Trust no one!

Strange philatelic world... to collect or not to collect!

In my opinion I believe that philately is lost... or at least starting to slowly die... we are living a time were day by day more and more philatelic authorities are issuing stamps only with the purpose of gathering money!

The topics are picked only with the purpose to be appellative for collectors and not to be used to stamp letters... what a disgrace!

Sometimes the face values are very high and not suitable for common letters but only for very big packages... and I ask... who uses stamps on big packages?

Other times we don't even know if the name of the country on the stamps have actually issued them or if they are cinderella issues...

Trust no one!

Portugal Xmas 2009

MERRY XMAS to all my readers and friends!

FELIZ NATAL!!!!

SCHOOL MAIL

Données Techniques
Technical Data

Oblitérations du 1er jour à:
First day obliterations in:


Lisboa / Porto / Funchal / Ponta Delgada / Figueira da Foz / Oliveira de Azeméis / São Mamede de Infesta

Émission / issue:
2009 / 10 / 09

Stamps / Timbres:
€ 0,32 – 330 000
€ 0,47 – 230 000
€ 0,68 – 230 000

The Stamps and the Senses

Issued: 2.10.2009

"On the block, produced in cooperation with the Portuguese Association for the Blind and Partially Sighted (Associação de Cegos e Amblíopes de Portugal – ACAPO), all the information appears repeated in Braille characters and on the limited space of the stamp, the word Braille can also be read in both types of characters. The remaining stamps of this issue are dedicated to each of the five senses, allowing for experiencing real physical interaction: the touch feels the embossed ink coming out of the tube; the smell receives the aroma of the cup of coffee; the sight detects holographic images on the spectacle lenses that change according to the position of the stamp; the taste identifies the flavour of vanilla on the glue of the stamp that shows an ice-cream; the ear is sensitive to the noise made by the file when you rub its rough surface." (you can read more here)

New Portuguese ATM 2009

Issue: 9th October 2009


Subject: healthy food!

40th Anniversary of the Moon Landing - Part II

As promised here is the image of the cover with the moon landing postmark. This one was bought on ebay.

Hope you enjoy this one as much as I do.

Cat Post: Qiandao Lake

The Miniature Sheet about Qiandao Lake scenic area in HangZhou, China has been issued in April,2009.

This Miniature was planed to be issued in 2006, but since the design couldn't satisfy the China Post..so the plan of issuing this miniature was delayed. Finally, in the year of 2009, this miniature is issued. However, lots of the critics think that this miniature cannot show the real scenery of the Qiandao Lake scenic area, they think that this miniature only covers about 6 or 7 islands, which can't be called Qiandao, which means lots of islands in Chinese.


So i put the pictures of the real scenery of the Qiandao Lake scenic area and the postcard about this scenery and also the miniature.


Do you think this miniature can show the real scenery?

-By Cat (from China)

40th Anniversary of the Moon Landing

If you believed they put a man on the moon, man on the moon
If you believe there's nothing up my sleeve, then nothing is cool
If you believed they put a man on the moon, man on the moon
If you believe there's nothing up my sleeve, then nothing is cool
If you believed they put a man on the moon, man on the moon
If you believe there's nothing up my sleeve, then nothing is cool

THE EAGLE HAS LANDED!!!!!

Hope to post a cover with these cancellations soon!

Nagorno-Karabakh... Cover!

Hello Fellow collectors!

Today I have to show you a cover that travelled... during 1 month or so.... from Portugal to The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and back... (look at the cancellations...)

FRONT

BACK

WIKIPEDIA says that:

"The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) is a de facto independent republic located in the Nagorno-Karabakh region (or Artsakh region) of the South Caucasus, about 270 kilometers (170 miles) west of the Azerbaijani capital of Baku and very close to the border with Armenia".

Enjoy!

Portugal NEW 2009 stamps

Here are some new issues from Portugal!


Jazz in Portugal


issue:
2009 / 06 / 26

900 years since the birth of D. Afonso Henriques

issue:
2009 / 06 / 24

The Lusitano Horse

Issue:
2009 / 06 / 11

The Flavours of Lusophony

issue:
2009 / 06 / 05

Hope you enjoy them!

If you need any please let me know.

European Elections

Don't forget to vote today!


Decide tomorrow news!



There is always time to vote!

I've voted ... and you?

Portugal: 50 Years of the Cristo Rei Sanctuary

50 Years of the Cristo Rei Sanctuary

With this philatelic issue the Portuguese Post Services, CTT, join the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of the Cristo Rei (Christ the King) Sanctuary, thereby acknowledging its historic and religious value. You can read more here.

Émission / issue:
2009 / 05 / 17

Timbres-post / stamps:
€0,32 – 330 000
€0,68 – 230 000

Bloc / souvenir sheet: Avec 1 timbre / with 1 stamp
€2,48 – 60 000

The inspiration for its construction came from the statue of the Cristo Redentor in Brazil.

Aerial view of the city of Rio de Janeiro /Brazil
home of Cristo Redentor

Official 1st day cancellations

Happy collecting!!!

Joint Issue Portugal - Turkey

Hello fellow collectors!

Portugal issued his first 2009's joint-issue.

This stamp set seeks to build a cultural bridge between Portugal and Turkey through pottery.

issue :

2009 / 04 / 15

stamps:

€0,32 – 330 000

€0,68 – 230 000

As you can see above the Turkish stamp design is very similar. Hope you've enjoyed these stamps! Do you collect joint-issues? Let us know... take care!

Astronomy - Portugal

Portuguese Postal Services also issued a set of stamps to commemorate the IYA2009. This set aims to promote the work carried out by the Portuguese in the field of Astronomy.

Madeira Issue

Similar to other countries Portugal also has activities like lectures, astronomical observational sessions, exhibitions, musical concerts, etc... to commemorate the Astronomy Year. You can read more about it here.

Azores Issue

émission / issue :
2009 / 05 / 08

timbres-post / stamps:
€0,68– 230 000
€0,68 – 230 000
€0,68 – 230 000

souvenir sheet:
avec 1 timbre / with 1 stamp
3 X €1,36 – 3 x 80 000

Design: Atelier Acácio Santos / Elizabete Fonseca
papier / paper: 102 g/m2
format / size:
Timbres/ Stamps: 40 x 30,6 mm
Bloc / souvenir sheet: 125mm x 95mm
dentelure / perforation:
Croix du Christ / Cross of Christ
impression / printing : offset

Portugal (Mainland) Issue

Happy IYA2009!!!

Tropical and Subtropical Fruits from Madeira

issue :
2009/ 04 /

stamps:
€0,32 – 330 000
€0,68 – 230 000
€0,80 – 200 000
€2,00 – 265 000

souvenir sheet:
2 x €2,50 – 2 x 60 000

Design: Atelier Acácio Santos/ Helder Soares
paper: 110 g/m2
size:
Stamps: 40 x 30,6 mm
souvenir sheet: 125mm x 95mm
perforation:
13 x Cross of Christ
printing : offset
printer : Cartor

Lagoas – Azores / Biodiversity

issue date:
2009 / 04 / 22

stamps:
€0,32 – 330 000
€0,68 – 230 000
€0,80 – 200 000
€2,00 – 265 000

souvenir sheet:
with 1 stamp
2 X €2,50 – 2 x 60 000

Very nice issue, don't you agree?

International Year of Astronomy 2009

"The International Year of Astronomy 2009 is a global effort initiated by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and UNESCO to help the citizens of the world rediscover their place in the Universe through the day- and night-time sky, and thereby engage a personal sense of wonder and discovery.

There will be a variety of philatelic materials generated to commemorate IYA2009 specifically or feature astronomy as a theme or topic, in general." You can read more here.

Korea was the 1st country to issue stamps commemorating the year of astronomy. Here you can see the Planetary Nebula NGC 3132 which looks like a planet but is actually composed of clouds of gases and dust created by the explosion of a star’s unstable outer layer; and the Whirlpool Galaxy M51 composed of hundreds of billions of stars and interstellar matter.

Date of issue : January 15, 2009

Quantity : 850 000 stamps each

Denomination: 250won

Size of stamp: 40mm x 30mm

Perforation : 13

Paper: White unwatermarked

Designer : Jiwon MO

AQUIHASELO - Science in Portugal

"In 2008, the “AQUIHASELO” hobby challenged the Portuguese once again to submit themes for this year’s philatelic emissions, and later to send in drawings for the stamps that were to illustrate the winning motives.
And the challenge was once again readily accepted and creativity revealed in a vivid way. Hundreds of themes put forward were voted by thousands of people. Of the five finalist themes, «Science in Portugal» was the one which gained the preference of the jury.
This year, the “AQUIHASELO” did not forget the younger ones and created a hobby exclusively for them – the ”AQUIHASELO JÚNIOR”– which winning theme was the «Multiplication table».
The growing number of people who have joined this initiative, held for the second year in a row, shows how far imagination may go when it flies on the wings of a stamp."

You can read more here.


Issue:
2009 / 03 / 04

Stamps:
2 x €0,32

Format:
40 x 30,6 mm

Perforation:
13 x Cross of Christ

We care

Cover destroyed (partially!)

Today I've received this printed apologies request by the US Postal Service! It was my first time.

Is it common for you to get this? Or you just don't care that they care?

2009 Darwin

"The year 2009 marks two fundamental anniversaries in the fields of biology and modern science: 200 years since the birth of the English naturalist Charles Darwin and 150 years since the publication of his seminal work, On the Origin of Species." read more here.

Charles Robert Darwin FRS (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist who realised and demonstrated that all species of life have evolved over time from common ancestors through the process he called natural selection. The fact that evolution occurs became accepted by the scientific community and much of the general public in his lifetime, while his theory of natural selection came to be widely seen as the primary explanation of the process of evolution in the 1930s, and now forms the basis of modern evolutionary theory. In modified form, Darwin’s scientific discovery is the unifying theory of the life sciences, providing logical explanation for the diversity of life. (in WIKI)

Issue date:
2009 / 02 / 12