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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Freestampmagazine

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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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Freestampmagazine

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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.

Hummingbirds

Philately

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Freestampmagazine

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October 28, 2024

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Hummingbirds can be found in North America, Central America, South America and many islands of the Caribbean Sea. According to the International Ornithologists’ Union (IOU), the hummingbird family has 366 species and 112 genera, mostly south of the United States. Hummingbirds comprise the family Trochilidae, among the smallest of birds, with most species measuring between 7.6-12.7cm (3″-5″). They are called hummingbird due to the “humming” sound created by beating their wings, which flap at high frequencies audible to other birds as well as humans. The 1967 Panama minisheet at top shows a White-necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora) approaching an orchid.

The beauty of the birds’ colouring is seen throughout this article, witness these 1965 stamps from Upper Volta (since 1984 Burkina Faso), (featuring left to right): a Pygmy Sunbird (Hedydipna platura), an olive-bellied sunbird (Panaeola chloropygia), a Splendid sunbird (Cinnyris coccinigaster) and an Abyssinian roller (Coracias abyssinica).

From Montserrat: a nesting Blue-headed hummingbird (Cyanophaia bicolor), a Green-throated Carib (Eulampis holosericeus), an Antillean crested hummingbird (Orthorhyncus cristatus) and a Purple-throated carib (Eulampis jugularis).

Four hummingbird stamps issued by Bahamas in 1989: 10c Cuban emerald, 40c Ruby-throated, 45c Bahama Woodstar, 50c Rufous hummingbird.

The stamp sheet above from Brazil (1991), has hummingbirds and orchids and was produced for the 8th “Brapex” exhibition.

And here is a fine definitives set produced by the Grenadines of St. Vincent in 1992.

Not to be outdone, Cuba issued these World Wildlife Fund “Fauna threatened with extinction” stamps in 1992.

Produced by the United States in 1992 and seen here, left to right, we see a Ruby Throated Hummingbird; a Broad-Billed Hummingbird; Costa’s Hummingbird; a Rufous Hummingbird, which summers as far north as Alaska. Its migration is one of the longest of all birds as it winters in Mexico – a distance of almost 6,400 kilometers; and a Calliope Hummingbird, which is the smallest bird in North America.

The 2022 Romania hummingbird issue has a unique feature – a centimeter ruler on the left of the stamp indicating the size of each bird. A ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) is depicted on the 4.50 Lei stamp; a bee hummingbird (Calypte helenae), seen on the 6.50 Lei stamp, is an endemic species of the Cuban archipelago – the bee hummingbird is the world’s smallest bird; in contrast the giant hummingbird (Pantagona gigas), illustrated on the 10L stamp is the largest of the species. The 10.50L Allen’s hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin), is one of the seven species of the genus Selasphorus.

Two beautiful stamp sheets from 2023 issued by Grenada. Above a black-throated mango hummingbird (Anthracothorax nigricollis) and a purple-throated carib (Eulampis jugularis), and the sheet below has the vervain hummingbird (Mellisuga minima) and a Bahama woodstar (Calliphlox evelynae).

U.P.U. 150 Years’ Anniversary

Philately

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Freestampmagazine

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October 16, 2024

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The Universal Postal Union (UPU), a United Nations specialized agency headquartered in the Swiss capital Bern, was founded in 1874. Thus 2024 is the organisation’s 150th anniversary, and to celebrate this milestone the UN Postal Administration has produced three stamp designs.

The UPU connects 192 member countries, enabling free circulation of postal items across a single, interconnected postal territory. UPU member states have also recently adopted a policy to increase and deepen its engagement with wider postal sector players, outside of the UPU network of designated operators – an attempt to bolster the development of a truly interconnected, efficient, and universal postal service.

The UPU’s theme for its 150th year – “150 years of enabling communication and empowering peoples across nations”.

From Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan respectively, their commemorative stamps. the Uzbekistan stamp features the Kalon minaret in Bukhara.

Serbia was one of the 21 founding members of the UPU. Its 150th anniversary stamp has the portrait of Mladen Ž. Radojković, Secretary of the Postal and Telegraph Department of the Ministry of National Economy in 1874 and the signatory for Serbia of the UPU’s founding agreement.

Famous Scientists – Paraguay 1965

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Freestampmagazine

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October 7, 2024

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World-renowned scientists feature on the stamp sheets and definitives produced by Paraguay in 1965. The imperforated stamps above include portraits of Einstein and Galileo. Born in March 1879 in Ulm, Germany, Albert Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921. Galileo Galilei is considered by many to be one of the the forefathers of modern science. He is renowned for his discoveries. He was the first to report telescopic observations of the mountains on the moon, the moons of Jupiter, the phases of Venus, and the rings of Saturn.

And here we have the sheet with perforated stamps.

Isaac Newton (1643-1727) and Copernicus (1473-1543) were added for the definitives issue, which included three air mail stamps. Isaac Newton is best know for his theory about the law of gravity, but his “Principia Mathematica” (1686) with its three laws of motion greatly influenced thinking in Europe. Considered the father of modern astronomy, Nicolaus Copernicus was the first modern European scientist to propose that Earth and other planets revolve around the sun.

Must-have Stamp for the Collector?

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Freestampmagazine

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October 1, 2024

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Spain’s postal service Correos paid tribute to philatelic collectors in 2020 by issuing this stamp showing the famous painting
The Philatelist, a beautiful work from 1929 by Swiss painter François Barraud (1899-1934). In addition, it is printed with a magnifying glass effect that makes it even more special.

Europa Stamps, May-September 2024

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Freestampmagazine

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September 25, 2024

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The Europa Stamp Competition for the period 9th May-9th September 2024 has “Underwater Flora and Fauna as its subject. Latvia’s colourful entry shows on the left the water plant najas flexilis, now rare and threatened throughout its European range. The stamp on the right features a brown trout.

For Liechtenstein, photographs taken at the St. Katrinabrunna nature reserve in the southernmost municipality of Balzers are shown on the stamp sheet. The nature and recreation area with two ponds was created by the municipality in 1973. Endangered plant and animal species have found a habitat there. This includes the fish named “Egli”, known outside the Swiss-speaking world as the river perch. It is found in a wide variety of waters in Liechtenstein. It is easily recognisable thanks to the five to six dark transverse bands on its body and its spiny dorsal fin.

Slovenia’s issue depicts on stamp C the noble pen shell (Pinna nobilis), a Mediterranean endemic species and the largest bivalve mollusc in the Mediterranean Sea. Its shell rate growth is among the fastest of any species and its shell can reach a length of more than a metre! Today the noble pen shell is listed among critically endangered species. Stamp D has the water beetle Graphoderus bilineatus.

Gold coral, or false black coral (Savalia savaglia), is seen on this stamp produced by Montenegro. It is a rare species found in the Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic Ocean.

This set from the Isle of Man comprises six stunning stamps featuring native fish species, intricately depicted by acclaimed mosaic artist Kimmy McHarrie. In order of value you have: a herring (harenga), cod (gadus morhua), mackerel (scomber scombrus), red gunard (chelidonichthys cuculus), salmon (salmo salar) and John Dory (zeus faber).

The fish featured on Azebaijans’s offering is the humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus). Also seen is the green sea turtle, an endangered species that has undergone an estimated 90 percent. population decrease over the past half century.

Gibraltar’s stamps feature the loggerhead sea turtle and two orcas.

Above is the cover picture of a Europa stamp booklet issued by Bulgaria. The fish on the cover and on the stamps below left are the brown meagre (sciaena umbra) and on the seabed a gobius. Fish on the sheet right are the striped red mullet (mullus surmuletus) and a stargazer (Uranoscopus scaber).

Post Europ has chosen the joint theme “Underwater Fauna & Flora”. Denmark’s PostNord has entitled its offering “The Breath of the Sea”, and has featured on its stamps plants found in the seas, fjords, sounds, and straits around Denmark.

Belgium’s bpost decided to put endangered marine life in the spotlight. On the stamps we see the dogfish and an eel, an endangered species in our North Sea. View of an underwater world. The pencil drawings on the sheet represent other fish species that are now under threat.