. Chess on Stamps, the Europa Study Unit, Christmas Philatelic Club and Penguins on stamps will all hold meetings on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday morning a Gems and Jewelry on stamps program will occur, and the Americana Study Unit will meet. There will be a seminar on Exhibiting at 10:00 on Sunday. On Saturday morning presentations on “Smokey Bear” and “The Wonderful World of Wacky Stamps” will also be held. Over 200 frames (3,200 pages) of exhibits will be on display.




Additionally there will be two youth tables with free stamps, tours on Thursday and Monday, and a President’s Reception and an Awards Banquet. Tours are now being booked for the Thursday preceding the show and the Monday following. More information is available on line at http://www.americantopicalassn.org/.

2012 EUROPA Stamp Promotes Travel & Tourism

Brussels, 16 April 2012

PostEurop launched the 2012 Europa Stamp competition on 1 April 2012 based on the theme "Visit". The impressive entries reflected philatelic designers' design interpretation of the concept and promotes travel and tourism for their countries or cities through EUROPA stamps.

Each year, PostEurop the association representing European Public Postal Operators is proud to organize the best of Europa Stamp Design Competition. On 1 April 2012, PostEurop launched the public online voting competition based on one vote per registered voter. The theme for this year's competition is “Visit”. Based on the concept, philatelic designers designed and created EUROPA stamps, which invites the viewers to discover the marvels of the country or city it represents.

"We are excited with this year's exquisite entries and even more excited to see integration of innovative elements such as Quick Response Codes (QR Codes) and new hidden images (Chameleon Code) for postage stamps introduced, to bring the design to life" said Markku Penttinen, Chairman of the PostEurop Stamps and Philately working group from Itella.

View and Vote for Your Favourite Europa Stamp Today

PostEurop invites you to view all the beautiful entries and vote for your favourite stamp on www.posteurop.org/europa2012. The online competition will end on 10 June 2012 and the winning stamps will be announced at the PostEurop Philatelic Forum to be held on 13 June 2012 in Paris.

More about EUROPA Stamps

Since 1956, EUROPA stamps have been a symbol of Europe’s desire for closer integration and co-operation. These special stamps are issued by the European postal administrations/enterprises and bears the EUROPA logo, a PostEurop registered trademark. Since 1993, PostEurop has been the responsible organisation for issuing EUROPA stamps and each year, philately experts within the Philately working group organize the competition amongst other philately initiatives. See more information on on their website
http://www.posteurop.org/

My thanks to Cynthia Wee the Communications Manager for PostEurop for supplying this information. Cynthia can be reached at cynthia.wee@posteurop.org. I urge you to go to go to their website and vote for your favorite stamp. Their are several postal administrations to pick from  the island of Aland 

 through Vatican City.

Swaziland Releases 4 Locust Stamps

The Swaziland Posts and Telecommunications Corporation will issue on April 2, 2012 four colorful stamps illustrating locusts found in that Southern Africian Country.

The first stamp stamp in the series shows the Southern African desert locust, Schistocerca gregariaflaviventris (Libhulamdzaka). The adult female is about 60-75mm long and light grayish brown in color A light-colored longitudinal stripe extends across the head and pronotum and the latter also bears short lateral stripes. The forewing has a distinctly spotty appearances and the under wing is yellow at its base- It belongs to the same subfamily as the red locust and bears a spur on the throat- The hoppers are generally green to grey in color. This locust feeds on herbaceous plants as well as grasses, and few crops. This locust is able to survive in extremely dry areas. Breeding coincides with rain. Two generations are possible, one in spring and the other in late summer

Schistocerca solitaria, Lidziya

There are at least more than 4 subspecies of Schistocerca solitaria in Swaziland. This subspecies is commonly found in lush areas where it camouflages with the grass. Generally green in color with lateral black stripes on the fore wings and the under wing is bright yellowish green.
The locust’s season commences around September- October, following the first rains, and runs through March- April. Female adults are 36-48mm. Schistocerca solitaria are predominantly grass feeders.

African migratory locust, Locusta migratoria migratoriodes (Liboni)

There are about 8 subspecies of Locusta migratoria in different parts of the world. This subspecies occurs only in Africa south of the Sahara.
The most important distinguishing characters of the African migratory locust are the yellowish color of the under wing and the hairy ventral surface of the thorax. The general color is yellowish green to light brown with mottled areas on the pronotum and tegmina. Females are 36-54mm and the malesare3s-44mm.Adult swarms roost within un-harvested maize

The red locust, Nomadacris septemfasciata ( lngwelebovu)

It is the largest of the African locusts, solitary females attain a length of 80mm and may be recognized by the white dorsal stripe running from the head to the tip of the forewings. The base of the under wing is red or sometimes purple, more visible when flying. This locust has a small spur on the throat. Only one generation is produced a year with adults living for some 8-9 months. Eggs are laid with the first rains (September- October) and hopper development takes 3-4 months during the summer rainy season. Favored breeding areas are seasonally flooded grasslands lying around rivers.

The stamps were designed by P Dlamini and printed by Joh. Enshede Security Printers by the lithographic offset method. The individual stamps have a size of 28 X 42mm and were perforated 13 1/4 by 13 3/4. The email address for the Swaziland Stamp Bureau is  stampbureau@sptc.co.sz 

For The Swaziland Post Office website go to  http://www.sptc.co.sz/Postal/products/stampbureau.php





HockeyBird Stamp from Finland for ice hockey world championship tournament

The official stamp of the ice hockey world championship 2012 tournament to be organized in Helsinki will portray the widely noted mascot HockeyBird. The stamp, postcards and first day cover will be available for sale on March 21, 2012.

The stamp and additional products are designed by the man behind the look of the mascot itself. He is, of course, Lead Artist Toni Kysenius of Rovio Entertainment, who has now fulfilled his long-time dream of designing a stamp.

"HockeyBird's job is to bring high-voltage bird energy to the great sporting event and to barge into anything and everything, so it is only natural that he will also take over the stamp," Toni Kysenius says.

The first-class self-adhesive stamp sold in sheets of ten is also well suited for sending greetings abroad. Five million copies of the stamp will be printed. The printing is being carried out by the Dutch printing house Joh. Enschedé Stamps.

A sheet of ten stamps will cost EUR 7.5 and a first day cover EUR 1.30.Tournament greetings can be sent with HockeyBird postcards. There are five different postcards in a package that has the same theme.

Finland and Sweden share the hosting of the ice hockey world championship tournament in 2012 and 2013. In 2012, the main arena for the tournament is the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, and Stockholm's Ericsson Globe Arena will have a supporting role. The 2012 tournament will be played from 4 to 20 May.

For the Finland Post Office on-line post office

https://verkkokauppa.posti.fi/PublishedService?theme=9

Findland announces results of 2011 Most Beautiful Stamp Poll

Rose Hip Selected as the Most Beautiful Stamp in Finland in 2011

 
Finnish people voted the frosty Rose Hip stamp as the most beautiful stamp in 2011. Designed by Susanna Rumpu and Ari Lakaniemi, the winning personalized stamp was released in the new 2nd class Personalized Stamp Frame published in November.

The winning Rose Hip received nearly 12 percent of all of the 22,471 votes given. The voting took place through the Postia Sinulle customer magazine and Posti's website.



The winning Design

 

Second Place stamp



The second place went to Soft Christmas designed by Kaarina Toivanen. It illustrates a smiling boy gnome surrounded by balls of yarn and plush toys.

Natural themes proved to be popular yet again. With a nearly equal number of votes, the third and fourth place was shared by Bunch of Tulips designed by stamp artist Leena Airikkala (1,715 votes) and the spring-summer forest stamp (1,708 votes) designed by graphic designer Klaus Welp as part of Europa stamps for the Association of European Public Postal Operators (PostEurop).

The other of the two Europa stamps with a forest theme designed by Welp came in fifth (1,417 votes). The views on the forest stamps represent Lake Mustalampi in Nuuksio National Park.

Taiwan Celebrates Valentines Day with Feb 10th Issue

The Following story was translated by Tony Lin from an article in the January issue of Postal Service Today. My Thanks to Tony.


"Western Valentine’s Day on February 14 is a much-celebrated holiday among young people. To encourage people to express their love through letters, Chunghwa Post is issuing a third set of two stamps and a souvenir sheet (Issue of 2012) in its Valentine’s Day series. Featuring roses, the stamps will be released on February 10,2012. The designs follow:

 1. NT$12 stamp: A pink rose symbolizes first love and courting, as well as friendliness and a graceful upbringing. This stamp features a pink rose in full bloom to convey unrestrained passion.


2. NT$25 stamp: An orange rose bud reveals the reticence of first love. The vignette of this stamp brings warmth and joy to one’s heart.


3. NT$32 souvenir sheet: Within the heart-shaped stamp are two pale orange roses which signi’ mutual love and affection. The pink background along with the wordings “Happy Valentine’s Day” offers blessings to all of the world’s lovers.



souvenir sheet



 The two stamps are designed as a se-tenant gutter pair. Embossing and spot varnish printing techniques are employed to give the roses a three-dimensional texture. The gutter, featuring two hearts shot through with Cupid’s arrow, symbolizes mutual love. The souvenir sheet is printed in scented ink-a first for Chunghwa Post.


Two stamp folios will be released along with the stamps, each containing the whole set of stamps. The designs follow:


(1)Valentine’s Day Stamp Folio: A vignette of an elegant three-dimensional rose shows through the cutout in the front. The inner pages are printed with roses in soft pink tones. Also included in the folio is a beautiful and collectible metallic sticker.

Valentines Folio

(2) Love Dearly Stamp Folio: The rose featured on the front cover conveys the idea: “You are my only love.” Within the heart-shaped cutout is the English phrase “Forever Love.” A card with an image of an angle is included in the folio.

 A first-day cover, folders with and without crystal mounts and a loose-leaf album page will be released along with the stamps. These will go on sale on February 8, 2012. A pre-cancelled FDC with the full set of stamps, with the NT$ 12-denominated stamp, or with a souvenir sheet will go on sale on February 10, 2012, the issuing date the stamps.




First Day Cover



The set of stamps is designed by Delta Design Corporation and printed by Cartor Security Printing (France) in offset. "

Love Folio

The stamps were printed in sheets of 16 with a format of  4 X 4 on Phosphorescent stamp paper by the offset method. The individual stamps have a size of 41 X 26mm with a perforation of 14 1/2. The souvenir sheet has a size of 55 X 90 mm with the heart shaped stamp on the sheet having a size of 39 mm wide by 35 mm high and perforated 14. It has a spot varnish coating with scented ink

 The url for the Taiwan Post Office is:  http://www.post.gov.tw/post/internet/u_english/index.jsp


For the History of Valentines Day go to:  http://www.post.gov.tw/post/internet/u_english/index.jsp

Swden Releases Cancer Research Stamp January 12, 2012

The following article is by Stefan Bergh, Secretary General of the Swedish Cancer Society.

You might already know that the Swedish Cancer Society is an independent non-profit organization. But did you know that the Society is the single largest financer of Swedish cancer research and that we do not receive any government funding? We are entirely dependence on donations and legacies from private individuals and companies to be able to continue our work. Thanks to our donors, the Society can finance around 400 research and care development projects every year. Our donors have made it possible for the Society to award SEK 7 billion to Swedish cancer research in the past 6o years. They are literally lifesavers.

The work of the Swedish Cancer Society revolves around raising and awarding funds for cutting-edge cancer research in Sweden. Another important aspect of this work is to monitor cancer issues with a critical eye and influence decision-makers in order to improve the care for cancer patients. We also spread knowledge about cancer by informing people about the illness and how to decrease the risk of becoming a cancer victim. We can offer support in this difficult situation and answer your questions. And we are full of hope about the future. Researchers are no longer fumbling in the dark and the knowledge base has never been better. A greater investment will give back many times over, and more lives will be saved. But successful cancer research requires long-term planning and this costs money.


To win this battle, we need ongoing support. One simple way to make a contribution is to choose this year’s charity stamps when you send letters through the mail. Read more about the work of the Swedish Cancer Society at: http://www.cancerfonden.se/



The First Day Cover

 The charity stamps are for domestic letters and come in a booklet of 10 stamps. For each booklet sold, SEK 10 goes directly to a charitable purpose.This year the Swedish Cancer Society was chose. Each booklet of ten stamps sells for SEK 70 and each First day cover sells for SEK 19. The Stamps were designed by Vince Reochardt a graduate of the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm. The offset printed stamps measure 37.5 by 26.2 mm. To purchase the stamps go to:
http://www.posten.se/c/stamp_issues_2012_charity_stamp_2012_theswedish_cancersocietyVince Reichardt

For the American Cancer Society go to:  http://www.cancer.org/