PostBeeld Online Auctions

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February 1, 2025

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Dear readers/PostBeeld clients, in case you are not aware PostBeeld holds an online auction that takes place on the first day of each month. Bidding is always possible from the 16th day of the previous month. In the auctions PostBeeld will offer different items than those found in our webshop. For example: Errors and misprints, proofs, imperforated stamps, personal stamps, postal history, covers, special cancellations, small collections, blocks of four and sheetlets, special maximum cards and first day covers, unique classic stamps, Cinderellas, fiscal stamps, philatelic souvenirs, special thematic objects or collections, specimens, coin covers and other rare items. A few of the 1st February 2025 auction items are seen below.

Germany 1949, collection of 13 covers or cards commemorating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, regarded as the greatest and most influential writer in the German language.

Great Britain definitives 1900.

A postcard from Rabbits Bay in the Highlands of Ontario, Canada and a Military mail card with a German soldier holding a hare.

Above we have from France, a cover for the 1988 nature and hunting exhibition in Couvrot in the Marne department in north-eastern France. Also, from Canada a 1933 First Official Flight cover from Beauval, Saskatchewan to Green Lake, British Columbia. with HARE cancellation

The Year of the Snake

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January 30, 2025

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The Chinese New Year is upon us, this year being the Year of the Wood Snake. International designer Tiger Pan combined two traditional Chinese cultural elements for this Liechtenstein stamp sheet – the snake as a sacred animal that symbolises luck, wealth, wisdom and longevity, and the concentration game mahjong. The shape of the snake is geometric and its body is made of pieces arranged in familiar patterns.

The miniature sheet above, from Åland, in the stamp series featuring Chinese horoscope animals shows a grass snake swimming along Åland granite cliffs. The grass snake (Natrix natrix) is one of three species of snakes in Åland, the others being viper and smooth snake. The grass snake lives near streams and lakes and moves quickly and easily both on land and in water. Grass snakes are often black with a small head and yellow or white neck patches.

“Tahun Ular”, Year of the Snake in Indonesian – a mini sheet from the last zodiac cycle in 2013.

Above, attractively designed stamp booklet from China, 2013 – and below two Chinese People’s Republic mini sheets from 2001.

An imaginatively-designed 2001 issue from Kazakhstan, including the signs of the zodiac.

We stay with 2001 for above, the offering from Macau and below a very attractive stamp sheet from the Philippines.

Then a fine issue from Uganda, with four snake species featured.

And a 2001 fun stamp pair from Sweden.

The last items are from Hong Kong 1977, then still under British rule. The stamps depict Wood Snakes, also seen on the First Day Cover below.

The Royal British Legion – 100th Anniversary 2021

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January 20, 2025

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The Royal British Legion – 100th Anniversary 2021

The year 2021 marked the 100th anniversary of an organisation – the Royal British Legion – founded in England to support members and ex-members of the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. Many postage stamps have been issued to commemorate the First World War and the stamps shown here also make a bow to various anniversaries of the Royal British Legion.

By 1921, three years after the end of the First World War, the tradition of a Two Minute Silence had been established in Great Britain. To date, across the UK, at 11:00 on the 11th of November the two minute silence is observed. It marks the time and date when the World War One armistice came into effect. But why does the red poppy play such an important part in the story?

During the First World War (1914-1918), much of the fighting took place in Western Europe. The countryside was blasted, bombed and fought over repeatedly. Previously beautiful landscapes turned to mud; bleak and barren scenes where little or nothing could grow. There was a notable and striking exception to the bleakness – the bright red Flanders poppies. These resilient flowers flourished in the middle of so much chaos and destruction, growing in the thousands upon thousands. In the Spring of 1915, shortly after losing a friend in the battle for Ypres, a Canadian doctor, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae was moved by the sight of these poppies and that inspired lhim to write the poem ‘In Flanders Fields’. If you are not familiar with the poem here are McCrae’s extremely moving words:

“In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae

In Flanders’ fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders’ fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high,
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders’ Fields.

The spread of the poppy as a symbol involved a French woman, Anna Guérin who was in England in 1921 and planned to sell the poppies in London. There she met the British Legion’s founder, Field Marshal Earl Haig, who was persuaded to adopt the poppy as the Legion’s emblem in the UK. And so the first ever Poppy Appeal was held in 1921. The poppies sold out almost immediately and raised over £106,000 – a considerable amount at the time. This money was used to help WW1 veterans with employment and housing. Virtually every postage stamp issued to commemorate anniversaries of the Royal British Legion features a poppy.

On the Isle of Man 18p stamp above is a scene from London’s Royal Albert Hall, where a Festival of Remembrance is held annually.

Unusual Topic – MENSA

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Freestampmagazine

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January 7, 2025

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Isle of Man Post Office issued a set of six stamps in 2021 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Mensa, the world’s oldest and largest high IQ society. The organisation was founded in England in 1946 by Roland Berrill, a barrister, and Dr Lance Ware, a scientist and lawyer, with the aim of creating a society for bright people. The only qualification for membership was, as it is today, a score within the top 2% of the general population in an approved intelligence test. The name “Mensa” was chosen because it means “table” in Latin and represents the idea that all members of the society sit as equals around a table, regardless of racial, religious, political and socioeconomic distinctions. Mensa is a global organisation with around 145,000 members in roughly 100 countries.

The stamps feature intriguing word and number puzzles provided by Mensa. These puzzles are a mixture of logic and non-verbal reasoning. The stamps also contain many other secrets – codes, places, messages and words hidden in microtext and cyphers, which are special codes that disguise the words in a message, making the message secret. Codebreakers need to work out the key to solve the cypher. They are all visible on the stamps, but you might need a magnifying glass and code-breaking skills to solve them all.

Street Art – a New Theme to Collect?

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January 1, 2025

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Collecting street art stamps is not only a fascinating hobby for philatelists, but also for art lovers. They offer a unique insight into the culture and social issues of the time in which they were made. Street art, once considered a form of rebellion, has found its way from the streets to museums and galleries worldwide in recent decades. Now, in an exciting new development, this dynamic art form also features on stamps. Several countries have issued stamps that capture iconic works of street art, showcasing the vibrancy and creativity of our urban landscapes. The first three stamps here were issued by Germany.

“New Wave”- the artwork on the stamp above – was created in 2017 by the brothers Christoph and Florin Schmidt and is part of the project “Stadt.Wand.Kunst.” in Mannheim.

Case Maclaim, aka Andreas von Chrzanowski, is a German urban artist from Frankfurt. His creation can be found in Wuppertal.

The work on the above stamp, entitled “Peacock and Crane”, has adorned the back wall of a sports hall on a tram line in Ostfildern, Baden-Württemberg, since 2020. It was created by Stuttgart-based Christoph Ganter, alias JEROO, who has been one of the most internationally renowned street art and graffiti artists for over twenty years due to his unmistakable style and motifs, which are often based on nature and are reminiscent of Art Nouveau in their aesthetics.

This stamp minisheet incorporates artwork entitled “The Cellist” by the artist Sfhir. It is located in Fene, A Coruña and stands as an emblematic example of how art can beautify public space and create deep connections with the community.

The street art stamp “FCK PTN (PTN PNKh)!” is the first postage stamp in the world to feature a Banksy graffito. Issued by Ukraine in 2023 features graffito by the English street artist Banksy on the wall of a destroyed house in the town of Borodianka in Kyiv region. In 2022, the artist created seven graffiti in Ukraine, and it is no coincidence that the Ukraine postal service Ukrposhta chose the one depicting a little boy defeating a judoka (purported to be Vladimir Putin) with a skilful throw.

Above from Tuvalu and below from Gambia, street art stamps issued in 2014 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The year 2015 was significant as it marked 50 years of Singapore’s independence as well as 50 years of diplomatic relations between Singapore and France. To commemorate these milestones and celebrate the rich arts, culture and heritage of Singapore and France, the countries jointly issued the stamp sheet seen here. The 1st Local stamp, designed by Sophie Beaujard from France, features an iconic landmark in France — Eiffel Tower. The other stamp valued at S$2 depicts Merlion which is Singapore’s iconic mascot and was designed by Ivory Seah from Singapore. Both artists gave a vibrant, youthful interpretation of a well-loved monument in each country.

Christmas 2024

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Freestampmagazine

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December 24, 2024

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PostBeeld owner Rob Smit and all of his co-workers send season’s greetings to our clients worldwide and wish everyone a happy and healthy 2025.

Today we present a sample of stamps issued to celebrate Christmas. “A Fairytale Christmas” is the title of this lovely 10-stamp sheet from Sweden’s postnord.

The theme of the two 2024 Christmas stamps from Åland is ’knitted’, and the stamps show soft, cozy and home-knitted mittens, hats, socks, and sweaters.

Local artist Penny Dawes created the delightful stamps above from Alderney, featuring a snowman who comes to life on Alderney during the festive season. As he explores, he encounters iconic island species and mythical creatures.

Bermuda Post Office produced stamps with the theme Christmas Trees.

Great Britain’s five new stamps celebrate Christmas 2024 with exclusive illustrations from British artist Judy Joel. Iconic cathedrals from Westminster to Edinburgh are brought to life on the stamps, with charming scenes capturing the essence of the festive season. The top two stamps show the cathedrals in Edinburgh and Liverpool. The bottom row has Armagh, Bangor and Westminster.

The Faroe Islands issued stamps featuring Julius – the Faroese Santa Claus.

Ireland has these beautifully-illustrated Christmas scenes with the theme of light during the dark days of winter.

Guernsey artist Caroline Veron’s Christmas stamp designs feature snowmen enjoying Guernsey’s festive landscapes. The 60p stamp shows a snowman and snow-child at St Saviour’s Reservoir, watching Santa fly by. The 65p captures a snowman sledging near Torteval Church. The 88p stamp depicts a snowman building snow castles by the sea at Vazon Bay, while on the £1.20 another soars across the sky with a seagull above Fort Grey. Paddleboarding at Fermain Bay on the £1.36 value and visiting the magical Fairy Ring (£1.68) are also part of their adventures. Finally, a snowman and snow-child gaze at shooting stars by Castle Breakwater Lighthouse on the £1.74 stamp.

The United States has these stamps, featuring two hanging ornamental Christmas decorations, a Poinsettia and a blue flower.

Swiss Post has an unusual offering this Christmas. Via a downloadable application it is possible to scan the stamps and have the chance of winning money vouchers up to Christmas Day.

One for the Stamp or Beer Mat Collector?

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December 18, 2024

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And here we have it! The Austrian Postage Stamp Beer Mat – a rather unique dedication to beer culture. Known for its rich beer culture, Austria has introduced something unique to the philatelic market – a beer coaster postage stamp. The 2024 issue, entitled “One Liter of Beer Contains”, is a tribute to the long tradition of beer brewing in Austria. The release of this stamp coincided with a major beer festival in Vienna, which gave the release a festive touch. The design of the stamp is not only visually appealing, but also practical – it can actually serve as a beer coaster! Made from absorbent material and printed with water-based scratch-resistant ink, this stamp retains the classic shape and function of a beer coaster, while at the same time being an officially recognized stamp.

The Widest so Far

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December 9, 2024

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This 2024 stamp issue – the subject being the Sri Lankan Kandy Esala Perahera festival – is the widest stamp ever produced according to its issuer, the Sri Lankan Postal service. The stamp measures 205mm x 30mm. The Esala Perahera is one of the oldest and most extraordinary festivals in the world, taking place every year in July/August in the old royal capital of Kandy. Thousands of dancers, drummers, whip-crackers and fire-eaters parade through the city. They are accompanied by around 100 elephants that are clothed in highly-decorated material – the largest of which carries the sacred tooth relic taken from Buddha’s funeral pyre almost 2500 years ago.

Stamp Topic – Coral

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December 5, 2024

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Deep on the floor of the world’s oceans, wherever rocky surfaces occur, it is likely you’ll find habitats of corals. Many associate coral with warmer waters but these amazing creatures of the deep are also common in the cold waters of the Southern Ocean. Many hundreds of coral species have been identified in Antarctic waters and research continues to discover new species. The British Antarctic Territory stamp sheet here shows stunning photos of just nine of those found in the region.

The Cook Islands is a nation in Polynesia, with political links to New Zealand. This superb definitives’ issue from 1984 depicts a small selection of coral found in the South Pacific Ocean. The higher values include a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.

The oldest stamps seen in the article come from what was in 1963 the French Somali Coast.

Produced by Fiji in 1989, the coral on the above – in order of value – are: Brain Coral (Platygyra daedalea), Candy Cane Coral (Caulastrea furcata), Finger Coral (Acropora humilis) and Stony Coral (Acropora echinata).

Here are 6 stamps featuring 9 different species of coral growing in the waters around the coasts of Jersey. They display: 32p Dead Man’s Fingers (Alcyonium digitatum), 33p Devonshire Cup Coral (Caryiophyllia smithii), 40p White Sea Fan (Eunicella verrucosa), 54p Pink Sea Fan (Eunicella verrucosa), 62p Sunset coral (Leptopsammia pruvoti) and 70p Red Fingers (Alcyonium glormeratum).

A beautiful 2024 stamp sheet from New Zealand. Aotearoa New Zealand’s marine environment is 15 times larger than its land mass. Aotearoa New Zealand currently has four marine reserves, and intends to increase the amount in the future. Together with other forms of protection, its plan is to form a conservation network that protects the full spectrum of marine species in its waters. The 2024 miniature sheet seen here has stamps featuring species found in the four protected areas. From left to right they are: the Taputeranga Marine Reserve, which covers 855 hectares along Wellington’s south coast. The reserve was created in 2008; the Te Awaatu Channel (The Gut) Marine Reserve – Proposed by the New Zealand Federation of Commercial Fishermen and established in 1993, this reserve is one of the oldest and one of the smallest at 93 hectares; Cape Rodney-Okakari Point – Created in 1975, this reserve is visited by more than 300,000 people each year. Also known as Goat Island or Leigh Marine Reserve, it was the first of its kind and remains a flag bearer for successful marine conservation; and Ulva Island/Te Wharawhara Marine Reserve – Made up of three separate areas off Ulva Island/Te Wharawhara in Paterson Inlet/Whaka a Te Wera on the eastern side of Stewart Island/Rakiura. The marine reserve was established in 2004 and covers 1,075 hectares.

The stamps on this very attractive sheet produced by St. Vincent and the Grenadines in 2020 depict on the top row a Rough Cactus Coral (Mycetophyllia ferox) and a Cauliflower Coral (Pocillopora damicornis). Under is another Rough Cactus Coral and a Great Star Coral (Montastraea cavernosa).

Recently Added to Stock

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November 28, 2024

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We have recently acquired a great collection of African stamps. Here is a small selection.

In 1999 Senegal issued a great variety of stamp sheets covering many subjects. That above features space exploration rockets. The top row (left to right) has three Russian rockets – RD 107, Soyuz and Proton. Those seen in the second and third rows are all from the USA: Atlas Centaur, Atlas Agena, Atlas Mercury, Titan 2, Juno 2 and Saturn I. The two sheets below depict the animated cartoon character Betty Boop, created in 1930.

An unusual stamp from Djibouti (1997) entitled Every day Life (goats).

The West African country Guinea commemorated the Olympic Winter Games Sarajevo 1984 with the above stamps.

With a background showing the painting “Wheat field with crows” – the stamp sheet here includes a portrait of the artist Vincent van Gogh.

In 1976 the Concorde aircraft, jointly developed by Great Britain and France, started the world’s first scheduled supersonic passenger service, with British Airways flights from London to Bahrain and Air France flights from Paris to Rio de Janeiro. Regular flights to Washington, D.C., and New York City were added in 1976 and 1977, respectively. Senegal celebrated the fact by issuing the two gold and silver foil stamps seen here.

The landlocked African country Chad issued this definitive set in 1961 as part of its Independence celebrations.

Tanzania produced the above flora stamps in 1999. From left to right we see Digitalis, Chrysanthemum, Amaryllis and Curcuma flowers.

This fine bird set from Ivory Coast (1965) depicts: a Namaqua dove (30F), the Lizard buzzard (50F), a Hamerkop (10F), the White-breasted guinea fowl (15F) and an Ibis (75F).

For the football lover we have this special stamp series featuring the stadiums in South Korea and Japan where games were played in the final rounds of the 2002 World Cup competition.

Above is a fabulous definitive set from Swaziland from 1962.

And finally a set of 1967 Postage Due stamps from Rhodesia.

As usual I refer you to PostBeeld’s Freestampcatalogue website, where you can view page upon page of the latest Africa stamps added to stock. As stated at the top of the article what is seen here is a very small selection of the stamps recently added.